Built in 1860, the Fisgard Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse on Canada's west coast — a whitewashed brick tower with a red lantern room, sitting at the end of a stone causeway across Esquimalt Harbour. It was automated in 1928 and still operates; the attached keeper's house has been converted into a small museum telling the story of lighthouse life and the maritime history of the harbour entrance.
The lighthouse is part of Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site, a coastal artillery installation from the 1890s whose gun emplacements and bunkers are preserved along the headland above the harbour. Allow two hours to combine both sites. Esquimalt is about 5 km from downtown Victoria by bus or car. The views back across the harbour to the Saanich Peninsula are excellent.