Hipfig Travel Channel offers DIY Travel Video Guides for more than 25 cities in
Asia, US, and Canada. If you like this video then subscribe, give us a thumbs up, or a comment!
Welcome to Hipfig's Video Guide Series on Victoria, British Columbia.
In this DIY video, we'll be showing you the B.C. Parliament Buildings.
We'll show you how to get there and how to to tour it. So stay tuned....
The British Columbia parliament buildings are homes to the Legislative
Assembly of British Columbia. The B.C. Parliament building, with its
152 meter long facade, a central dome, and 2 end pavilions make these
buildings impressively beautiful. The buildings are located in the Inner
Harbor area at 501 Belleville Street near the Empress Hotel and B.C. Museum. If
you're driving, you can find metered parking on the street or you can go to
public parking garages or at the Victoria Conference Centre which is
underneath the Empress hotel. If your hotel is in the Inner Harbor area, you
can walk to it easily; just look for the big Canadian flag and the statue of Queen
Victoria. To get to the B.C. parliament building by B.C. transit bus, go on the B.C.
transit website and click on the trip planner for your best route and times. If
your hotel is near Douglas Street, you can take bus number 50 and exit at
southbound government at Belleville or you can take bus number 70 and exit at
Legislative Terminus Bay C or bus number 27 or 28 and exit at Legislative Terminus Bay E.
There are several activities you can do while you're here. On weekdays:
guided tours begin from the waiting area inside of the main entrance and are
offered regularly throughout the day except on weekends. On weekends you go to
the left of the main entrance and there you will see a stand giving out reserved
tickets for guided tours. On weekdays you can join a free public tour from 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or you can take your own self-guided tour from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. On weekends and holidays visitors must join a free public tour in
order to enter the Parliament building. Tours are available between the hours of
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Guided tours are offered in English and
French and will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Before entering into the
building, you will go through security. The Legislative Assembly is a working
building so please talk quietly while inside the Parliament building. Food and
drinks are not permitted in the building but you can visit the parliamentary
dining room for a break. It's open from Monday to Friday for breakfast and lunch.
Use the ground-level Mowatt entrance. A valid photo identification is required
for entrance to the dining room. You can also visit the legislative library and
gift shop. Another interesting thing to do here is to observe parliamentary
proceedings from the public galleries when the Legislative Assembly is in
session. The public galleries are open 30 minutes before the beginning of each
legislative sitting and visitor seats are assigned on a first-come
first-served basis. Legislative seatings generally run from Monday through
Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 and then 1:30 to about 6 p.m. The entrance to the
public galleries is located on the third floor of the parliament buildings.
Visitors must go through security before entering the public galleries; bags,
backpacks, cameras, notepad, cell phones, and all other electronic devices are not
permitted and will be checked in at the security station before entering. In your
visit you may also find free music concerts and events which are held on
the front lawn of the buildings to celebrate special occasions like B.C. 150.
Be sure to walk or drive by in the evenings to see the buildings
illuminated at night. This attraction will take an hour and more depending on
your interest and you can combine it with the nearby B.C. Museum.
Happy Travels!
Go to hipfig.com for more information or go to our Hipfig
Travel Channel on YouTube and be sure to subscribe for regular updates!