Surrounding the former home of Prince and Princess Abkhazi, the garden is an oasis for plant lovers. An included stop on some Victoria tours and shore excursions, the 1.4-acre (0.57-hectare) Abkhazi Garden have paths, benches, and views for leisurely exploring. Check it out on your own, or contact the garden to arrange a volunteer-run tour. Just as popular as the garden itself is the Abkhazi Garden teahouse, which turns afternoon tea into a special occasion.
Abkhazi Garden is located at 964 Fairfield Road in Victoria. From the Inner Harbour, it’s a 0.6-mile (1-kilometer) walk to the garden. Some hop-on, hop-off bus tours of Victoria have nearby stops that can be a convenient way to reach Abkhazi Garden. If you’re coming by public bus, there is a stop on Fairfield Street at Vancouver with service from bus #1.
Year-round Abkhazi Garden is open to the public daily from April through September, with a more limited schedule between October and March. While the garden is open until 5pm, the last teahouse sitting and garden admission is at 4pm, so plan to arrive with time to spare. In addition to the regular teahouse menu, Abkhazi Garden also offers seasonal specials with limited availability during the summer months.
Garden lovers will find a lot to explore in Victoria’s world-class gardens. The most famous is Butchart Gardens, a century-old landscape of flowers, trees, and manicured beds. Part of the University of Victoria, Finnerty Gardens is a botanical garden whose paths and ponds cover 6.7 acres (2.7 hectares). It’s all about roses at the Victorian Rose Garden, inspired by the 19th-century rose gardens at England’s Warwick Castle; find Victoria’s version blooming on the grounds of the Government House.
