Know&Go Guide: Seattle, Washington, USA
Seattle has been the star of movies, subject of songs and setting of books.
While it’s the biggest city in the Pacific Northwest, it’s really a lovely harbour town with steep hills and savvy inhabitants.
Seattle is the fifth most visited city in the United States, logging approximately 42 million visitors, pre-COVID. However, being popular can be a burden and the locals decided to enforce one day a year when it’s just them roaming the streets, thus “Stay Away From Seattle Day” was born on the 16th of September.
I was first/last here ten years ago during The USA 50/50 Challenge and I had been wanting to return ever since.
Seattle was originally built on the tidal flats and was between 3 metres (10 feet) and 10.5 metres (35 feet) lower than it is now. However, in 1889, a fire destroyed twenty-five downtown blocks and, wanting to avoid the regular flooding, they elevated the city by building on top of the rubble. This explains the extreme level shift between the downtown and the waterfront, with many staircases bridging the gap; some that zig and zag to provide rest stops and some that just go straight up. The latter are the one’s those crazy runners do in competitions!
“There’s a lot of great architecture here, from Art Deco to Mid-Century Modern to the Amazon Spheres. You’ll be craning your neck all day to catch them all and I encourage you to walk around town, without an agenda, and just appreciate this beautiful city.”
However, the most overarching thing I discovered was that Seattle cares, about small things and large, people and causes. They’re not showy about it, but the community feeling is strong in this town.
This is best illustrated by the Pike Place Market Foundation. As the website says,” Beyond the fish and flowers, Pike Place Market is a village of farmers, artists, residents and neighbors. With senior housing above the Market’s storefronts and a network of social services woven throughout the historic district, the Pike Place Market Foundation welcomes and supports a diverse community in the heart of downtown Seattle.” (I learned all about it on the Eat Seattle Tour, see below.)
Experience
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Take the Bainbridge Island Ferry and get fabulous views of Seattle’s skyline and Puget Sound. You can get off and explore Bainbridge Island or just get back onboard and return. Best to do this on a sunny day if you can!
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Consider purchasing a Seattle CityPASS. You’ll save money and have access to a selection of the city’s top attractions, with skip-the-line included.
Pike Place Market started with a few farmer’s stalls on Pike Place in August 1907. It quickly grew and, by November that year, it had proven so popular that they were given a market hall. In 1922, the huge market complex – for the most part as we see it today – was rebuilt and opened. Later, in 1937, the famous clock sign was installed.
The fish market opened in 1930, but it took 50 years for the famous fish throwing to appear. What started out of expediency quickly became the much loved event/meme we see today.
While it is now Seattle’s top attraction – with vendors from all over Washington state selling their wares daily from 9am to 5pm – it narrowly avoided destruction in 1963, when plans were made for skyscrapers to take its place. Seattlelites were outraged and did everything they could to keep the market. After their success, it was designated an historic district, thus retaining its status as one of the longest continually operating farmers’ markets in country.
(BTW it’s always Pike, never Pike’s.)
This woman-owned, local company was started by a graduate of Cordon Bleu Paris.
They offer four scheduled food walking tours that are always led by chefs who know the vendors – whom they use in their restaurants – and have inside knowledge of their areas.
I took the Pike Place Market Tour with Chef Scott (picture a snarky Tom Hanks) and had a ball. It was a great way to get to know this massive and historic market and sample some tasty treats!
They also offer private tours and bookings: to do one with family and/or friends for a wedding or reunion is a fabulous idea.
Lining the shore on Puget Sound is Waterfront Park with piers full of attractions and restaurants, there’s enough here to fill a whole day.
From here you can take an Argosy Cruise with narration around the harbour; catch the ferry to Bainbridge Island; see aquatic acrobatics at the Seattle Aquarium; listen to live music; enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner; souvenir shop and much more.
Located in Waterfront Park, this aquarium sits on its own pier over the waters of Puget Sound.
This is definitely a child’s playground and they were everywhere having a great time when I visited. With indoor and outdoor exhibits, it’s not huge but will keep the kids happy for a few hours.
A one hour, narrated harbour cruise can be a great way to rest your weary legs and enjoy Seattle from a different vantage point.
This company has been cruising Puget Sound for over 70 years, starting life as a water taxi service.
The narration was pretty standard, but we did learn was that, in 1964, The Beatles stayed at the Edgewater Hotel – which sits on its own pier – and irreverently fished out of their second floor window, instantly creating a tradition observed today.
This is probably the thing for which Seattle is most famous.
The Space Needle was created as the central focus of the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, aka the Century 21 Exposition, the theme of which was “The Age of Space.” The tower was designed to represent “humanity’s Space Age aspirations.”
