Victoria makes Forbes list of top places to visit

Downtown Victoria is pictured. (CTV News)

American business magazine Forbes has ranked Victoria one of the top places to visit in the world in 2023, at least outside of the United States.

On March 30, Forbes released its list of "The 23 Best Places To Travel Around The World In 2023, Chosen By The Experts."

Victoria was just one of two Canadian cities to make the list, with the other being Edmonton, Alberta.

B.C.'s capital was praised for its natural landscapes, eco-tourism and for its environmental efforts, including its recent biosphere certification by the Responsible Tourism Institute.

"One of the unexpected joys of living in the Pacific Northwest turned out to be frequent jaunts to charming Victoria," said Seattle-based writer Corinne Whiting, who contributed to the Forbes list.

"I love the ease of this compact, walkable city and each visit I seem to discover brand-new treasures," she said. "And of course it doesn't hurt that Canadians are some of the nicest folks around, too."

Forbes also said Victoria has a notable relationship with local First Nations, which also operate tours and kayak excursions in the area.

B.C.'s capital was ranked alongside other places like Noto Valley in Italy, Tokyo, Japan, and the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

The list did not include destinations in the U.S. Forbes says it is compiling a list of the top places to visit in America in a seperate list to be released later this year.

It's not the first time Victoria was recognized on the global stage.

In July, Victoria was ranked the best small city in Canada, according to bestcities.org.

More recently, Vancouver Island made the list of the top 25 most beautiful places in the world for 2023, according to U.S.-based news network CNN.