Since I grew up in Bellevue (a suburb ~10 miles east of Seattle), my friends are always asking me what are all the best things to do in Seattle, so I made this guide! Here are all the things you need to do, see, and eat in Seattle proper! There are no affiliate links, and all opinions and photos are my own.
WHEN TO VISIT
What you’ve heard is true, the skies are grey for most of the year, and it rains a lot in Seattle. No matter what time of year you visit, be prepared for rain. You can bring an umbrella, but Seattlites suck it up and just wear a rain jacket. Definitely check the weather as it gets closer to your trip, but from my years of experience, this is what you can expect.
- November-March: I would not recommend visiting unless you really want to experience cold and wet. You might be treated to a nice fall November day or a clear spring day in March, but it’s likely going to be fairly cold.
- April-May: Spring flowers and spring showers! Temperatures won’t be that cold, especially in May, but still be prepared for some rain.
- June-August: Nothing beats summer in Seattle!! This is truly the best time of year. You can most likely plan to do all the outdoor activities. It won’t be cold, but definitely check the weather before, as it can still be overcast and sometimes rain. If you plan on leaving Seattle and going hiking or to one of Washington’s national parks, check the weather there, as it could be cooler.
- September-October: It will likely be still warm in September and then the leaves will start to turn in late September-mid October. The temperature often drops in October, but you’ll get to see fall colors!
FLYING TO SEATTLE
Alaska Airlines is based in Seattle and so if you’re looking to fly, Alaska will definitely have the most direct flights. Sometimes it’s hard to find flights if you’re coming from a small airport on the East Coast, but if you’re coming from any large airport like LAX or JFK, Alaska Airlines is your best bet and it has a 20 minute baggage guarantee, so you won’t have to wait too long for any checked luggage.
The main airport is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (most people just call it Sea-Tac), and as the name suggests, it’s located between Seattle and another big city, Tacoma. The airport is about 14 miles away from Pike Place Market. I’d recommend riding the light rail train that goes directly from the airport to downtown Seattle and University of Washington, which will take about 40 minutes and costs $2.50-$3.50, depending where you get off. See more about the Link light rail fares here and the station/stop list here. Trains depart from Sea-Tac every 10 minutes during most hours of the day. Of course, you could also Uber/Lyft, but that would cost $40-$60 and would take just as long, if not longer, because of traffic in downtown.
WHERE TO STAY
Since I live near Seattle, I haven’t had to stay in a hotel, but I’d recommend finding a place close to Pike Place, Capitol Hill, or South Lake Union. For a comprehensive list of pros & cons and hotel recommendations, check out this blog post from Wheatless Wanderlust.
GETTING AROUND THE CITY
Seattle is actually kind of spread out. Downtown and certain areas are super walkable, but you probably aren’t going to walk 5.5 miles from Pike Place to Ballard. Don’t worry, you absolutely do not need a rental car because Seattle has a really great public transportation system with an extensive bus system. Parking in the city can be rough, so the bus is used a lot by Microsoft and Amazon employees and University of Washington students. If you don’t want to take the bus, you can also Uber, but just like the Link light rail, the bus is way cheaper!
THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN SEATTLE
The below is organized by neighborhood, so each section has locations that are walkable from each other.
PIKE PLACE & SEATTLE WATERFRONT
Let’s start with the obvious, shall we? Pike Place Market is a must-see. There are some very popular places along Pike Pl before you go into the indoor part of the market. Note: it is NOT Pike’s Place! The street is Pike Pl, so if you say Pike’s, it’s a major tourist alert.
Definitely go hungry! I love picking up a humbao at Mee Sum Pastry, a Polish pastry at Piroshky Piroshky, and a small cup of dessert-like yogurt at Ellenos Greek Yogurt. You’ll see a long line of tourists at the original Starbucks. Take a photo then walk up the street and get a Starbucks from another location where the wait is normal, they have the same menu. Another alternative would be stopping at a French bakery called Le Panier for coffee and pastries. If you don’t want coffee, check out Rachel’s Ginger Beer, which is non-alcoholic and basically soda, although they do serve adult beverages if you want. If you like mac and cheese, stop at Beecher’s. If you come on a cold day, check out Pike Place Chowder in Post Alley.