It’s one of only ten remaining structures built specifically for World’s Fairs. The most famous being the Eiffel Tower, built in 1889 fair in Paris and famously intended for demolition afterwards. However, the Space Needle was built to stay, having undergone multi-million dollar revitalisation projects in 2000 and again in 2018.
The views are spectacular and not to be missed.
A definite Seattle Must Do!
This is something you must do at least once while in Seattle, preferably on the way to the Space Needle – and all that the Seattle Center has to offer – its reason for existing.
Built in Germany by Alweg Rapid Transit Systems – who also made Disneyland’s Monorail and many others working in Europe today – to take visitors to the 1962 World’s Fair, this is the only original Alweg line in the world still in operation.
The trip is just 1.4 km (<1 mile) and runs non-stop along 5th Avenue between downtown Seattle (Westlake Center) and the Seattle Center (Space Needle, Chihuly Garden & Glass and MoPop.
This is an alien landscape and art gallery in one.
The mind of Dale Chihuly must be a colourful place. Just wandering through the eight galleries, glasshouse and outside into the gardens, I was marvelling at how all of that glass came to be and then was suspended above and gathered around us. He's a unique talent and I've seen his work in countless hotels and museums all over the country.
Coming here, to his passion project in his home state, is well worth it. I combined the visit with the Space Needle which looms overhead. A definite Seattle Must Do!
What's your jam? SciFi, Fantasy, Music, Horror, all of the above?
Then the MoPop is the place for you. Everything from The Terminator to Jimi Hendrix lives here. Allocate at least two hours to see and interacting with all of the exhibits. This is a Seattle Must Do.
Add to the experience by taking the Monorail, which goes through the building (see above) and combine it with the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass to make a day of it!
This building is just cool.
Designed by Rem Koolhaas, it's a real rabbit warren to walk through.
Start from the top and work your way down and you have to see the red floor (4), it's like a set from a Stanley Kubrick movie.
Well worth a quiet 🤫 walk through.
Can you say you’ve been to Seattle if you haven’t made the pilgrimage to this startling structure, home to the ubiquitous online store?
If you happen to know an Amazon employee you can visit with them anytime, while the rest of us can get a reservation for the first or third Saturday of the month, to visit between 10am and 6pm.
What pleased me most was to learn was that the first resident plant was an Australian tree fern.
If your trip isn’t complete without a bit of retail therapy, then this is the place for you!
Celebrating 25 years in business this year and featured in all of the great design publications, this gorgeous home wares and gift store was a welcome break while climbing the hills from the waterfront.
I could have spent way too much time and money in here if I hadn’t been on a tight schedule and travelling carry-on only!
To really live the PNW life, you need to invest heavily in all things REI (Recreational Equipment Inc), which started life in Seattle in 1938.
This store sits inside its own little forest, complete with waterfall, just north of downtown Seattle. Sprawling over several floors selling everything you need, didn’t know you needed and probably don’t need!
This is a retail experience unlike any other. Worth a trip just to see the building, but you’ll buy something for sure!
Pioneer Square is where Seattle was born and this is the original and best tour, running since 1965.
The originator, Bill Spiedel, was behind the saving of the square and its designation as an historic district, then onto the National Register of Historic Places. You can read a detailed history here.
The tour takes you underground through a network of passageways and basements which, after the streets were elevated, fell into disuse and were preserved through neglect. You have to be prepared to climb down into small spaces and up into alleyways to do this tour, but if you are, it’s a fun time.
This building near Pioneer Square was the first skyscraper in Seattle.
When it opened in 1914, and it remained the tallest building on the West Coast until the Space Needle appeared in 1962. It was a marvel of its time – with its distinctive pyramid top and white terracotta cladding – and still stands proud amongst its much taller and grander siblings. The interior has been beautifully maintained – with the original Otis elevators still running smoothly – and you can purchase a tour with your ticket and learn about its intriguing past.
On the 35th floor, along with some of the best views in town, is the Observatory Bar and there you’ll find the Wishing Chair, given to Mr Smith in 1908 by the Dowager Empress of China. Legend has it, if you’re single and don’t want to be, sit in it and you won’t be for long! The building also boasts Seattle’s tallest summer rooftop bar, The Lookout.
Further afield
This West Seattle suburb is a funky and alternative area, with one of the few beaches on Puget Sound.
Everyone knows the beloved movie Sleepless in Seattle and Alki Beach was where Tom Hank’s character takes his son kite flying.
Grab some fish & chips from Spuds and enjoy the great views of the city skyline and beyond.
Halfway between Sea-Tac airport and downtown Seattle lies the Museum of Flight. This fabulous place – “the largest independent, non-profit air and space museum in the world” – is crammed with aeronautic and aerospace displays.
