More British than Britain, Victoria has a lot to live up to. Leading US travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler has voted it one of the world's top-ten cities to visit, and world number one for ambience and environment. And it's not named after a queen and an era for nothing. Victoria has gone to town in serving up lashings of fake Victoriana and chintzy commercialism: tearooms, Union Jacks, bagpipers, pubs and ersatz echoes of empire confront you at every turn.

Nicknamed the Garden City for Butchart Gardens and much greenspace, Victoria is also said to lie within the world's most northern Mediterranean climate at a latitude of 48.5 North.