Talk to me about Seattle!

[socialpro]

After throwing around some ideas for a last minute week / weekend trip - we (wife and I) settled on a quick jaunt to Seattle next Thu-Sun. I have never been! Will be staying at the Pan Pacific.

Any 'must' see things to do / see (I know many of the obvious ones)?

We love food - and both are big fish fans. Any restaurants you guys are a fan of ? Basically what should I make sure I don't miss out there that might not be so obvious to find?!

Oh and one more thing - we will be there thursday PM through sunday AM - and have not rented a car yet. I'm assuming many of downtown and surrounding attractions are reachable by Uber - but we would love to see what city offers beyond downtown. Should I just rent a vehicle for one day (saturday?)

Are there any must see neighborhoods to get a good feel for suburban life as we might be looking for a second home / residence outside of Phoenix sometime in the future ?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

[TheVTCGuy]

Take me with you

[wilmotrogers]

Only been there once but was with a buddy who loved the city and spent significant time there. We took a ferry out to Bainbridge island. Thought that was pretty neat. Had lunch/few beers at a little restaurant that overlooked a marina.


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[gettocard]

Take the bus and go to Vancouver...

Just kidding,it's a nice city and I've been there a couple of times but nothing that makes me want to come back for a third one. Public Market visit is mandatory so is the Sky Needle. And,of course the very first Starbucks Coffee wich still carries the original boobie mermaid sign. There's alway a huge line that runs around the corner there and it's basically another Starbucks,but the sign thing is a nice story to tell.
And yes,you still want to take the bus and go to Vancouver anyway...

[Jeffwb65]

I lived there for most of my adult life, and there are more things to do in and around Seattle than anyone could do in a year's worth of weekends.
This article gives a decent outline of how to hit some major points of interest.
https://www.tripsavvy.com/48-hours-in-seattle-4129360

Being summertime doesn't always mean much there. It is usually rainy and cool until around July 4th, and quite often after.
Bring some warm clothes, and EVERYONE will know for sure that You're a tourist if You use an umbrella. Wear a hat in the rain instead. Lol.

[NKflyer]

The Museum of Flight is superb if you're into that. Also the Chihuly glass exhibit which is next to the space needle.

[tudorbaja27]

After having lived a few years too many in Seattle - I can happily provide a list of the better drinking establishments in the area.

[rolio]

Of course, the Waterfront, Fishermans Market, Space Needle (and restaurant at the top), Bruce and Brandon Lee's grave site, Shopping District, University Avenue, Seattle under ground tour, aquarium. This is just a few things to see in a few days.

[droptopman]

Lived in the PNW most of my life. Do some of the tourist stuff: Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Waterfront. If you rent a car, head up to Mt. Rainer and the National Forest.

Aqua for Seafood, the Metropolitan Grill for old school steakhouse, any of the Anthony's seafood restaurants are great for a chain and usually located on the water. Sea Star in Bellevue. Serious Pie for a pizza downtown.

Hope the weather is nice! Enjoy the PNW.

[CamSLC]

Seattle is awesome. If you like sushi there is a great spot about a block away from Pikes Market called Sushi Kashiba that is wonderful. If you go to the Space needle check out the Chihuly Garden. He's is a world renowned glass blower. They have underground tours of old Seattle, and while very touristy the "adult only" one is really cool. Mostly goes into detail about the bootlegging and prostitution history in the old city. Take a ferry anywhere. Bainbridge island is really easy. It will be the complete opposite climate of Phoenix. Enjoy, it's truly a great city.

[PLNYC]

I went there last summer to visit my brother. If you like hiking, Kelly butte is a nice trail a little outside of Seattle. I also enjoyed the zoo

[socialpro]

Thank you for all the suggestions - definitely will be checking some of them out. We were initially going to combine Vancouver into this trip as well - but decided to just do them separately!

Super excited and looking forward to cooler weather (coming from phx), great food + drinks and a different vibe !

[IllCommunication]

I think you need to go see EMP and the space needle (same property) and like others said the fish market. Anything you guys like to do in particular when you travel?

[mrs_LA]

Check out Ballard for hip and trendy restaurants and craft beer. Great neighborhood, and will for sure suit your tastes for excellent food. Former shipyard turned hip neighborhood!


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[MoreCowdog]

I've lived in Seattle for 20 years, here's a few things I'd recommend:

Spending a day in and around downtown. Pike Place Market - in addition to what others mentioned, has a brew pub (Pike Place Brewing), and Lowell's Restaurant (where Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner ate in Sleepless in Seattle). Across the street there's a good whiskey bar, and on 1st, immediately north of the market there's another good brewpub. The art museum and shops along 1st are pretty interesting too.

The ferry to Bainbridge is fun if you've not spent a lot of time doing those kind of things. Another alternative is the Water Taxi which is right next to the big ferries at Pier 52. You can catch a ride to West Seattle and back and still have plenty of time left over for other stuff. The area where they dock has a couple great restaurants with views of downtown - Salty's is more expensive. Marination is a cool Hawaiian fusion type place with relatively inexpensive dishes and a great outdoor patio with local beers and cocktails. There's also a kayak tour place there if that's your kind of thing.

The Seattle Center area has the Space Needle, MoPop (formerly EMP), and the Chihuly Museum and gardens. The glass museum and gardens are pretty amazing.

Pioneer Square has the underground tour which I actually found pretty interesting. The area also has some cool eateries, London Plane, Taylor Shellfish and shops. There are also a lot of homeless around there too.

The big shopping area downtown is pretty much directly east of Pike Place Market about 6-7 blocks.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me!

[FTX I]

My wife would love to visit. We'll probably do it at some point, and that's what I'd like to visit there.


https://foursquare.com/top-places/se...s-record-shops

[hdrazor251]

Patek dealer Turgeon-Raine Jewelers is a short walk from Pikes Place. Very nice people and had an amazing inventory the last time I was there.

