Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

We arrived on a Saturday so the only public access to the building was on this free guided tour. The guide was fantastic but one of the security guards that kept an eye on us was quite rude. He basically singled my toddler out for being too loud, even though the other people were speaking at around the same volume. He threaten to kick us out we if do not keep her quiet. Our toddler was not bothering anyone and we tried to keep her as quiet as possible. Actually, there were people in the tour that were much louder than my toddler at one time and the security guard did not do anything about it until I intentionally turned around and looked at him in the eye see if he was gonna do anything about it. This security guard ruined the visit for us. By the way another security guard had no problem with our toddler’s ‘noises’.

Beautiful building! After visiting the museum next door we strolled over to visit the Parliament building. We wanted to take a tour (the tours are about 30 minutes long and are offered quite frequently) but decided not to after overhearing a woman say she had a party of 20 for the next available tour! You’re only allowed on the first 2 floors and it’s not a huge building so we took a self guided tour instead. It would have been nice to have heard the tour guides as I’m sure they are quite knowledgeable. The outside of the building and the rotunda were my favorite. Viewing the building from the outside, far enough away so you see it from end to end is spectacular. The rotunda is beautiful, the details are wonderful. Some of the details reminded me of my visit to the Library of Congress in D.C.

This is the most prominent landmark in downtown Victoria! If you are driving through the Inner Harbor, you definitely can’t miss this majestic legislative building that parallels with the U.S. Congress Building. While you can walk in the building for free, the biggest attraction has to be its impressive exterior, beautiful «front yard», and terrific overview of the harbor!
Aside from seeing its full glory at daytime, don’t miss out its illuminated beauty at nightime too.
The building is open to public during normal business hours. However, despite its massive size, only a relatively small portion of the interior is accessible. Inside you will see that even the rotunda artwork is as meticulously detailed as the artwork outside and the ornate paintings throughout the building. To get the most out of your visit inside, join the free guided tour. Like I said though, it’s the outside that really matters anyway!

This was one of the highlights of our 3 days in Victoria, B.C.
We were staying at the Hotel Grand Pacific, just a block away. So, we wandered over.
Why 5 stars?
1. The building is BEAUTIFUL and very well maintained.
2. This is a great way to learn about Canadian history.
3. The tour guide was fantastic. In addition, a thespian portraying Francis Rattenbury (the architect of the building) made a guest appearance and really brought history alive. His personal life was chock-​a-​block full of scandal, including an illicit affair and murder, similar to the Evelyn Nesbit — Harry Thaw — Stanford White (also an architect) affair in the early 1900s.
4. The tour is free!
It was great fun!

This is a great attraction in Victoria. Very informative and historic. There are tours on the hour, as well as self-​guide books if you want to stroll by yourself. I learned a lot here — it’s a must-​see on the island.

I am not particularly interested in learning how government works but my wife was interested in doing a tour of Victoria’s Parliament Building. The exterior of the building is quite gorgeous and was designed during a contest in the 19^th century. Every hour, on the hour there are free tours and had to wait about 10 minutes for the next one. While we were waiting there was a young man in period clothing talking to some people on the Parliament steps. I didn’t really pay attention to what he was doing and just waited around for the tour to start.
The tour was very interesting. There are beautiful pieces of art inside made of stained glass, paintings, mosaics… all with a story about why there were there. The tour guide was informative and interesting and kept things going without dragging on about anything for too long. When we got to the legislative (?) room things went up a level when that same guy in the period clothing came, introduced himself as James Douglass (an important historical figure in Victoria), and gave us his autobiography and some history of Victoria. The dude was kind of amazing. After talking for about 5 minutes he disappeared and the tour carried on.
The whole tour lasted about a half hour and my wife and I decided to have a sat outside. James Douglass saw us from across half the building and came over just to chat. He was so pleasant and was still just on it. (Brother did not lose character one bit). He bade us a good stay as a family sitting near us asked him to do a photo with them. My wife asked if I wanted to do that too and I said no. That ended up being my big regret of my stay in Victoria. Should have said yes. BUT, the guy was so memorable I don’t think I will ever forget it.

