Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens is a house full of everything nostalgic to you. These objects could tell you stories about families, lives, and the community. As one of Victoria's oldest homes, Point Ellice House was built between 1861 and 1862 for Catherine and Charles Wallace. The house is located overlooking the scenic and historic Selkirk Water/Gorge Waterway, which gives it a good view.
The architects of the house, John Wright & George Sanders, chose an Italianate Villa-style design popular in the nineteenth century. The Point Ellice beautiful garden area is about two acres (0.8 hectares) with both vegetable and cut flowers in the southern portion of the gardens' property. There is also a small fruit orchard and a greenhouse. The south garden provided food and year-round flowers for the O'Reilly family; it was called the working garden for Point Ellice House.
Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens is located at 2616 Pleasant St, Victoria, Vancouver Island. There are three breweries around the house: Moon Under Water Brewpub, Ile Sauvage Brewing Co., and Distillery and Driftwood Brewery. It would be great visiting them and trying their products. You can find great restaurants in the area if you want to have a meal after visiting the house. Among them are Glo Restaurant + Lounge and Dairy Queen Grill & Chill. BoulderHouse Climbing is a climbing gym that is also close. Since the house is by Rock Bay, you can always walk along the water and relax.
From Victoria:
The fastest route from downtown Victoria to Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens is Government St and Bay St. It is 1.8 km (1.1 miles) and takes about 5 minutes.
Head west on Pandora Ave toward Government St and drive 99 m (324.8 ft). Turn right onto Government St, and after 800 m (2624.6 ft), turn left onto Bay St. Continue for 700 m (2296.5 ft) more and turn right onto Pleasant St. Destination will be on the left, and by going 180 m (590.5 ft), you will reach Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens.
From Nanaimo:
Getting to Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens from Nanaimo is via Trans-Canada Hwy/BC-1 S. It is 110 km (68.3 miles) and takes about an hour and 20 minutes.
Take Wallace St to Trans-Canada Hwy/BC-1 S for 550 m (1804.4 ft). Follow Trans-Canada Hwy/BC-1 S to Burnside Rd W in Saanich. Take the Burnside Rd exit from Trans-Canada Hwy/BC-1 S and drive 106 km (65.8 miles). Continue on Burnside Rd W and go to Pleasant St in Victoria. After 3.4 km (2.1 miles), you will reach Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens.
In 1863, Peter O'Reilly married Caroline Trutch, and a few years later, they moved into Point Ellice House in December 1867. In 1975, their descendant John and his wife Inez sold the house and its collections to the Province of British Columbia before that the house had been in the O'Reilly family's possession for 108 years.
Your best option is to head downtown; however if you decide to stick around, here are the activities that you can do. Go to one of the parks in the area, such as Selkirk Green Park and Topaz Park and have a picnic or a peaceful stroll. You can dine in many restaurants nearby, including some international ones like Szechuan City Restaurant & Buffet and Vietnam House Restaurant. A few grocery stores like Fairway Market, a department store, and Bed Bath & Beyond are close to the house, so browsing them would be a good way to spend time. You can visit The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) Regimental Museum.