Hide Out in the Central Library Atrium

Willow Stream Spa inside the Fairmont Empress: fireplace, harbour view, two therapists, one mineral pool, zero reasons to care about the weather.

Victoria Film Festival's single-screen cinema on Douglas, where beer is served, most screenings are 19+, and the film has actual soul.

A Turkish-craft studio on Broad Street where you press coloured glass into a lamp for a couple of hours, then take the glowing thing home.

On the Sidney waterfront, the makers of colour-shifting Empress 1908 Gin hand you bitters and garnishes and let you play bartender.

Three heated adults-only mineral pools at the Boathouse Spa, a eucalyptus steam room, a stargazing sauna, and Mount Baker filling the horizon across the strait.

UVic's repertory cinema since 1971, cheap tickets, locally famous popcorn, and films the multiplex wouldn't touch with a pole.

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

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

Seventy-plus shops, a Purdys Chocolatier, and a food terrace with skyline views to wait out the rain in downtown style.

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

A decades-loved Broughton Street sushi bar where two counter seats and the word 'omakase' is all the plan you need.

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 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.