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Royal BC Museum, Victoria, BC
MuseumsIconicHistory BuffFamily Favorite

Royal BC Museum

675 Belleville St, Victoria, BC V8W 9W2 · Victoria, BC

Why you should go…

The Royal BC Museum is a history and natural history museum in Victoria, British Columbia, founded in 1886. It holds a collection of more than seven million items spanning the province's natural and human history, including Indigenous cultures. The museum sits in the Inner Harbour next to the BC Legislature and received its royal title in 1987.

  • #museum
  • #history
  • #culture
  • #family
  • #indigenous

Good to know

General museums guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Check the special exhibition separately

    Touring shows usually carry their own ticket and their own opening hours, listed apart from general admission.

  • Look for the free window

    Many museums run community days, member evenings, or discounted late openings. It is worth a look before you pay full price.

  • Travel light through the door

    Large bags and backpacks often have to go to a coat check, and lines for it move slowly at opening.

  • Weekday mornings beat weekend afternoons

    School groups clear out by early afternoon midweek, while weekends stay busy from late morning on.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Royal BC Museum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    Outdoor Adventure

    Pedego Electric Bikes Victoria

    $50+

    Rent an e-bike or join a guided ride from Ogden Point along Victoria's coastline, through Beacon Hill Park and past landmarks.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Miniature World

    Under $25

    More than 85 miniature dioramas and model railways inside the Fairmont Empress on Victoria's Inner Harbour, from 1880s dollhouses to space scenes.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Tours
    Outdoor Adventure

    Prince of Whales

    $50+

    Whale and marine wildlife boat tours departing from Victoria and Vancouver in search of orcas and humpbacks.

    0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Museums
    Historic

    Craigdarroch Castle

    Under $25

    Victorian-era mansion of coal baron Robert Dunsmuir in Victoria, a National Historic Site restored to show 1890s life over four floors and 87 stairs.

    1.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    BC Forest Discovery Centre

    Under $25

    A 100-acre open-air forestry museum in Duncan with narrow-gauge train rides, 1930s logging-camp buildings, a Ranger Station and forest and marsh trails.

    29 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    Hand of Man Museum

    Under $25

    Donation-based natural history and cultural arts museum in a former Maple Bay school, with a woolly mammoth skeleton and artifacts from around the world.

    30 mi awayMore like this