Recommendations for eating/shopping in Victoria?

[Luvcrusin']

We will be in Victoria for one day. As women ( 3 of us escaping our families for 6 days!) we love to shop & dine out. We have plans to visit the gardens, but any other ideas are welcome.

 

Thanks!

[c-to-sea]

See my reply on your other thread about Butchart Gardens. Suggest you stay there

for lunch. The dining room is very good. If you are still hungry when you return to

downtown, afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel is very popular.

Alternative ideas - the Empress Hotel Bengal Lounge serves a beautiful, authentic

curry buffet for lunch. There are also a lot of theme pubs downtown - English, Irish, etc.

Again, have a look at http://www.tourismvictoria.com/

 

With a 6pm departure, you will probably be having dinner on the ship.

[Sharby]

The Butchart Gardens tour will undoubtedly take several hours and should you want to eat out there, as the previous poster has said, the food is good. A description of the food service is on the website:

http://www.butchartgardens.com/main.php

 

If you are in the Inner Harbour area (easily reachable by a short taxi ride or you could walk it in 15 minutes from the port) I wouldn't recommend the Empress for anything other than a stroll through as the tea is now ridiculously overpriced. If you want a nice lunch on the Inner Harbour - I would recommend Milestones.

http://www.milestonesrestaurants.com/menus.html

 

If you want a cheap - but fun lunch. Take a cab - or walk to Fisherman's Wharf (about 1/2 way between where the ship docks and the Inner Harbour) to "Barb's Place" which is on the Fisherman's Wharf Dock. It's a little dock and it's neighbours are houseboats.

http://www.lifecyclesproject.ca/food_directory/?q=node/view/254

At Barb's Place, you will order fish and chips etc. and eat them on the wharf - at picnic tables with other strangers. Fun! And coming right into the wharf - every few minutes will be

http://www.harbourferry.com/

Yes, cute little harbour ferries. It's about $5 to take one of these little ferries on a "hop" (tours are more, but you don't have to take a tour). After lunch, you can take a "hop" downtown to the Inner Harbour. Or you can take a little harbour ferry from the Inner Harbour to Fisherman's Wharf, get off at Fisherman's Wharf. Ask at Barb's Place - or any local - how to walk across the field and proceed along Dallas Road back to the cruise ship port (an easy 10 minute walk). If you're afraid you'll get lost, take a taxi.

 

I'll get back to you on shopping, if you let me know what specifically you are looking for in the way of shopping. Clothes, gifts,?