What to show people visiting Seattle
Have relatives or friends over, don't know what to show them in Seattle?
Here are some suggestions. This list is geared towards people who
don't mind walking a bit. It usually takes 2 days to visit all of these
locations if you're dedicated and your visitors are motivated. If
I'm missing something, please send me an e-mail and let me know!
Pioneer Square
Parking in Pioneer Square is a pain, especially if there a game. If
it's not Sunday (when parking is free), you can usually park across
from Fado -- there is a parking garage here:
http://goo.gl/y6om6 (as of
2011.08.30 it only costs $6). Then we go in this order:
- Waterfall Garden -- birth place of UPS and a weird, tiny garden
(map)
- Coffee and pastry at Grand Central Bakery
(map)
- Quick walk through the underground shops/gallery under the bakery
(under the bakery)
- Underground tour (if there is time) -- ask around, the office is
near the bakery
Waterfront
From Pioneer Square, I just usually walk my guests over to the start
of the waterfront and start walking towards the aquarium. As you walk
along the waterfront, you can stop to do this:
- Feeding the seagulls -- right after the sculpture of a sailor with
seagulls, there is a little nook that you can turn into. There,
you'll find A TON of seagulls waiting to be fed. These guys love
french fries and will happily snatch them out of your hand (you
can buy fries at the shop next door). You can either feed the
fries to the gulls by walking up to them with it in your hand or
you can break off half a piece and toss it high into the air. One
of the gulls will fly by and catch it in-flight!
(map)
- Ye Olde Curiosity Shop -- this shop is also a museum and has a
bunch of "interesting" and very odd things. For example, they have
a couple of mummies and a variety of really old artifacts. Make
sure to go to the very end of the store to see the really neat
things. Also make sure to not forget to look up and at the walls.
Admission is completely free and you don't have to buy anything.
They also give out free Fudge samples!
(map)
- Carousel, neat pictures, cute building -- inside this pier
(map)
- Pike Place Market -- probably the most well know tourist attraction
in Seattle, but still worth a visit. Don't forget to stroll through
the underground shops below the main market. Many of the stores have
junk, but some have neat relics -- like the old poster store
(map).
- First Starbucks -- also incredibly over crowded, but worth noting.
I wouldn't suggest getting coffee there, but do note the original
Starbuck emblem and the pictures inside
(map).
- Post Alley and the Bubble Gum Wall -- Go up Virginia Street at the end
of Pike's Place and turn right into Post Alley. As you turn, look up
and you'll see a really neat gutter drain pipe that has flowers growing
out of it. Walk down the alley until you get to the beginning of Pike's
place, then head down to the continuation of Post Alley. It's tough to
notice if you're not looking for it, but it's there. Here you'll
find the Gum Wall (map).
- Harbor Steps -- on the way back to your car if you parked near Pioneer
Square and the place where Post Alley will dump you. Nothing super
interesting here, but it's kind of cute
(map).
- Seattle Art Museum -- accross the street from harbor steps
(map).
Capitol Hill
An artsy part of Seattle -- lots of musicians, young people,
hipsters, and probably the center of Seattle's LGBT community.
- Coffee Shops -- there are lots of interesting coffee shops in
Capitol Hill. I recommend checking out:
- Cafe Vita (map) -- has a big roaster that you can see
- Bauhaus (map) -- has a neat ambiance and open until 1am
- Joe Bar (map) -- quiet and cozy. Serves beer and crepes!
- Cal Andersen Park -- it's small and cute. If you come in the
right season, you'll see water flowing and people playing soccer.
(map)
- Bicycle Polo -- pretty neat to watch and something I haven't seen
elsewhere. People play it in the tennis courts at the south end of
of Cal Andersen Park.
- Walk down Broadway -- Broadway is one of the main streets in
Capitol Hill. Lots of neat shops around and don't forget to look
down, there are dancing lessons imprinted in the sidewalk!
- Volunteer Park -- very nice park. It has a greenhouse with very
pretty flowers, a water tower that you can climb on top of (has a
nice view), a donut shaped sculpture that you can climb into and that
you can see the space needle through, an Asian art museum, a rose
garden, and a small reservoir that you can't swim in, but is nice
to look at.(map)
- Bruce Lee's grave -- Bruce and his son are buried next to
Volunteer Park in the Lake View Cemetery. Their gravestones
are very neat and there are usually flowers on the grave from
fans. The graves are located in the center of the cemetery, on a
hill, next to a white heart-shaped grave.
(map)
University District
The U-District is the home of the University of Washington -- the
biggest university in town (several others exist too). The
U-District has many students, neat architecture, and is usually
quite lively.
- University of Washington
- The Ave
- Burke Gillman Trail
- Aqua Verde
- Lake Washington Trail
- Montlake Bridge
Freemont
...
- Troll
- Lenin
- Canal Coffee
- Waterfront + trail + floating homes
Other
...
- Gas Works park
- Alki Beach
- Discovery Park
- Magnusun Park
- TCC observation deck
- Seattle Center