In Photos: Enjoying Canada’s British Columbia

April showers bring May flowers, but blooming Victoria still boasts the lowest annual rainfall on British Columbia’s coast and a pleasingly mild Mediterranean-like micro-climate. Combining a very British style of architecture with fascinating First Nations culture and including Canada’s oldest Chinatown, BC’s capital city is easily explored on foot.

It’s hard to believe that a glacial lake could be warm enough to swim in, but in Whistler you can happily laze in silky waters while admiring the snow dusting the distant mountains.Take a stand-up paddle-board lesson and explore the legendary River of Golden Dreams, past soaring old growth forests and river banks of lush Alpine flowers.