Set Your Intention: A Guide to Wellness in Victoria
Intention: A Wellness Getaway
From January 5-18, Victoria’s calm coastal charm and relaxing Island pace set the scene for a two-week wellness journey designed to help you create your intention for the year ahead. Explore practices that align with your wellness goals, affirm the habits that will shape your year, and build a foundation of positive rituals that inspire meaningful change.
Movement & Mindfulness
Connect with nature on a scenic seaside trail or ground yourself in the present through a guided meditation. Movement and mindfulness are about nourishing your spirit with practices that uplift, restore, and reenergize you in all the ways that matter most.
Trails & Tranquility
Greater Victoria’s lush coastal rainforest has drawn visitors from around the world. With powerful waterfalls, beachside trails, and sweeping coastal views all within minutes from the city, there’s endless adventure for outdoor enthusiasts. Get lost beachcombing along tidal pools and sea caves with Island Trails Eco Tours, or wander beneath towering Sitka and Fir trees with Rainforest Tours. For our spiritual souls, slow things down with a mindful walk at the Malahat SkyWalk, as you take in the sights, sounds, and scents of our coastal rainforest. Come discover why we’re so proud to call this slice of the world home.
Moments of Mindfulness
Take a moment to ground yourself in the present. Victoria has an abundance of breathwork, meditation, and mindful practices to help you reconnect with your best self. Catherine, who has taught wellness all over the world, leads popular breathwork classes designed to help release old narratives, explore inner-child healing, and transform the emotions that you are ready to acknowledge and work through. For a deeply calming experience, enjoy a guided meditation featuring singing bowls and gentle chimes. Drift, offers a 60-minute guided floating sound meditation where sound waves move through the water and your body. This unique practice is designed to release tension and restore your sense of calm.
Learn & Grow
Victoria’s vibrant art scene offers art classes and workshops for all ages and skill levels, giving you the chance to explore your creative spirit and take home a memorable, hand-crafted work of art.
Wellness Through Art
Let art be your gateway into self-expression! Emily Carr House invites you inside a national historic site for a series of art workshops designed to explore emotions in a healthy, cathartic way. From watercolour paintings to writing workshops, you’ll have the opportunity to peak into the corners of ourselves we often forget to nurture. Design your own canvas tote at LURE’s Restaurant & Bar’s Art Night as you blend mindfulness and artistic expression. Begin with breathwork and grounding meditation led by Sit with Us Counselling & Art Therapy, before using paints and reflective prompts that spark personal insight and inspiration.
Craft & Create
Sometimes the best therapy can be a knitting circle with your closest friends. Beehive Wool Shop hosts an array of knitting and fibre arts workshops for all skill levels, where you can make felt slippers, top-down socks, or cozy mittens to keep you warm this winter. If you’re looking for colourful touches to your home decor, Wychbury Ave Soaps & Gifts offers custom-scented bath bomb, soap-making, and candle-making classes. For those like me who love treasure hunting along the shores, the Maritime Museum of British Columbia’s Sea Glass Jewelry Workshop helps you turn those beachcombing finds into beautiful jewelry that captures the magic of our sea.
Nourish
Delicately crafted cuisine, tasty tours of Victoria’s culinary scene, and cooking classes that will have you impressing even the pickiest of eaters. Who said wellness can’t involve a little indulgence?
Food for the Soul
I’m a foodie at heart, and nothing fills my soul more than the first bite of an elegantly prepared amouse-bouche. A close second? The first sip of a Dark ‘n’ Stormy on a well-deserved vacation. If you're already salivating, you’re in luck. During Intention, visitors and locals can enjoy a five-course, long-table dinner courtesy of LURE Restaurant & Bar’s Executive Chef, Curtis Toth. Mingle with fellow foodies, savour exquisite dishes, and take in the breathtaking views of Victoria’s Inner Harbour. For a true taste of Victoria, The Arbutus Room offers a three-course menu featuring ingredients sourced almost entirely from local Saanich farms, just a few kilometres from the heart of the city.
Culinary Adventures
Looking to capture the best of Victoria’s award-winning culinary scene? Food tours in Victoria are your one-stop shop for tasty bites, splendid sips, and a handful of new friends along the way. Off The Eaten Track’s Vegan Comfort Foodie Tour tells the story of Victoria’s culture and history through food, stopping at hidden local gems along the way. Meanwhile, A Taste of Victoria Food Tours takes you through historic Chinatown, Old Town, and the Inner Harbour, highlighting restaurants that focus on sustainable, locally sourced ingredients.
Bites & Sips
You’ll want to save these recipes! Victoria’s food classes let you learn new skills, experiment with fresh ingredients, and savour your own creations. At Bon Macaron Patisserie, craft your own delicious dessert and customize it with your favourite flavours. Step into the Fairmont Empress for an immersive tea experience, creating your own signature blend while discovering the health benefits of different botanicals. At The Art of Slow Food, master the art of fermented, gluten-free sourdough bread. And at The London Chef, explore flavours from around the world with fresh, elegant dishes that will have you ready to impress your loved ones.
Relaxation & Treatments
No wellness getaway in Victoria is complete without a visit to one of the city’s luxurious spas or scenic saunas to restore and recharge after a day of exploring.
Spa Escapes
Give your body a moment of pure relaxation and melt away any built-up tension! Victoria offers an abundance of restorative wellness experiences tailored to your needs. Samya Spa specializes in complete, rejuvenating healing journeys. From express foot massages to Indian head massages, you will leave feeling balanced, relaxed, and refreshed, from scalp to sole. At Emerald Day Spa, their award-winning facial therapy begins with an aromatic sensory journey, setting the stage for the ultimate relaxation experience. Feeling extra indulgent? The Parkside Spa’s Refresh and Rehydrate spa package treats guests to a full-body Eminence organic scrub followed by a luxurious massage, leaving you in peaceful bliss. Treat yourself to a day of recovery. You deserve it!
Steam by the Sea
Blend breathtaking views with the warmth and stillness of a revitalizing sauna experience. HAVN’s hydrotherapy circuits invite you to explore their saunas, hot tubs, cold pools, indoor and outdoor lounge spaces, a café, and luxury amenities all while you watch sea planes take off in the distance and soak in their waterfront views. Celebrate balance, warmth and well-being with a unique Steam & Steep experience, offered in partnership with Aerth Saunas and The Pendray Tea House. Begin with a gentle hot-and cold-contrast at Aerth Saunas, then enjoy a self-guided tea tasting at The Pendray Tea House, a beautiful 19th-century manor overlooking Victoria’s iconic Inner Harbour.
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