The West Bay Walkway

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Free-roaming peacocks, ornamental ponds, stone bridges and a hilltop view of the Olympics, five minutes from downtown Victoria.

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

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