Then, you can walk through the market and see the fish stall throw the fish. It’s touristy but fun! If you want to pick up a bouquet, there are plenty of flower stalls in the market as well, but then you’ll have to carry it around. Then, while gross, you should probably stop at the Gum Wall. It’s a bit tricky to find, but just put it into Google Maps, and you can walk to it.
I have not gone, but The Pink Door is a nice Italian restaurant in the market with 4.5 stars on Yelp and $20-$30 entrees. Definitely make a reservation in advance. Biscuit Bitch is also one street up from the market. I have yet to go, but there’s usually a line.
The fastest way to get from Pike Place to the Waterfront is to Google “Pike Place Hillclimb Walk,” and take the stairs down. The staircase is near the Gum Wall.
Down on the water, you can take a ride on the Seattle Great Wheel. There’s also the Seattle Aquarium and Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, which is a fun and quirky souvenir store to go through. The Seattle Ferry terminal is located at Pier 52 and you can walk on to a ferry for pretty cheap. You can just go for the ride or plan a day trip to Bainbridge Island.
BELLTOWN
This is the area between Pike Place and Seattle Center. The Greetings From Seattle mural is between Pike Place and the Space Needle, located at 2231 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121. Notable food includes Serious Pie, which has great soup, salad, pizza, and Dahlia Bakery which has a delicious triple coconut cream pie!
SEATTLE CENTER AREA – double check if these are open during COVID times!
The Space Needle is located in a large cluster of few other touristy, family-friendy things, called Seattle Center. I don’t know if I’d recommend going up the Space Needle because you can’t see the Space Needle if you’re on it. If you do go, I’d recommend buying the combination ticket with the Chihuly Garden and Glass for some pretty glass sculptures.
The Museum of Pop Culture, nicknamed MoPOP, is on the same block as Seattle Center. Frank Gehry designed it, so you’ll notice the resemblance to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. I remember a lot of the museum being related to music, but they also have several fun temporary exhibitions. At the time of writing, a couple of current exhibitions include Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume, Pearl Jam: Home and Away, and Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop.
There’s also the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, which is free to tour. I visited it once when I was in college. It’s not super big, but I thought it was cool to learn about what the foundation has done to provide relief and technology in countries in need.
For food, there are plenty of restaurants to eat at inside the Armory Food & Event Hall. If you want to try Seattle’s version of In-N-Out, check out Dick’s Drive-In on Queen Anne Ave for cheap burgers, fries, and shakes.
From Seattle Center, the Olympic Sculpture Park is just a half-mile walk down to the waterfront. The sculptures are odd, and I wouldn’t say the park is a must-see, but the view is nice if you have time.
To get a photo of the Grey’s Anatomy skyline, go to Kerry Park, which is stunning day or night. You can even see Mount Rainier on a clear day! This is technically in the Queen Anne neighborhood, but it’s only a little over a mile away from the Space Needle, so it’s walkable (but uphill). Then, go eat at Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge for any meal of the day. Make a reservation on OpenTable if you’re going at peak brunch time.
If you have kids:
The Pacific Science Center is a great place for kids, but check to see if it’s open because it’s been closed for COVID since it’s a very interactive museum. I haven’t been in years, but we had a family membership growing up. There was a dinosaur exhibit, an insect section with a butterfly garden that you can go in, and so much more. We would spend hours in there. It also has an IMAX theater that plays documentaries. The Seattle Children’s Museum is also close by, but may also be closed due to COVID. I don’t remember ever going, but based on the name it sounds like a good place if you have kids.
CAPITOL HILL
For my LA friends, this is the West Hollywood of Seattle (great food, gay pride). I don’t go to Capitol Hill that often because it’s hard to find parking, but it’s only a mile walk from Pike Place Market, or you could bus there.
The Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) is located in a nice park area called Volunteer Park. I haven’t been in years, but it’s obviously not your typical art museum. There’s the Volunteer Park Conservatory which is a pretty glass greenhouse that costs $4 for adults. You can also climb 106 steps up the brick water tower for a 360-view of Seattle (for free!).
There are a ton of great food places in the neighborhood. You can visit the first Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which opened back in 2014. It has a cool vibe inside, and you can obviously grab coffee and food there. Oddfellows Cafe is a very popular brunch place, the food is good, but the aesthetic is better. Make a reservation if you go. If you have to wait, Elliot Bay Book Company is right next door! Olmstead opened a few months before the pandemic started and it is a super cute brunch and cocktail place.
For dessert, Molly Moon’s has artisanal dairy ice cream and Frankie and Jo’s has artisanal vegan ice cream. Hello Robin uses Molly Moon’s ice cream to make ice cream sandwiches with delicious unique cookies (Mackles’more anyone?). Hot Cakes is a fun little dessert spot that specializes in these little warm chocolate molten cakes. I don’t think you can go wrong in Capitol Hill, most places have 4+ stars on Yelp!
Glossier opened a Seattle retail location if you want to shop at their physical store.
DOWNTOWN SEATTLE
There’s plenty of shopping to do in downtown, with all the big stores like Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Madewell, Sephora, All Saints, Nike, etc. Pacific Place is a five-story center with a few shops (Lululemon), restaurants (Din Tai Fung), and an AMC movie theater. Westlake Center has three levels and has Zara, Nordstrom Rack, Pressed Juicery, Starbucks, and a few other stores and restaurants.
The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is also by the Gum Wall. It’s not huge, but I think it is more interesting than your average art museum and has a lot more than just portraits and still lifes.
I know you don’t usually visit public libraries when you’re traveling, but if you’re a photographer, definitely check out the Seattle Central Library. It has 11 floors and a lot of photo opps. The exterior of the building is super cool with a lot of glass, and it looks even cooler from the inside. The Red Hall is located on the fourth floor. I’ve shot some fun portraits in there, just remember to be quiet since it is a real library.
The Columbia Tower is the tallest building in Seattle (not the Space Needle!). You can visit and go 73 floors up, and at the top, you’ll find the Sky View Observatory with great views of downtown and the Space Needle. Note, this is basically just a skyscraper building and does not have a deck, so this is an indoor observatory. There’s also a cafe and bar so you can spend some time up there.
SODO & PIONEER SQUARE
Pioneer Square is a mile away from Pike Place, so it’s definitely walkable if you want! Parking is kind of atrocious, so I’d recommend walking or taking the bus. Here you’ll find some pretty brick buildings and some fun shops and restaurants. I tried the very aesthetic farm-to-table cafe called The London Plane. I haven’t been yet, but Damn the Weather also looks like it would be a good restaurant and is appropriately named.
I haven’t been yet, but if you don’t want to go up the Space Needle or Columbia Tower, then maybe try the Smith Tower Observatory on the 35th floor of Smith Tower. Unlike Columbia Tower, this is an outdoor open air deck, but it has a speakeasy-style indoor bar called the Observatory Bar.
In SoDo, you’ll find the main Seattle stadiums. T-Mobile Park is where the Mariners play baseball and Lumen Field is where the Seahawks play football and the Sounders play soccer. Sometimes there will be two games going on the same day and so the traffic is actually horrific.
SOUTH LAKE UNION
South Lake Union is like Seattle’s little Silicon Valley. A lot of tech companies have offices there. If you know someone who works at Amazon, they can let you into the Spheres, which is like a big greenhouse with some office space. If you don’t know an employee, don’t worry, the Spheres are open and free to the public the first and third Saturday of each month by online reservation. Double check COVID hours and requirements.
There’s a nice paved path around Lake Union that you can walk/run/bike along. Kenmore Air is located on the water, so you can watch the sea planes take off and land. The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) is also on the water. I haven’t been inside, but it’s pretty from the outside. Paddleboarding and kayaking is a great way to spend a summer day, and you can rent them from Moss Bay.
