Chocolate and Churches: A Food and History Tour of Downtown Victoria

(14 reviews)

Victoria, BC audio tour: Chocolate and Churches: A Food and History Tour of Downtown Victoria

This is a 1.5mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Victoria, BC

Canada

$9.99

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About the Tour

Victoria’s rich chocolate heritage and historic charm comes to life on this decadent and informative walking tour. Perfect for chocolate lovers and history enthusiasts alike, this walking tour takes you to some of the city’s most historic landmarks and churches. There are plenty of opportunities to treat yourself to delicious chocolate from some of my local favourites, beyond the tourist destinations.

The tour starts at the Steamship Terminal Building along the inner harbor and winds its way through the downtown core, where you’ll find bustling local streets like Government Street. I’ll show you magnificent ecclesiastical buildings like Christ Church Cathedral, one of Canada’s largest churches, which offers a fascinating look into the city’s spiritual history.

You’ll have a chance to visit the castle of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, built with money from Vancouver Island’s most famous coal baron. The tour ends at Chocolat & Co, an innovative co-op where three industry-leading chocolatiers share a working space.

This tour’s highlights include:

Marvelling at the size of Christ Church Cathedral and discovering its connection to Winston Churchill
Sampling the cold brew coffee-containing Shaft cocktail at Bard & Banker, originally popular among late-night service staff, now a sophisticated classic
Delighting in chocolate, bourbon, and pecan tart at Crust Bakery, the city’s favorite
Admiring the priceless collection of indigenous art inside St. Andrew’s Catholic, with its Gothic Revival style architecture
Visiting Victoria’s oldest chocolate shop, Rogers’ Chocolates

This 75-minute walking tour offers the perfect blend of sweet treats, history, and culture, showcasing the best of Victoria’s history and local hangouts. Whether you’re visiting for the first time or rediscovering your city, this Victoria walking tour promises an unforgettable experience.

Please note that foodie samples are not included in the price of the tour, however, at some locations, you will get discounts! See Tips below.

Tour Producer

Bonnie Todd

3 tours

Hello my fellow foodies and history buffs! I'm Bonnie Todd and I am the founder and owner of Off The Eaten Track, an award-winning tour company that creates exceptional culinary experiences in Victoria, BC. I have been a tour guide for over 20 years and I love showcasing the fascinating history and unique culinary culture of the city. I am also a foodie journalist and a restaurant judge so I know my stuff when it comes to food in our city. I hope you enjoy my tours, it's like having a local foodie in our pocket!

Preview Location

Location 1

Welcome & Steamship Terminal

Hello and welcome to the Chocolate & Churches Tour. My name is Bonnie Todd. I have been a tour guide in British Columbia since 2009 and I'm the owner of Off The Eaten Track Tours. I started the company back in 2012 with the goal of showcasing the culinary culture of the city a... Hello and welcome to the Chocolate & Churches Tour. My name is Bonnie Todd. I have been a tour guide in British Columbia since 2009 and I'm the owner of Off The Eaten Track Tours. I started the company back in 2012 with the goal of showcasing the culinary culture of the city and taking guests to some of my favourite places to eat, usually hard to find small businesses. I am also a foodie writer and restaurant judge and I love this beautiful city. On this tour you are going to learn a lot about our beautiful historic churches and we will be recommending some of the best chocolate treats in the city. Victoria has a long history with chocolate, dating back to the 1880s when Charles Rogers opened the first chocolate shop on Government street. You will be visiting this iconic shop later in the tour. From master chocolatiers to bean-to-bar chocolate makers, Victoria is a haven for talented chocolate makers and we are going to take you to some of our favorite chocolate shops and bakeries.

I would like to acknowledge that this tour takes place on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen people, now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations.

Let's get started. You are standing at The Steamship Terminal Building. If you visited Victoria in the 1980s and 90s you may remember this building as the Wax Museum. In fact, it was the first Madame Tussauds outside of the UK and it opened in 1970. I loved visiting the museum when I was a kid, I particularly loved the torture chamber machines that they displayed in the basement. Before it was displaying gruesome figures and replicas of the royal family, this was where luxurious steamships run by the Canadian Pacific Railway would dock.

It was built in 1925 and was designed by Sir Francis Rattenbury, the same person that also designed the Legislature Building as well as the Empress Hotel. The CPR established a trans-pacific steamship route in the late 1880s and Victoria was a desirable tourist destination, even back then. Rattenbury used the Greek god of the ocean Poseidon as his muse and in fact, you can see Posiedon’s face on many of the outside columns.

When completed, the terminal’s reception area featured 17-foot ceilings, a grand central fireplace, marbled waiting rooms and floor-to-ceiling windows with spectacular views of passing ships. The rise of air travel and the creation of BC Ferries caused the steamships to end their services in the late 1950s.

The museum closed in 2010 when the building was slated to undergo a massive refurbishing plan for seismic upgrades. What happened to all those wax figures? They were sold off to other museums but more than 200 pieces ended up in the private home of Ken Lane, the museum manager for more than 50 years.

Be sure to come inside the building and find the Off The Eaten Track gift shop. We moved in to this building in 2021 and we have a small gift shop where we carry locally made products, including some local chocolate bars. You get 15% off anything in the shop and we also have a free foodie sample for you to try.

Before we get going, let me briefly explain how VoiceMap works.

It uses your location to play audio automatically at the right time and place. This means you can put your phone away now. Don't worry if I'm silent for a while when I'm not giving directions or telling stories. There's a map on your screen if you ever feel lost, and if you do get way off track without noticing, VoiceMap will let you know.

When you are done with this stop, leave the building and start walking along Belleville Street. The water will be on your left and the impressive Legislature building will be across the street. I'll stop you shortly to chat more about the Legislature building. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Steamship Terminal
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Emily Carr Statue
Fairmont Empress
Tea at The Empress
Destination Greater Victoria Visitor Centre
Rogers' Chocolates
Chocolats Favoris
Bard & Banker
Flourish BeauTea
Bon Macaron Patisserie
St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Christ Church Cathedral
La Taquisa
St. Andrew's Cathedral
Italian Food Imports
Dutch Bakery & Diner
Crust Bakery
Chocolat & Co

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
470 Belleville St., Victoria, BC V8V 1X3, Canada
Total distance

2km
Final location
703 Fort St, Victoria, BC V8W 1G9, Canada
Distance back to start location

581.02m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts at the Steamship Terminal Building at 470 Belleville Street, located along the waterfront, across the street from the Hotel Grand Pacific.

DISCOUNTS:
We partner with a few of the locations on the tour. Just show the staff that you are attending the tour and you will get a discount at the following stops:
1. Flourish BeauTea
2. Bon macaron
3. Crust Bakery
4. The Dutch Bakery
5. Chocolat & Co
6. Off The Eaten Track Gift Shop

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

We will be taking you to our favourite chocolate shops as well as pointing out a few of our favourite local shops as well. We suggest giving yourself some time to stop and shop along the way, it's a perfect tour to purchase local gifts.

Best time of day

You can do the tour any time of the day. I recommend quite a few shops on the way that are usually open between 10 am to 5 pm but you can always go back there later. Personally, I think that it's best to do the tour in the first half of the day when the bakeries are at their fullest!

Precautions

You will be outside for at least 1.5 hours so dress accordingly and wear good shoes. We suggest bringing a bag for goodies you may purchase and some small change for donations inside the churches.

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