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Photo: Ryan Bushby (HighInBC), CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
The legislative assembly for the province of British Columbia since 1898, the domed neo-Baroque and Romanesque Revival architecture is a distinctive feature of Victoria's waterfront. The free public tours (usually offered throughout the day) are considered excellent. Self-guided tours are available on weekdays, booklets can be picked up at the Parliamentary Tour desk or downloaded from the website. The buildings are equally nice to view at night night, when they are lit up with 13,000 lights.
The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and are home to the lieutenant governor and the Legislative Assembly.
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This tells BC story, especially from 1850 to 1920. It has amazing exhibits, and is easily worth half a day. There are three permanent galleries: Modern History, story of the European settlement; First Peoples, pre-contact and post-contact; and Natural History, mainly oceans, large animals, and climate. All are explained with phenomenal immersive exhibits.
Three-hour whale watching tours with a choice of semi-covered boat (with an elevated viewing deck) or open Zodiac in summer. Winter tours (Nov-Mar) are in Zodiac boats only.
An extensive display of miniature landscapes, cities, etc., some rather bizarre or at comically mismatched scales. Includes the world's smallest working saw mill at a scale of 1:12.
Long operating family business (since 1985). Three hours whale watching trips in their catamaran that includes several outdoor decks and a heated indoor cabin. Maximum number of passengers is 45.
Small museum with exhibits relating to Canada's or British Columbia's maritime history. There's also a gift shop with model ships, books, caps, prints and all things related to boats.
Looking at bugs while on holidays doesn't sound like it'd be appealing, but this is a fantastic little place filled with very knowledgeable and friendly guides, and where else would you get the chance to hold so many crazy creatures?