Garry Oaks and Cattle Point at Uplands Park

Pale sand, shallow water, Mount Baker across the strait, and a volunteer-run 1950s soft-serve hut nearby for when you've earned it.

A flat paved shoreline path from the West Bay marina toward downtown, with float planes overhead and otters on the rocks.

A free 6.5-acre rhododendron garden on the UVic campus, where the most expensive thing is a couple of dollars for parking.

A sheltered sandy bay with a climbable concrete sea monster, a zip line, and views to the Olympics. Free and childproof.

A sheltered crescent cove, views to the Olympic Mountains, and the smug pleasure of a beach most visitors never find. Free.

The Galloping Goose Trail, a long wooden trestle over the Gorge Waterway, and golden hour doing exactly what it should.

Victoria's Saturday farmers' market in Fairfield, with a busker, a market dog, and the constant internal debate about the jam.

A secret spiral staircase, a rocky cove almost nobody else shows up to, and all the driftwood logs you need.

The Parliament Buildings light up, a unicyclist might be there, and it costs nothing to watch Victoria show off.

Victoria's best postcard view of downtown, from the wrong side of the harbour, at the exact right time of day.

Langford's warm swimming lake, with a lifeguarded beach, a long dock and picnic tables under old willows, minutes off Goldstream Avenue.

Soft sand facing Discovery Island and Mount Baker, a promenade for strolling and paddleboards for falling off together.

Victoria's Parliament Buildings flip on 3,000-plus light bulbs at dusk, and you get to just stand there with ice cream.

Two completely different waterscapes on one thin strip of sand, swans on one side, Olympics on the other, and it's free.