When to Go

When to Go

Victoria has the warmest, mildest climate in Canada: snow is rare and flowers bloom in February. Summers are mild too, rarely topping 75°F. If you're here for dining, shopping, and museums, winter is a perfectly nice time for a visit: it's gray and wet, and some minor attractions are closed, but hotel deals abound. If your focus is the outdoors -- biking, hiking, gardens, and whale-watching -- you need to come with everyone else, between May and October. That's when the streets come to life with crafts stalls, street entertainers, blooming gardens, and the inevitable tour buses. It's fun and busy but Victoria never gets unbearably crowded.

Festivals to plan your trip around

Victoria's top festivals take place in summer, when you're apt to encounter the best weather. For 10 nights in late June, international musicians perform during JazzFest International. Victoria's Inner Harbour becomes an outdoor concert venue in early August for Symphony Splash, when the Victoria Symphony plays a free concert from a barge moored in the middle of the harbor. August also is the time for the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival, during which you can feast from a vast menu of offbeat, original, and intriguing performances around town.