Fairmont Empress: Victoria Travel Guide (4.6★)

A château on the harbour wall

The Empress fills the head of Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Canadian Pacific Railway opened it in 1908 to bring steamship passengers to the island. Its architect was Francis Rattenbury, who had already designed the BC Parliament Buildings next door. Together the two buildings make the harbour skyline you see on postcards.

The style is Canadian railway château: steep copper roofs, dormers, and stonework rising behind a lawn that slopes down to the water. The hotel is a designated National Historic Site of Canada. Today it runs as a Fairmont with upscale rooms, a spa and an indoor pool, but most visitors come for the building itself.

Getting there and where to stand

The hotel sits at 721 Government St, so you can walk to it from anywhere downtown.

• From the Victoria Clipper (Seattle): the terminal is on Belleville St, a short walk along the harbour.
• From BC Ferries at Swartz Bay: follow Highway 17 south into downtown, about 30 km.
• By seaplane: Harbour Air lands in the Inner Harbour, almost in front of the hotel.

The classic photo is from the lower causeway on the harbour side, with the facade above the water. Cross to the Parliament lawn for a wider frame that takes in both Rattenbury buildings.

Inside: tea, gin and the lobby

Afternoon tea in the Lobby Lounge is the Empress ritual. Tiered stands of sandwiches, scones and pastries arrive with loose-leaf tea. The hotel has served tea for over a century, and it is the reason most non-guests book a table.

Look for the indigo Empress 1908 Gin at the bar. Victoria Distillers named it after the hotel, and butterfly pea flower gives it the colour, which turns pink when tonic goes in. Q at the Empress is the hotel’s main restaurant if you want a full meal instead.

Making tea at the Empress work

The Empress is busy year-round with tour groups and cruise passengers, so treat it as a place to plan for, not a place to drop into.

• Book tea online, early. Summer and December weekends fill up first. The current price is listed on the Fairmont website when you book.
• Dress smart casual. Beachwear and athletic gear are out of place in the lounge.
• Pay by card. It’s normal in Canada to add a tip of about 15–20% for table service.
• Be quiet in the lobby. Hotel guests are checking in around you, so take your photos and keep moving.
• Go early or late in the day. Cruise passengers usually reach the harbour from late morning, so mornings and evenings tend to be calmer around the hotel.

The Royal BC Museum and Thunderbird Park, with its totem poles, are across Belleville St from the hotel. The Parliament Buildings are lit with outline bulbs after dark, and the view of them from the Empress side of the harbour is worth staying out for.