Laidback gem

If you are looking for innovative, avant-garde cuisine, you will find little of it in Victoria. Don’t bother about Asian food either. Unlike in Richmond and Toronto, there isn’t a big Asian community, so the handful of Chinese restaurants isn’t worth visiting. (You can skip the city’s small Chinatown district too.) Instead, Victoria’s restaurants are mainly traditional with a heavy European influence. One of the stalwarts of the dining scene is the English afternoon tea at The Fairmont Empress Hotel. The daily ritual of scones, pastries and teas has been an ongoing tradition since 1908. With its vintage tapestries and furnishings, the lounge is like a trip back in time.