How to spend a weekend in Victoria, Canada

Fairmont Empress opened in 1908 to serve railway passengers. Photo / Destination Greater Victoria

From sipping lavender gin in a palatial hotel to spotting whales in the Salish Sea and singing along to the Backstreet Boys, a trip to Victoria, Canada is one of regal charm, coastal beauty, writes Leena Tailor.

As a jolly British waitress pours “Lady Londonberry” tea from a palace-worthy teapot, hands me a book to peruse instead of my phone and presents freshly baked “pistachio opera” scones and “coronation chicken” sandwiches, I glance around the regal room and wonder if I’ve stepped into Downton Abbey.

It‘s quickly apparent why locals, tourists and celebrities flock to Victoria’s Fairmont Empress hotel for high tea. And as I move on to champagne and rosewater tarts, the only reminder I’m not an empress in England is the view outside, where couples enjoying the shimmering harbour, whimsical gardens and horse-drawn carriages make it feel a Hallmark movie set.

Fairmont Empress. Photo / Leena Tailor

I booked a birthday trip to Canada after my teen crush, Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter, announced he was playing Victoria on the day. Concerts and castles came calling, but what I didn’t anticipate were the whale-watching adventures, dazzling sunsets, small-town charm and infatuation for Victoria I’d find along the way.

Nestled on to the southern tip of Vancouver Island, the British Columbia capital is an easy 30-minute connection from Vancouver International Airport, with one-way flights starting at C$50 ($60). I contemplated taking the ferry from Vancouver, where I spent my first night, but decided travelling solo on birthdays grants licence to splurge, so booked an almost door-to-door Harbour Air seaplane (starting at C$99 one-way) to the Empress from its sister property in downtown Vancouver, Fairmont Pacific Rim.

Recently hosting Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Pacific Rim is the perfect gateway to Fairmont Empress, with an art gallery, rooftop pool and cosy lobby lounge with music, sushi and exotic cocktails. It‘s also popular with Hollywood actors (like Tracker star Justin Hartley, who I immediately spotted) filming in Vancouver.

It‘s gloomy the next morning as my 14-seater seaplane skirts along the water before soaring across Vancouver Harbour, but the clouds soon part to showcase the stunning Gulf Islands, blanketed with lush forest.

Victoria BC Parliament Buildings and Harbour Air. Photo / Harbour Air

Swooping into Victoria’s Inner Harbour with a water landing smoother than most airplane touchdowns, I stroll up to the Empress, where whale topiary paves the way to the harbourside haven. Dubbed the “castle on the coast”, the property opened in 1908 after the Canadian Pacific Railway began building chateau-style hotels to accommodate their wealthy passengers.

Shirley Temple, John Travolta and Queen Elizabeth II visited the hotel, which was named after Queen Victoria (also the Empress of India), while Markle’s been spotted at restaurant Q at the Empress.

Step inside Fairmont Empress and uncover a tale of history, luxury and coastal beauty. Photo / Leena Tailor

A 6m floral chandelier glittering with 250,000 hand-woven crystals greets me in reception. The majestic feel continues as I pass grand stairwells, Juliet balconies, antique bronze mailboxes and through wide arched hallways designed to accommodate sprawling, Victorian ballgowns.

Waiting for my room, I laze the entire afternoon away in the tranquil, sun-soaked Fairmont Gold lounge, a perk of booking into the Gold Floor, described as a “boutique hotel within a hotel”.

The Empress also offers limited-time packages like Into the Lavender Haze, which was timed with Taylor Swift‘s Eras tour and had my room brimming with cushions, chairs, macaroons and Nespresso capsules in varying shades of purple. The theme also reflects the hotel being the home of Empress 1908 Indigo Gin, which spawned a viral Lavender Haze cocktail, made with gin, Empress honey syrup, lemon, soda and lavender. Rumour has it Sir Winston Churchill ordered gin in an Empress teapot to conceal it during Prohibition.

Q Bar at Fairmont Empress: trying out the Lavender Haze viral cocktail. Photo / Leena Tailor

I could do with a teapot of warming liquor during a whale-watching cruise with Orca Spirit Adventures the next day. My fingers go numb, but I’m soon distracted by Janet, a 50-year-old male killer whale who dramatically surfaces from the glassy Salish Sea. “He’s been going around Vancouver Island for years,” says our guide. “He has quite a reputation!”

Not to be outdone, two humpbacks find us, spouting and fluking as they elegantly dip in and out of the water like a synchronised slow dance. Next, we cruise around Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, home to bald eagles, shearwaters and clusters of chattering male sea lions, perched around a lighthouse like rowdy concert-goers awaiting the main act.

Whale-watching is another attraction (though killer whales or orca aren't actually whales). Photo / Valerie Shore

After thawing in my sun-drenched room, I’m ready for the main act of my birthday concert at the intimate McPherson Playhouse. Situated in Old Town, the historic theatre is walkable from Fairmont Empress and after a night of nostalgic hits, I feel safe meandering home.

I stop by intriguing corner spot Earls for a Strawberry Smokeshow margarita, then find myself drawn back to the spectacular harbour, where every hour bestows an enchanting new view. At sunset, glowing amber shades rip across the sky like wildfire, before neon blue peeks through rippled clouds at dusk. By night, it‘s like the palatial Parliament Buildings have been magically etched on to the black sky in neon lights.

Taking in the sights on a hop on, hop off tour. Photo / Gray Line Sightseeing

I might have thought twice about late-night sauntering after learning Victoria is the most haunted place in Canada during a Gray Line Victoria hop-on, hop-off tour the next morning. The double-decker bus also cruises through Canada’s oldest Chinatown, a lantern-lined blur of restaurants, shops and North America’s narrowest commercial street – the 0.9m-wide Fan Tan Alley.

Further south is the David Foster Harbour Pathway, a 5km walkway named after the Grammy-winning Canadian musician behind hits by Michael Jackson and Celine Dion. The path snakes around to Ogden Point, where a 762m breakwater features an Instagram-worthy mural by local artists.

Chinatown. Photo / Leena Tailor

After admiring llamas and peacocks in Beacon Hill Park, we ride through hip, English-inspired Oak Bay Village. Our driver mentions Victoria’s prized Butchart Gardens and I briefly regret not venturing 30 minutes north to the tourist spot, however it dawns on me that simply riding around Victoria is like a glorious gardens tour, with picture-perfect florals around every corner. Fairmont Empress’ grounds alone are bursting with yellow trumpet flowers, orange marigold and pink dahlias, plus a honeybee colony and herb gardens, which are foraged for eateries like Q Bar.

Fairmont Empress Gardens. Photo / Leena Tailor

It‘s here, while devouring a Cod Crunch burger, that I’m told how Fairmont Empress will transform into a Christmas wonderland come December with Santa’s Sips cocktail nights, lavish decorations and a giant display of mistletoe. It‘s no wonder countless Christmas movies have been filmed in the neighbourhood.

My Empress birthday was unforgettable, but as my seaplane departs back to Vancouver, I’m already set on returning for a movie-like Empress Christmas.