Victoria, BC, is a family-friendly destination we return to over and over again. Not just because I have a Victoria-based friend with impressive culinary skills (Hey, it’s a nice perk!). But also because Victoria offers so many affordable and free options.
35 free and cheap things to do in Victoria BC with kids:
- Enjoy outdoor festivals and celebrations in one of Canada’s sunniest cities.
- Watch for bald eagles and salmon at Goldstream Park.
- Ride trail-a-bikes or pull your toddler in a bike carrier along the 55 kilometre (34Â mi) long Galloping Goose Trail.
- Go on a self-guided spooky Victoria tour with your preteen or teen – discover the haunts of spectres, poltergeists and ghostly pianos.
- Paddle around (with hands or oars) with kids onto Elk / Beaver Lake.
- Meet the farmer! Visit a Vancouver Island farmer’s market, go on a farm tour or go on a u-pick farm on Vancouver Island.
- Go to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria on the first Tuesday of the month, when admission is by donation.
- Ride the double-decker bus to Sidney, BC.
- Visit Victoria’s parliament building on a free public tour.
- Buy some fish scraps from The Fish Store and feed the seals at Fisherman’s Wharf.
- Picnic and play in the Watering Garden at Beacon Hill Park, then count blooms along pathways.
- Relax in the lazy river in the Gordon Head Pool or the Esquimalt Recreation Pool.
- Catch a summer concert performance from Victoria Symphony Canada.
- Watch the running of the goats at Beacon Hill Farm.
- Visit the gun batteries and watch historical re-enactments at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites of Canada.
- Along Victoria’s Inner Harbour, watch buskers perform and seaplanes land.
- Pack snacks and enjoy a family hike in Victoria.
- Count the hanging flower baskets in downtown Victoria, then learn to make a proper Victorian Hanging Basket.
- Walk through Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest alley in Canada.
- Go to a star party at the Centre of the Universe.
- Climb through an giant octopus eye and slide down a fish tale in the trippy Cadboro-Gyro Park.
- Treasure a storytime at children’s bookstore Tall Tales Books.
- Look for a golden-crowned sparrow or barred owl at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary.
- Bring a copy of Peter Rabbit to the University of Victoria campus, where you’ll see rabbits here, there and everywhere.
- Try one of Saanich’s free family events.
- Catch a Stars and Strollers first-run movie (with baby!) at SilverCity Victoria.
- Pick out a cute, vintage comic book at Legends Comics or pack of Pokemon cards at Curious Comics.
- Go for a kids’ tea at Crumsby’s Cupcake Cafe, walk among the old-fashioned tudor buildings in Oak Bay, then dip your toes in the ocean at one of the Oak Bay beaches.
- Challenge your child to identify the animals on the totem poles in the Thunderbird Park, east of the Royal BC Museum.
- Bring binoculars to spot Caddie (Cadborosarus) in the waters off Vancouver Island.
- Sit inside the second-story, luxe lounge area at the Fairmont Empress hotel and people-watch new hotel arrivals (don’t forget to make up silly stories about each one).
- Reflect in the gothic-style Christ Church Cathedral or the stained-glass gorgeous St Andrew’s Cathedral.
- Walk along Ogden Point breakwater. Stare up at the giant cruise ships or look down and watch divers surface.
- Make a splash at the Beckwith “frog pond” splash feature in Saanich.
- Drive or hike up Mount Douglas, where you can look out over the city and out to Washington State’s Olympic Mountain Range.