[socialpro]

Quick Update!

Our 3 nights in Seattle was a blast. Weather was a perfect mid 70s alternating between sunshine and clouds. Zero rain.

Here is what we ended up doing:

Space Needle
Ferris Wheel
Chihuly Garden
Pikes Market
Several parks throughout the city
Ballard Neighborhood
Fremont Neighborhood (Had the Solstice Festival going on -- CRAZY!!)
Tons of great food (fish!)

We had friends that live in Redmond that took us to the wineries of Woodinville. I'm surprised that NO websites and recommendations on here mentioned that - as that was probably one of the highlights of our trip. Great scenery up there and you can hit a few wineries back to back. Only about a 1/2 hour ride from Dtown Seattle.

This was one of the first vacations / cities I visited where I left longing for more. Some of these became evident / got uncovered by learning more through city exploration and talking to people we met - that led me to this list.

Things we did not do that we would have loved to:

Boeing Factory Tour
Snoqualmie Falls
Bainbridge Island
Seattle Japanese Garden
Capitol Hill
Cats Exotics (as I love cars!)
Mt Rainier
Various Other Parks

Other points worth mentioning:

Did not realize that Seattle has the hottest real estate market in the country currently. There are no so called 'entry level' houses anymore. Condos and Apartment rent is through the roof. Many people we spoke to have confirmed the so called 'Seattle Freeze' - and that general attitude of the public. Many mentions of Amazon all around the city (for obvious reasons). Uber pickups sometimes would take 20 minutes when it showed 5 - in most cases it was just faster to walk. Coffee is everywhere - and that works out as we love a good cup. The Pan Pacific hotel was awesome, located perfectly between various destinations, away from major tourist buzz - and had a whole foods right below it. You do not need a car to explore majority of seattle and surroundings. We heavily debated renting one for the 3rd day to see some of the further sites mentioned above, and did not end up doing it due to time constraints.

Loved that seattle offers such a great 'city' vibe, great neighborhoods with their own charm all around and so much green / lakes / outdoorsiness (sp) all around it. We can't wait to go back and explore more of it!

[MoreCowdog]

Glad you had a fun time here in the Emerald City! Hope you guys can come back and enjoy more of what the area has to offer.

The Japanese Garden is awesome. I was a little underwhelmed by the Boeing plant tour. I expected to see giant parts of planes getting moved all over the place and none of that took place. The Museum of Flight is really great if you like aviation stuff. I've been a number of times and keep finding new things to enjoy every time I go. Chateau St. Michelle, in addition to wines, is a great concert venue too.

The cost of housing here is crazy, obviously mostly affecting those who are recent arrivals. Someone I know who is selling their house paid $200,000 for it in the mid 90s, now the whole neighborhood is averaging over $1M.

[droptopman]

Originally Posted by socialpro

Quick Update!

Our 3 nights in Seattle was a blast. Weather was a perfect mid 70s alternating between sunshine and clouds. Zero rain.

Here is what we ended up doing:

Space Needle
Ferris Wheel
Chihuly Garden
Pikes Market
Several parks throughout the city
Ballard Neighborhood
Fremont Neighborhood (Had the Solstice Festival going on -- CRAZY!!)
Tons of great food (fish!)

We had friends that live in Redmond that took us to the wineries of Woodinville. I'm surprised that NO websites and recommendations on here mentioned that - as that was probably one of the highlights of our trip. Great scenery up there and you can hit a few wineries back to back. Only about a 1/2 hour ride from Dtown Seattle.

This was one of the first vacations / cities I visited where I left longing for more. Some of these became evident / got uncovered by learning more through city exploration and talking to people we met - that led me to this list.

Things we did not do that we would have loved to:

Boeing Factory Tour
Snoqualmie Falls
Bainbridge Island
Seattle Japanese Garden
Capitol Hill
Cats Exotics (as I love cars!)
Mt Rainier
Various Other Parks

Other points worth mentioning:

Did not realize that Seattle has the hottest real estate market in the country currently. There are no so called 'entry level' houses anymore. Condos and Apartment rent is through the roof. Many people we spoke to have confirmed the so called 'Seattle Freeze' - and that general attitude of the public. Many mentions of Amazon all around the city (for obvious reasons). Uber pickups sometimes would take 20 minutes when it showed 5 - in most cases it was just faster to walk. Coffee is everywhere - and that works out as we love a good cup. The Pan Pacific hotel was awesome, located perfectly between various destinations, away from major tourist buzz - and had a whole foods right below it. You do not need a car to explore majority of seattle and surroundings. We heavily debated renting one for the 3rd day to see some of the further sites mentioned above, and did not end up doing it due to time constraints.

Loved that seattle offers such a great 'city' vibe, great neighborhoods with their own charm all around and so much green / lakes / outdoorsiness (sp) all around it. We can't wait to go back and explore more of it!

Glad you enjoyed the PNW! Nice work, you managed a bunch of great activities in a short time frame. If you like wineries think about heading over the mountains next time to Central WA. Only a 2 hour drive and there are many wine tours available. Totally different from Seattle. Central WA is more like AZ. Dry and high desert. Also tons of orchards. Best Apples on the planet!

[watchtabs]

It's beautiful! Enjoy!

[codecow]

Go to the sushi place across the street diagonal from Four Seasons, it’s legit. I also like Shuckers although it’s a bit divey.

[socialpro]

Originally Posted by codecow

Go to the sushi place across the street diagonal from Four Seasons, it’s legit. I also like Shuckers although it’s a bit divey.

YES — !! We had dinner (at the sushi place) our last night it was teriffic!! FRAN chocolates at the four seasons did not dissapoint either!!