Seattle is the Pacific Northwest's coffee-scented tech-and-water city — Puget Sound and floatplanes, the Space Needle and Pike Place Market, ringed by mountains and volcanoes. Green, walkable in its core, and the gateway to Mount Rainier, Olympic and the North Cascades.
- Pike Place Market and the original Starbucks
- The Space Needle and Seattle Center
- Coffee culture, seafood and a strong music heritage (grunge, jazz)
- Gateway to three national parks — Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades
Region: The Pacific Best time: Jul–Sep (dry, warm, clear mountain views); the rest of the year is mild but grey and wet Getting there: Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) links to downtown via the Link light rail in ~40 minutes. Getting around: Downtown is walkable; the Link light rail, buses, streetcar and ferries cover the region. A car helps for the parks.
Neighbourhoods
Downtown & Pike Place
The market, waterfront, aquarium and the Seattle Art Museum.
Seattle Center
The Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and the MoPOP museum.
Capitol Hill
Nightlife, indie music, coffee houses and the best of the food scene.
Ballard
Nordic heritage, the locks, breweries and a Sunday farmers market.
Fremont & Wallingford
Quirky north-side neighbourhoods with the Fremont Troll and Gas Works Park.
Things to do
- Pike Place Market — the fish-throwers, stalls, and the first Starbucks across the street
- Space Needle & Chihuly — 360° views and a dazzling glass-art garden below
- Puget Sound ferry — ride to Bainbridge Island for skyline and mountain views
- MoPOP & music history — the Museum of Pop Culture, deep in grunge and sci-fi
- Coffee crawl — third-wave roasters across Capitol Hill and Ballard
- Mount Rainier day — the volcano's meadows and glaciers, ~2 hours south in season
A few perfect days
- Day 1Market & Center
Pike Place Market and the waterfront, then the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden.
- Day 2Water & neighbourhoods
A Puget Sound ferry, then Capitol Hill or Ballard for food, coffee and beer.
- Day 3Mountains
Day trip to Mount Rainier or Olympic National Park (summer for the best access).
Eat & drink
- Fresh Pacific seafood — salmon, oysters and Dungeness crab
- Third-wave coffee and Pike Place Market produce
- Teriyaki, Vietnamese and a strong International District food scene
National parks & day trips
Where to stay
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