A Guide of Fun Things to See, Do and Experience in the Emerald City
You could spend a week or a month in Seattle and still not see all the sights or take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. From Pike Place Market and the Experience Music Project (Seattle’s newest attraction) to the Asian Art Museum and performances of the city’s major performing arts troupes, this sparkling Pacific gem offers up one delight after another.
 Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is Seattle’s pride, a bustling hive of activity perched downtown above Elliott Bay where a profusion of colors, scents, tastes and sounds compete with magnificent views to please all the senses and capture the city’s Northwestern essence. The market encompasses five buildings, nine acres, and hundreds of market stalls, shops, and eateries. The local vegetables, fish, shellfish, meat, cheeses, baked goods, and flowers available at the market turn up in the city’s best restaurants.
Enjoy some of the best (or most quirky) restaurants, along with scores of sidewalk entrepreneurs and small shops selling everything from handmade jewelry to ceramics, herbal remedies, and antiques. You won’t want to miss Pike Place Fish, whose salmon-hurling fishmongers draw crowds of children and management gurus alike. Up for some carry-on baggage? Ask the fishmongers at the market for an airtight carrier that meets airline specifications to keep fish fresh for up to 48 hours. Adding to the market’s festive air, wandering musicians and street performers stroll here and there, and spectacular views abound.
The market is also an access point for the downtown waterfront, another major Seattle attraction (see below). To get your bearings, start out at the market’s information booth at 1st Ave. and Pike Place. Then head out. If you don’t want to miss anything, Market Heritage Tours, a nonprofit group, offers narrated walking tours of the market most days of the week. Call 206-774-5249 for information. The Pike Place Market is at 1st Ave. between Stewart and Union Streets, 206-774-5265.
Experience Music Project
Rock ’n’ roll roars to life at the revolutionary Experience Music Project, a groundbreaking museum at Seattle Center. Designed by famed architect Frank Gehry to resemble a pile of twisted steel guitars, the $400 million museum houses the personal rock and roll artifact collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Naturally, the museum has made clever use of technology in its interactive multimedia exhibits, and includes the world’s largest indoor video screen.
You might not score a hit, but you can also get behind a guitar or other instrument and rock away in the Sound Lab. The museum pulsates with sight and sounds, and is home to the Liquid Lounge, which features live entertainment, and the Turntable Restaurant, as well as an outstanding on-site music and gift store. The museum sits at the north end of the monorail line in Seattle Center.
325 5th Ave. N.
206-367-5483.
www.emplive.com
 The Space Needle
Built for the Century 21 Exposition, Seattle’s 1962 world’s fair, the soaring Space Needle symbolizes the city. First-time visitors sometimes gasp as the ground disappears beneath them during the high-speed elevator ride to the top. At the summit, an indoor/outdoor observation desk pre-sents stunning views that extend to the Olympic Mountains to the north, the Cascades to the east, and snow-capped Mount Rainier to the south. And Seattle spreads out below like a humming, moving map. Free telescopes add to the experience. There’s a coffee bar on the observation deck and, on another level, the revolving SkyCity restaurant (see our Dining Guide).
Seattle Center
4th Ave. N. at Broad St.
206-905-2100 or 800-937-9582
www.spaceneedle.com
Underground Seattle
A great fire swept through the fledgling city of Seattle in 1889. For a variety of somewhat hard-to-fathom reasons, the city fathers decided to rebuild atop the remnants of what remained. The Pioneer Square area’s roads and buildings were built above the architectural remains of the past. You can tour the catacombs with subterranean bordellos, bars and laundries of Seattle’s past starting from Doc Maynard’s Pub.
Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour
610 1st Ave.
206-682-4646
www.undergroundtour.com
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Although the real park is in Alaska, and the Klondike itself is in Canada’s Yukon Territory, this tiny museum near Pioneer Square presents the history and artifacts of the gold rush that put Seattle on the map as the main supplier and point of departure for the gold diggers.