Must See attraction. Best of all, tour is free. I went on 08/​01/​2014, around 4:15 pm.
They offer guided tour starts in front of the building every 30 minutes ending at 5 pm. This building has FULL OF HISTORY and you must see the inside. You can see it was very EXPENSIVE building during that time.
It seats in front of Beautiful Lawn and front of the Harbor. Few steps away from the Black Ball Ferry Terminal and Fairmont Empress Hotel (Another must see from the outside).
I love Victoria, BC. and this made my trip more memorable…

We saw this beautiful building on our walk from the cruise ship to downtown Victoria and we just had to stop and stare. It is a great spot for pictures. I also hear that they have a tour of the building, but we did not have enough time for it. I definitely recommend stopping here and taking in the beauty. We also happened to be there as a military parade came by, which was great to witness, it definitely added to the experience.

Great place to tour. Lots of history for all you history buffs. They offer free guided tour several times a day. The schedule is posted in the front desk. Even without the tour you will have a good experience exploring it. The staff is friendly and helpful.

Very beautiful! The tour was excellent and surprisingly free, and the tour guide was beautiful.
Can’t believe the architect was only 25

It is a beautiful building. It was closed (on the weekends) when we came so we could only walk around the outside for free. At night time in December, the building is decorated with lights and looks beautiful.

Tasteful (and free) tour of the building. Wished I could’ve seen the inside of the Assembly room (like I’ve seen in Sacramento, Olympia, and Washington, DC).
Kudos for the surprise visit by the (actor playing the) architect!
Tours available 7 days (though you can’t stroll around on your own on weekends).

The tour is free (every half hour) and the building is at least worth a second look, so why not? A particular surprise was an appearance by the long dead Queen Victoria, looking quite sprightly considering. The actress portraying her did a fine job addressing her «subjects» and managing to work in a great deal of material about the times and the building. She also later met us in the Rose Garden, which is a wonder and worth seeing on its own (you don’t need to take the tour to do so).
You can’t miss the building if you are anywhere near the center of Victoria, and why would you want to? Just do it. You won’t be sorry. Probably.

This is definitely worth a look if you are in Victoria! The building is gorgeous, and if you were interested in all things government, you would probably love it! We didn’t take the free guided tour, but instead just explored the place ourselves, which was probably just as good. I enjoyed it, and it’s a must see in Victoria.

Equivalent to a state capitol (for us Americans), the Parliament building is where the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia meet to make & pass law. The building is beautiful (architected by the same guy that did the Empress Hotel) when he was only 25 years old!
During weekdays, they have a FREE tour every 30 minutes which last about 45 minutes. I thought the tour was very informative, complemented by a period actress trying to get us into the history of BC. I think it was very well done.
If you think that’s too short, they also let you wander around by yourself equipped with a guide book they lend you.
I wish all the state capitols in US have this kind of service!

THE BEST 8TH GRADE CIVICS LESSON EVER!
The British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The Neo-​Baroque buildings face North on the Inner Harbour and diagonally across from The Empress Hotel. A statue of Queen Victoria stands on the front lawn as well a statue of a soldier to commemorate the Province’s World War I, World War II and Korean War dead. Atop the central dome is a gold-​covered statue of Captain George Vancouver.
From 1856 to 1860 the Legislature of the Colony of Vancouver Island met at Bachelor’s Hall at Fort Victoria. From 1860 to 1898 it was housed in the first permanent building at Legislative Hall, a drafty and leaking wooden building known colloquially as «The Birdcages» because of their shape.
The Province then engaged in an architectural completion to replace the The Birdcages with a new signature Legislative building. Francis Rattenbury, a recent English immigrant (and only 25 years old), entered the contest and signed his drawings with the pseudonym «A B.C. Architect». He progressed to the second round, signing his drawing «For Queen and Province» and eventually won the competition.
Despite many problems, including coming in at $ 923,000 against the original budget of $ 500,000, the BC Parliament Buildings began operation officially in 1898. The grand scale of its 500-​ft long andesite façade, central dome and two end pavilions, the richness of its white marble, and combination of Baroque rigorous symmetry, use of domes and sculptural massing with the rusticated surfaces of the then popular Romanesque Revival style, contributed to it being the most innovative and impressive monument for the young Province.
Its success garnered Rattenbury many more commissions in Victoria and other parts of the province, including the Legislative Library, the design of The Empress Hotel, the Crystal Gardens indoor swimming pool nearby, and the Vancouver Court House (now the Vancouver Art Gallery).
I love visiting State capitols, with California, Iowa, Minnesota, and others under my belt. In Canada, I only have the Yukon Territory Legislative Assembly Building in Whitehorse as a reference. Here’s what Gayle and I loved about our visit to the BC Legislative/​Parliament Buildings:
— Security — Can you believe that we could just walk right in without going through a metal detector? There were of course security personnel in all the strategic places, and we felt welcome and professionally looked after the entire time.
— Beautiful Grounds. The brochure also features a nice outdoor walking tour route to takes you to all sides of the Complex.
— Activity. We didn’t see any Weddings, but during our Victoria Day Weekend, there were a lot of talented High School Bands playing on the front steps.
— Guided Tour. Our Host was Rachel who did a most excellent job showing off this treasure inside and out. An added bonus was the young actor (part of the Parliamentary Players) that played Francis Rattenbury, and engaged our group with stories of his architectural efforts and his personal life.
— Inside Architecture. We loved the Dome, the Legislative Chamber, and other distinct touches.
— Outside Architecture. The Buildings are simply stunning and even more lit up at night.
And it’s all Free. This was one of the signature highlights of our trip, and woe be to any resident, tourist, or other visitor that passes up the chance to experience this civic jewel.