There are plenty of fun food places in South Lake Union, probably because of all those young tech workers. Portage Bay Cafe is a classic brunch place. They’re known for their loaded fruit breakfast bar, but the egg dishes are good too. The Hall at 400 Fairview has some fun little restaurants and a Mochinut for mochi donuts!
I don’t really drink, but if I did I’d want to go to Flatstick Pub or Tapster Seattle. Flatstick Pub is a fun bar with mini golf and other games. Tapster Seattle opened in 2021 and has self-serve beer, wine, kombucha, and soda. It’s very Instagrammable with swings and and also has events during the week like trivia and bingo.
FREMONT
This is the area on the north side of Lake Union that’s pretty granola. Here, you’ll find Gasworks Park, which has a great view of the skyline and the Space Needle. It’s a great place to have a picnic or read if the weather is nice.
I haven’t explored a lot of the restaurants, but the area looks like it has a bunch of 4 star restaurants on Yelp. I’ve never dined in, but my family likes getting pizza to go from Northlake Tavern & Pizza House.
For about $200, you can rent a hot tub boat from Lake Union Hot Tub Boat or Hot Tub Boat for 2 hours. The boats look different, so pick whichever aesthetic you’re looking for. You’ll also find the Fremont Troll, a giant cement troll sculpture under the Aurora Bridge. Waiting for the Interurban is a sculpture of several people waiting for public transportation and is often dressed up with hats, feather boas, etc.
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
University of Washington (UW) is the largest college in the state, and the main Seattle campus is really pretty! The buildings are really pretty and on a clear day, there’s a great view of Mount Rainier from Drumheller Fountain. The inside of Suzzallo Library looks like Hogwarts. If you visit in March or April, you’ll be surrounded by other tourists and locals who come to take photos of the cherry blossoms in the quad.
The Washington Park Arboretum is an expansive, pretty park. When the weather has been dry in the summer, you can take the Foster Point Trail and walk on Foster Island and Marsh Island with a view of the UW football field on the lake. If you’re visiting in the fall, check out the Seattle Japanese Garden at the south end of the Arboretum for some fall colors.
If you’ve read The Boys in the Boat, you might be interested in seeing Montlake Cut, a narrow area of water that connects Lake Washington and Lake Union. The different rowing teams throughout the years decorate sections of the concrete wall.
University Ave has a lot of good, affordable restaurants. Xi’an Noodles has delicious hand-pulled noodles. I love the Spicy Tingly Beef Hand Ripped Noodles, 11/10 would recommend! Agua Verde Cafe is also a yummy Mexican restaurant and they have a Paddle Club where you can rent kayaks and paddleboards.
University Village (U-Vill) is an outdoor mall with 80+ shops and restaurants with plenty of free parking. This is my favorite mall in the state, and there are a bunch of good food places like Shake Shack, Hello Robin, Rachel’s Ginger Beer, and Mr. West Cafe. There’s also plenty of shopping with Aritzia, Warby Parker, Anthropologie, and more!
OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS IF YOU HAVE TIME
Green Lake: Visit Woodland Park Zoo, walk/jog/bike the 2.8 mile path around Green Lake, explore the shops and restaurants
West Seattle: Get views of downtown at Hamiton Viewpoint Park and have a Seattle beach experience at Alki Beach (cold!)
Ballard: Check out the Ballard Locks where the freshwater of Lake Union meets the saltwater of Puget Sound, get brunch at The Fat Hen, walk around Seattle’s largest park Discovery Park which has a lighthouse
RECOMMENDED:
For current events, I like to read articles from Curiocity Seattle. For the latest restaurants, check out The Infatuation or Eater Seattle.
Hiking: There are no good hiking trails in the city of Seattle. Check out my blog post on the 10 best easy hikes and trails within 90 minutes of Seattle. Have extra time to spend in Washington? Take a day trip from Seattle to Mount Saint Helens or check out the best photo stops at Mount Rainier National Park
Going to Bellevue or the Eastside? Here are my favorite Eastside restaurants!
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All The Best Things to Do In Seattle, According to a Local