117 S. Main St.
206-553-7220
www.nps.gov
The Waterfront
Seattle’s waterfront attracts hordes of tourists and it’s easy to see why. Travel the Alaskan Way to visit the Seattle Aquarium, Russian Cobra submarine, Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center, IMAXDome, and Washington State Ferries. The area houses dozens of minor tourist attractions and scores of souvenir shops and eateries, some of them among the best restaurants in Seattle (see our Dining Guide), and some less so. There’s easy access to the waterfront from Pike Place Market down the Hillclimb Corridor and Harbor Steps. The Waterfront Streetcar line, a relic of the past, runs up and down Alaskan Way with stops between the foot of Broad St. (near Seattle Center) to South Main St. near Pioneer Square, ending across from Union Station in the International District. For streetcar information, call 206-553-3000.
Seattle Aquarium
The Seattle Aquarium has come a long way from the days when a couple of seals flopped around in an outdoor pool. Now, decades later, a sleek new waterfront structure features a bulbous underwater dome from which visitors can view the comings and goings of Elliott Bay’s marine life. The aquarium’s giant octopus may well be its star, but there’s also a beautiful tropical fish display, and the sea otters and other Northwestern creatures always put on a good show. Naturally, this being Seattle, there’s a focus on ecology and the environment.
Pier 59, 1483 Alaskan Way
206-386-4300
www.seattleaquarium.com
Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center
With 40 lively, hands-on exhibits, the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center explores the nuts and bolts of a working waterfront, complimenting the focus on marine wildlife told at the Seattle Aquarium.
Pier 66, 2201 Alaskan Way
206-374-4000
www.ody.org
Pacific Science Center
The Pacific Science Center, originally the science pavilion at the 1962 world’s fair, is easily recognized by its tall white arches. Inside, two IMAX theatres pre-
sent thrilling movies. Permanent displays include a robotic dinosaur exhibit, a butterfly house, an insect village, and a model of Puget Sound with a saltwater tidal pool that lets you explore the Pacific estuary’s ecology. There’s also a planetarium.
Seattle Center
200 2nd Ave. N.
206-443-2001.
www.pacsci.org
Museum of Flight
Emphasizing Seattle’s role as a pioneer in aviation—Boeing has been building its aircraft here for decades. The Museum of Flight presents an outstanding collection of commercial and military aircraft. Here you’ll find the first Air Force One, a supersonic Concorde, and the earliest passenger planes from the 1920s - when it took great heart to fly. The museum’s Personal Courage Wing houses a collection of fighter aircraft, including a 1914 Caproni, the world’s first fighter. Next door is the Red Barn, the birthplace of the Boeing Company, and many other exhibits. Tours of the museum are offered throughout the day.
9404 E. Marginal Way S.
206-764-5720
www.museumofflight.org
Monorail
Take the Seattle Center Monorail from the downtown Westlake Mall to Seattle Center (there are no stops in between). Built for the 1962 world’s fair, the monorail is a quick and fun way to take in some nice vistas of Seattle Center and downtown.
5th Ave. and Pine Street
206-905-2600
www.seattlemonorail.com
Northwest Railway Museum
The Northwest Railway Museum offers interpretive rides on an antique train and working railroad exhibits. 38625 SE King St., Snoqualmie, 425-888-3030.
Dinner Train
The luxurious, vintage Spirit of Washington Dinner Train winds its way each evening along the shore of Lake Washington and over Wilburton Trestle, a harrowing, 1,000-foot long, 140-foot high single-track bridge. The 45-mile round-trip allows passengers to enjoy dinner from a menu that ranges from prime rib to crab enchiladas, with a 45-minute stop for a tasting of Northwestern wines at the Columbia winery. There’s a lunch trip, too, and both the lunch and dinner menus include a vegetarian entrée. 625 S. 4th St., Renton, 425-227-7245 or 800-876-RAIL.
Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle’s world-class Woodland Park Zoo has won international acclaim for its natural habitats that allow animals to roam as freely as possible. A number of bioclimatic zones span from Alaska to the African savanna. The rare Komodo dragon lizards, the world’s largest, are a big hit with visitors. 5500 Phinney Ave. N., 206-684-4800.
|