Free tour and a great stop for us uneducated American tourists.
The tour guide was friendly and informed. I got ask her a bunch of pressing questions about this great country. And, I got a education about the Canadian Government. Good times all around.

The architectural marvel that is the historic Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, was officially opened in 1898.
The Parliament Buildings offer free of charge, 30 min guided tours or do your own self guided tour! No public parking available, just street and pay parking lots. Download the self guided tour PDF in different languages:
On weekends and holidays visitors must join a guided tour in order to enter the Parliament Buildings. Ask the tour guides for a free ticket to the next available public tour at the front of the building. Guided tours depart several times per hour from the front steps of the Parliament Buildings.
Without going into deep detail, you have the public galleries, the gift shop and the dining room:
Public galleries: observe proceedings from the Public Galleries when the Legislative Assembly is sitting (subject to space availability). The entrance to the Public Galleries is located on the third floor of the Parliament Buildings. Gallery seats are available on a first-​come, first-​served basis. Visitors must pass through security entering. Bags, backpacks, cameras, notepads, cell phones and all other electronic devices are not permitted and must be checked at the security before entering. Link to their calendar and hours:
Legislative Gift Shop: specialty items, ornaments, stationary, jewlery, knicknacks and the like.
Dining room: breakfast, lunch or dessert is served. To eat in the Legislative Dining Room, you have to get a visitor pass from the Legislative Security Desk, located by the main entrance.
Things to note during your tour: stained glass windows, the marble rotunda, paintings and portraits of Queen Elizabeth, terrazo flooring, and the Legistlative chambers.

Took a quick self-​guided tour of the building. It is a really neat place. My pre-​teen daughter loved seeing all the stained glass windows and all the other areas open to the public. We weren’t able to take a formal tour, but it is cool to see the inside of this beautiful place.

My review is in two parts. One part as the Legislature the government building and the other is the dining hall.
The legislature itself is absolutely gorgeous. The buildings as they appear now, opened in 1898 after the previous buildings, known as the bird cages, burnt down. Designed by Francis Rattenbury (who built the Empress, the old Vancouver Courthouse (which is now the Art Gallery), the CPR building in Victoria (old Wax museum), among other buildings) they were completed for under a million dollars at the time.
The inside has been completely restored to its original marble and stone and is absolutely gorgeous. If you aren’t from BC I highly recommend a tour and to spend some time around the building admiring its architecture.
If you work in the building, you may be tempted to go to the dining hall. I would avoid it as much as humanly possible. But, if you find yourself needing some grub here’s what I recommend:
The oatmeal — it’s a hardy breakfast
The fries — get them to go, for about $ 4 you get your weight in decent fries.
The veggie melt — I suggest this or the Turkey Sandwich only if you are very hung over.
I would suggest avoiding anything «ethnic.» Rumor has it there’s salsa on the falafel.
The building is beautiful, the grounds are very well kept, and it’s a great place to have a picnic in the summer.