Tucked-Away Afternoon at Gonzales Bay

Seventy-six acres of rare Garry oak meadow in Oak Bay, with unsigned paths, April camas and flat rocks at the water.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Canada's oldest Chinatown, a freshly restored 12-metre dragon gate glowing at dusk, and stone lions from Suzhou. Worth every cent of zero.

A tiny seaside village wharf, the glassy calm of Saanich Inlet, and a 25-minute ferry you do nothing but watch. Free.

The sunset Victorians quietly beg you not to put on a list, from a 1914 observatory perch only locals know.