At Global Alliance, we take the “Worldwide” in our company name very seriously. We pride ourselves in offering premium limousine services to our clientele not only in our home base of Toronto but around the globe. Through our sophisticated network of trusted worldwide affiliates, Global Alliance can provide professional chauffeured services in hundreds of international cities. We will discuss many of the major worldwide destinations served via our affiliate network on this blog. This post concerns British Columbia’s historic capital city, Victoria.
Nestled along a natural harbour near the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is the capital of the province of British Columbia and its second-largest city after the metropolis of Vancouver, which lies 100 km east, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Victoria is one of the oldest British settlements along North America’s Pacific Coast, first founded as a trading fort in 1843; the site was inhabited by Coast Salish First Nations peoples for centuries before that.
Today, although Victoria is the 15th largest metropolitan area in Canada, it continues to recognize and honour both its heritage of British settlement (which is not hard to do when you’re named after the long-reigning former Queen of the British Empire) and the cultural influence of the First Nations who relied on the natural abundance of the coastal rainforest region to support them. Its handsome downtown area clusters around Victoria’s picturesque Inner Harbour, with the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, the historic ivy-lined Empress Hotel, and many restaurants, bars, shops, and attractions such as the Royal British Columbia Museum, Christ Church Cathedral, and the oldest and most intact Chinatown in Canada.
Victoria combines an active culture with a more relaxed one. A large annual student population, mostly attending the University of Victoria, and the plethora of outdoor pursuit options makes its youthful and active. Its mild climate and low-key charm attracts retirees and vacationers, making it relaxed. Both of these cultures can be experienced around the city, in particular in green spaces such as Beacon Hill Park on the southern shore of the city. More popular greenery is on display at the world-renowned Butchart Gardens, just outside the city.
Victoria International Airport is the main air transport hub for the city, although seaplanes also operate operate between Victoria’s Inner Harbour, Vancouver Harbour and even Seattle, Washington in the United States. High speed catamarans connect the Inner Harbour to downtown Seattle as well. Cruise ships dock at Ogden Point near the Inner Harbour, bringing tens of thousands of visitors every year. BC Ferries operates regular boat service between the nearby Swartz Bay terminal and Tsawwassen south of Vancouver on the mainland, as well as providing access to many of the Gulf Islands, allowing visitors to drink in their laid-back coastal way of living.
Please feel free to contact Global Alliance Worldwide Chauffeured Services for all of your ground transportation needs in Victoria, British Columbia.