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Photo: w4nn3s, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A large garden planted in a former limestone quarry. Quite remarkable. During the summer they have fireworks set to music and during winter evenings, the gardens are lit up and include displays illustrating the twelve days of Christmas. You can reach Butchart Gardens from Vancouver and Victoria on several bus tours and also by public transit from Victoria or the Swartz Bay ferry terminal.
The Butchart Gardens is a floral display garden in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive over a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
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The largest butterfly conservatory in Canada and located near the Butchart Gardens. Other than butterflies, there are a lot of tropical plants and some exotic animals to see. For those concerned, all the animals are rescues, donations, or adoptions, and they explicitly take a stance against trading and breeding exotic animals.
Popular park with two lakes (actually it's one lake with different names, connected by a channel), a number of beaches that are popular swimming locations and a 10-km trail that circumnavigates the entire lake. Picnicing, rowing, wind surfing and fishing are also popular. A nature center near the main entrance on Beaver Lake Rd has displays on the park's natural and cultural history and staff on hand to answer any questions you may have.
Swan Lake Park
There is a nature trail that goes around Swan Lake on a boardwalk through beautiful marshlands. The Nature House, at the main entrance, contains information about the natural wildlife in the area, some interpretive exhibits, a reading room with materials for both children and adults, and a small gift shop. If you wish to trek further, across McKenzie Avenue from Swan Lake is the hike up Christmas Hill, which has a viewpoint overlooking Swan Lake and Saanich. There is also a bike route connecting to the Lochside Regional Trail.
The largest cinema in Greater Victoria.
A 29-km multi-use trail that runs from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal near Sidney to the Galloping Goose trail in Saanich. It is mostly paved (there are a few gravel sections though) and rolls through suburban Victoria to the farmland of the Saanich Peninsula, passing close to several parks, beaches and wetlands. Designated parking lots to access the trail are at Lochside Dr & Mackenzie, Lochside Park, Cy Hampson Park and Tulista Park.
This site in the Colwood area of western Victoria is home to historic Hatley Castle, which many movie fans will recognize as Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in the X-Men and Deadpool films produced by 20th Century Fox. The castle's exterior gardens are open to the public from 10 AM to dusk. The castle interior is home to the offices of Royal Roads University. Only the first floor is available for public viewing, and it can be seen only during seasonal walking tours which must be booked in advance.