Museums and history

Self-guided visit

St. Ann's Academy National Historic Site13 min by bus · 1 km

✓ Fits your group

Cost

Price not published

Needs confirmation

Parking on the property is pay parking.

Ages & size

Ages not published

Capacity not published

Duration

Length not published

Year round

Sat, Sun

Book by

Not published

Plan this trip

Fieldy handles all communication and booking for you.

What it actually looks like

Photos from St. Ann's Academy National Historic Site's website

No photographs published on St. Ann's Academy National Historic Site’s site.

Our note

The public opening is only Saturday and Sunday afternoons, which rules it out for most weekday groups, though weekday site visits can be arranged by phone. Everything is behind rope or in a case, so it is looking rather than touching. Phone before you set out, because a wedding or a film shoot can shut the inside with no warning.

What the children do

During regular opening hours, and when no special event is booked, visitors can walk the Interpretive Centre and grounds on their own. A self-guided tour booklet is handed out at the Interpretive Centre in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Japanese, and can also be downloaded from the site, along with a botanical guide to the grounds. The booklet carries historic information plus recollections from former students, Sisters of St. Ann and heritage experts. Staff or volunteer docents are on hand to answer questions. What a visitor pays is not consistent across their pages, so ask at the door.

Walk themselves through the parlours, foyer and chapel with a booklet, looking at the carved altar and ceiling, the stained glass and the pipe organ, then go out to the Novitiate garden, the summerhouse, the orchard and the heritage trees on the grounds.

Good to know

Washrooms are inside and the grounds are open dawn to dusk. The way in is up a grand staircase unless you arrange the lift ahead, and buses park on the street rather than on site.

Sources disagree. Their own pages disagree about whether you pay to get in. One says there is no admission fee at all, another says entry is by donation with $5 suggested for each adult. Either way there is a donation box rather than a till. Take a few coins and ask at the door.

Sources disagree. Three of their pages give three different parking prices, from $2 for two hours up to $8 for the day. Buses have to park on the street in any case. If you have booked an appointment they may be able to arrange free parking for you, so ask when you call.

Sources disagree. Their pages give two different answers for summer opening. One says seven days a week from 10 in the morning, the other says weekend afternoons only. Weekend afternoons is the one they keep updated. Phone before you travel, because rentals and film shoots close the inside at short notice.

Washrooms

Modern washrooms are inside.

Lunch space

Areas for eating lunch are available on request.

Rain backup

Needs confirmation

Strollers

Needs confirmation

Wheelchair access

The main way in is up the grand double staircase. An alternative entrance with an elevator can be arranged, but you have to call ahead or send someone who can manage the stairs to tell the volunteer on duty, because the elevator door is kept locked.

Bus parking

Buses should park on the street.

Nearby park

Needs confirmation

Restrictions

The auditorium is not open to the public for drop in visits. Access can be limited when a wedding or other rental event is booked, particularly in the summer and around holidays. The former classrooms and dormitories no longer exist, so the only historic interiors open are the parlours, foyer, chapel and former Priest's Breakfast Room

Getting there

835 Humboldt Street, Victoria, BC

On foot

14 min

By bus

13 min

includes a 9 min wait

Driving

6 min

The dark pin is Victoria.

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Details checked on 2026-09-03 against the venue’s own pages. Something wrong? , it takes one tap. · Venue page · 250-953-8829