Market Square

Eclectic selection of stores and restaurants, including Victoria's only Indonesian restaurant. The whole vibe of this place reminds me a lot of Seattle's Pike Market or Vancouver's Commercial Drive or Granville Island.

I visited when it was a holiday so most of the stores were either closed early or not open at all. There were some people gathering in the centre of the courtyard playing hand drums, spinning poi, and hoop dancing at the time. My only complaint is that after most of the stores are closed for the day, the washrooms close too.

Market Square is definitely my type of place to hang out, shop around, and whatnot considering how Granville Island and The Drive are like my second homes. I would really have loved to return when all of the shops are open, but I just didn't have enough time during my trip to Victoria.

Back in the day, when we were refugee teenagers making the day long trek from the "Western Communities," this was where we'd meet up with all our city friends. It seemed like this square had everything we needed to make us forget all about the perils of being 14. We had metaphysical stores, import clothing, the Buddhist centre, Green Cuisine and a venue for live and often free music. Filled with new age healing we'd pile back onto the 61 Sooke bus and brace ourselves for our return to our red neck towns.

That was the early 90s but every time I come here I'm still filled with the nostalgia of that era. These days I'm more drawn to the new clothing stores or the huge Dig This for gift buying. Sometimes when I've got some time to kill I just sit down in a peaceful spot with a frothy latte and watch the birds float around the rafters. I can almost see my teenage self walk through. Don't worry, I'd like to say. Life gets a whole lot better.

Market Square was one of the first places I spotted on Google Maps that I knew I wanted to visit, whenever I would end up finally making the trek to Victoria: an enclosed, hidden marketplace filled with all manner of shops and restaurants, stacked like layers of a cake, with a hollowed interior boasting a public plaza where live music and events are hosted, as well as pop-up vendors, and cordoned-off outdoor dining for Whistle Buoy. It looked like *the* place to visit in Victoria; at least, from a satellite's point of view. Unfortunately, the reality was a little different.

We came across Market Square the first time after nightfall on a Saturday, when just about all of the shops were closed; only the aforementioned Whistle Buoy appeared to be open (and was actually bustling, either at or near capacity, even outside in the plaza). I desperately wanted to see Market Square, even if it was just a walkthrough past shuttered windows and locked doors. We spent a few minutes taking in the sights, then headed on to our other destination.

The second time we stopped in was the following Sunday morning, after its listed opening time of 11am, only to find that, even though most of the shops were open, there still wasn't a whole lot going on here. It wasn't the packed, buzzing community hub that I had hoped it to be. Perhaps our timing was bad, or things had changed since I first discovered it, or maybe my impression was simply flawed from the beginning, but I still wanted it to be more than it appeared to be. Maybe it was, once. Maybe it still is. Maybe it will be again?

For as pontificatingly whiny as this review may sound, I still enjoyed my time at Market Square. Perhaps during our next visit, we'll be able to stick around longer, grab a bite to eat, explore the complex more thoroughly (I am *sure* that there are hidden doors and passages in there, somewhere!), and maybe we'll arrive during a special event that really shows off the magic of this magical masked market, because it deserves it.

We were recommended to come here as part of checking out Victoria, but did not find it to be much. There are several little restaurants and a few shops...and a courtyard. It looks cool and has potential, but just didn't seem like much of an attraction.

Breweries, cafe's, pizza inside the square with tables and live music. From the outside it looked like restaurants but walking into the back sort of into an alleyway the square below becomes viable with the smell of foods & sound of live rock & roll music.

This cuts through the block between Wharf Street and Government Street. There are a bunch of little shops here, businesses and offices here. Inside you'll find a friendly plaza and a lone magnolia tree hanging out try to look older than he is (as trees do sometimes).

Market Square offers is a nice little shopping area that is nestled within a multi-level heritage brick and beam buildings, and surrounding an open courtyard. More than a century ago, Victoria's businesses were transacted in this area of winding alleys and walkways. Warehouses, shipping offices and such have now been restored into shops, restaurants, and galleries. There's also an assortment of eclectic arts and a calendar of cultural events that occur throughout the year.

It was a little quiet when Gayle and I stopped by on the front end of the long Victoria Day Weekend. We poked around a little, window shopped (both inside and outside the Square buildings), and imagined how this place might fill up in warmer summer weather. This place has hang out potential written all over it.

Just the place you want to go if u just want to get away and relax soak up the atmosphere I am fir Calgary and u wish there was a place like this ti go