Fan Tan Alley

Small but perfectly formed, Fisgard St is the center of Victoria's compact Chinatown. One of Canada's oldest Asian districts, it's fronted by a towering red gate that looms over sprawling fruit and vegetable stores and the po-faced ancients meditating outside family-run restaurants. Twinkling neon signs add a dash of nighttime excitement, while Fan Tan Alley - a narrow passageway between Fisgard St and Pandora Ave - draws daytime explorers.

Once the best spot in town to pick up your opium supplies, the slender thoroughfare is a miniwarren of traditional and trendy stores hawking cheap and cheerful trinkets, cool used records and funky mod fashions.