Explore Victoria
Victoria
A jewel of the pacific, the City of Victoria, is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and serves a region of 345,000 people.
As the capital of British Columbia, it is also an important cultural centre with a rich heritage, a strong Indigenous presence and an abundance arts organizations.
Smaller neighbourhood-style communities are nestled within different regions of Victoria, making it feel like a comfortable and safe place for students to live and explore while at university – often a student’s first time away from home.
Victoria is an active city that is easy to get around in. There are excellent transit services and a universal bus pass (U-Pass) is included with student union fees. Walking trails and bike routes are numerous across the city. For the more adventurous, activities like kayaking, windsurfing, ocean swimming, mountain hiking/climbing are close by.
Victoria’s downtown has world-class restaurants, a vibrant nightlife and excellent shopping with major department stores as well as an independent clothing design district.
Climate
Victoria has a mild climate year round, receiving far more sunshine that the nearby city of Vancouver each year, an average rainfall of 66.5 centimetres, and less than a handful of days with snow! Bring an umbrella, but pack your sunscreen too! Check the weather right now!
Accommodations
Tourism is one of Victoria’s main industries so there are plenty of excellent hotels, motels and B&B accommodations. Book online through Tourism Victoria. If you’re visiting during the summer, accommodations are also available on campus at one of our residence buildings.
- Atomic Vaudeville
- Ballet Victoria
- Belfry Theatre
- Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre
- Broken Rhythms Dance
- Canadian College for the Performing Arts
- Castlereigh Theatre
- Collectivus Theatre
- Dance Victoria
- Embrace Arts
- Flamenco de la Isla Society
- Four Seasons Family Theatre
- Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival
- Hapax Theate
- Impulse Theatre
- Intrepid Theatre, Metro Studio and Intrepid Theatre Club
- Kaleidoscope Theatre
- Langham Court Theatre
- Pacific Opera Victoria
- Paper Street Theatre
- Phoenix Theatre
- Puente Theatre
- Rage Sweater Theatre
- Raino Dance
- Royal & McPherson Theatres
- SKAMpede Theatre Festival
- SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles
- St. Luke’s Players Community Theatre
- Story Theatre
- Suddenly Dance
- Theatre Inconnu
- Theatre SKAM
- UNO Festival
- Veselka Dance
- Victoria Event Centre
- VOS Musical Theatre
- Victoria Fringe Festival
- William Head on Stage
- Wonderheads Theatre
Visit ArtsVictoria.ca to learn about other local arts activities..
- arc.hive artist run centre
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
- AGGV Paint-In
- Avenue Gallery
- BC Archives
- Bowker Creek Brush-Up
- Commercial Alley Gallery
- Commute: A Bus Shelter Art Exhibition
- Craigdarroch Castle
- CFB Esquimalt & Navy Museum
- Deluge Contemporary Art
- Emily Carr House
- Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site
- Ground Zero Printmakers
- Integrate Arts Society
- Madrona Gallery
- Mark Loria Gallery
- Maritime Museum of BC
- Ministry of Casual Living
- National Toy Museum of Canada
- Open Space
- Out There Art Festival
- Pacific Peoples Partnership
- Royal BC Museum
- Slide Room Gallery at the Vancouver Island School of Art
- The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective
- Tah’lum Indigenous Artists Collective
- UVic Legacy Art Gallery
- Victoria Arts Council
- Victoria College of Art & Design
- West End Gallery
- Winchester Galleries
- Xchanges Gallery
Visit ArtsVictoria.ca to learn about other local arts activities.
- A Place to Listen
- Aventa Ensemble
- BC Fiddle Orchestra
- CapriCCio Vocal Ensemble
- CFUV Radio
- The Choir
- Civic Orchestra of Victoria
- Emily Carr String Quartet
- Ensemble Laude
- Eventide Summer Music Series
- Friends of Music Society
- Garden City Electronic Music Society
- Gettin' Higher Choir
- Greater Victoria Concert Band
- Greater Victoria Performing Arts Society
- Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra
- Hermann's Jazz Club
- Island String Players Society
- Linden Singers
- Live Victoria Concert Listings
- Meridiem Wind Orchestra
- Newcombe Singers
- Pacific Opera Victoria
- Pandora Chorus
- Rifflandia Festival
- SALT New Music Festival
- Sidney Classical Orchestra
- Victoria Ska Festival
- Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra
- The Farquhar at UVic
- UVic School of Music Concerts & Ensembles
- UJAM Jazz Society
- Vancouver Island Chamber Choir
- Vancouver Island Blues Bash
- Victoria Choral Society
- Victoria Conservatory of Music
- Victoria Folk Music Society
- Victoria Guitar Society
- Victoria Jazz Festival
- Victoria Philharmonic Choir
- Victoria Ska Festival
- Victoria Symphony
- Vox Humana Chamber Choir
Visit ArtsVictoria.ca to learn about other local arts activities.
- Antimatter Film Festival
- Bolen Books reading series
- CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers
- City of Victoria Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate
- Greater Victoria Film Commission
- Greater Victoria Public Library events
- MediaNet
- Munro’s Books reading series
- Open Cinema
- Open Word reading series
- Pecha Kucha
- Planet Earth Poetry
- Russell Book Reading Series
- Sidney Literary Festival
- The Malahat Review
- This Side of West
- UVic Cinecenta
- Victoria Book Prizes
- Victoria Festival of Authors
- Victoria Film Festival + year-round screenings
- Victoria Poetry Project
- Victoria Writers’ Society