Secret Stairs Down to Spiral Beach

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 cliff-edge gravel loop in Esquimalt with wind-shaped firs, a sneaky gravel cove and the Olympic Mountains straight ahead.