Upon arrival you are presented with several choices: the Red Barn, the original Boeing factory; the Personal Courage wing; a walk across the Memorial Bridge to the Space Gallery; or the Great Gallery, which was where I joined a short tour discussing the origins of airmail, commercial flights and the combination of both. We take it for granted now, but taking passengers was a radical and death-defying step back in the day.
Outside is the Aviation Pavilion housing the first Boeing 747, a Concorde and the first jet Air Force One, among others waiting to be explored.
There is so much to see here you could geek out for several days!
Puget Sound’s many islands are serviced by the largest ferry fleet in the country.
If you have a beautiful, clear day – not a given as this is the rainy PNW – then I recommend you hop on this ferry and see Seattle from the water. The skyline will reward you with fabulous photos.
It's a lovely ride and, at less than $10 return, a pretty cheap day out. I had no intention of getting off at Bainbridge Island – very much like riding the Staten Island Ferry in New York – but, as we had to disembark anyway, I figured it would be a waste of a trip not to spend the hour between ferries having a wander round.
Riding this ferry across the Puget Sound is a Seattle Must Do!
I was only going to take the ferry from Seattle and back again, but it was a beautiful day so I decided to not waste the trip and spend the hour between ferries wandering around Bainbridge Island.
My first stop, after walking up from the ferry, was this place.
It's perfectly located to catch your attention, then having free/donation entry meant that frugal me had to pop in and have a look.
I'm glad I did. It's an eclectic mix in a beautiful building and the gift shop is worth a browse.
Consume
This stylish restaurant, by local star chef Ethan Stowell, is located in Union Square and open weekdays, so you can feast on delicious Italian food for lunch and dinner.
Alongside the dining tables under the window, they have a tremendously long bar (I counted 30 seats) plus a cosy dining room.
I shared the Baby Beets and Buffalo Mozarella starters, then greedily kept the Creste di Gallo to myself and it was just phenomenal… pray that it’s on the menu when you visit!
Great service in a stylish setting.
Open Monday-Friday 11am-9pm.
Located on the second floor (first for non-Americans) inside the Renaissance Seattle Hotel, this restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch.
Hotel restaurant buffets don’t usually impress, but this one did. The options were fresh, extensive and varied. You can also order from the a la carte menu via a QR code at your table. The table service was fast and efficient and the restaurant was busy both mornings I was in house.
Open daily for breakfast 6.30-10am and lunch 11.30am-1.30pm.
If you are strolling along Waterfront Park and need a good, filling lunch for not much money, then stop here for the best sourdough in the world!
I first/last visited here ten years ago and I am not exaggerating when I say I’ve dreamed of this bread ever since, it’s so good. Ten years ago, I bought a small round loaf (boule), got some butter and ate just that for dinner… heaven!
This time I plumped for half a Golden Staircase sandwich with a small clam chowder (combo) and not only were they both fantastic, it only cost me $11 + tax! ...and, of course, I bought a boule to take with me 😉.
Open daily 10am-5pm.
This restaurant on Alki Beach, in West Seattle, was the city’s first fast food restaurant, opening in 1935 and it’s been serving fried goodies ever since.
I ordered cod and chips – all in ecologically friendly, compostable containers – found a lovely spot to sit on the sea wall and started eating. Word to the wise: choose your spot carefully… I now know how Tippi Hedren felt in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.
As soon as I sat down, the beach’s resident alpha male herring gull – the size of a small dog – and his *cough* wing-man (see above) started pushing me around. They were very aggressive and when any other bird came near it was given short shrift. I hung in there for as long as I could, but the aggression was giving me indigestion. So I gave up and ran for the safety of my car, throwing chips behind me to slow them down.
Open daily 11am-9pm.
Rest
I stayed here for two nights and loved every minute.
The lobby has a literary design in a nod to their neighbour across the street – the architecturally stunning Seattle Public Library – with lovely spots to settle and work or chat. It’s the perfect base for exploring downtown Seattle on foot. Positioned high above the harbour, the sleek and functional rooms are a great base for days spend walking up and down the many hills of this city.
There is also Club Level accommodation that comes with access to the Lounge that has lovely decor and great views over the city.
It’s a popular event hotel and the many public spaces make it a gathering space for locals. Like the 515 bar, where the resident mixologists perform a bar ritual every night at 5.15pm.
This property near SeaTac Airport is a sprawling expanse of hotel and convention centre.
While standard Hilton fare it was clean, well-appointed and the bed was very comfortable.
If you have light luggage you can walk here from the airport using the Skybridge, just ask for directions to the light rail station.
You then walk beyond it to the stairs that lead down to the street. about one block up from the hotel.
It saves waiting for the airport shuttle, which drives the long way, and you can also take the light rail, the Link, into downtown Seattle very easily.
This guide details all of the things The Packed Bag experienced. Please see Visit Seattle for more.