Victoria BC and Nanaimo BC-must do's for visitors?

[barkley]

i'm running away from home (well from dh and the kids) on a 3 day cruise in september. the 2 stops are in victoria and nanaimo. can anyone offer up suggestions of what to do? the cruiseline offers a bunch of excursions but i'de be interested in hearing about things a "run away" mom might enjoy doing.

also, is there anything produced or sold in either place i should keep an eye out for-any specialty items or just great bargains?

appreciate any info on both places-i know very little about either.

 

[ferris198]

I was in Victoria and Nanimo about 10 years ago, and in the Victoria harbour they had a little boat cruise that lasted about an hour just around the harbour pointing out different things to see. It was enjoyable.
My mother went out a couple of years ago and I bought her a gift certificate to do afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel, she found that quite enjoyable, if you like that kind of think.
If you are into gardening Buchart Gardens is apparently beautiful, it is also in Victoria. I found it was just nice to walk around and explore on our own. There are some historical houses in Victoria right near the harbour.
As for Nanimo, we were there for 24hrs, and there didn't seem to be much to do, other than eat and shop, but for nothing in particular.
Maybe some out west Disers could add some more info.

 

[bbangel]

There are some cute little shops on a very walkable shopping street right off of downtown. You can take a horse and carriage type ride around historic Victoria. Buchart Gardens is not really that close to Victoria so take a tour if you want to do that. There is a castle just up the hill from downtown. A good hike (about half an hour up hill) but pretty neat to see. Lots of local history. There is also our provincial museum and the provincial legislature. Like the previous poster mentioned there are harbour tours as well. Oh there is a butterfly exhibit near the bus station.

http://www.travel-victoria.com/touristinfo/
http://www.tourismnanaimo.com/

Hope those sites help you out.

 

[Rachael Q]

We occasionally take a weekend trip to Victoria and below is some of the things we like to do:
Royal British Columbia Museum and Thunderbird Park
Butchart Gardens
Craigdarroch Castle Historic House
Emily Carr House
Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel
Shop at Rogers Chocolates

We never really stop in Nanaimo, we normally just drive through on the way to somewhere else!