Our Recommendations for Exploring Seattle

A Day Exploring The Waterfront & Pike Place Market

Start the day in The Pike Place Market at either the Athenian or Lowell’s for a great view and breakfast at one of the two iconic restaurants. Stroll around for a bit and then drop down to Pike Street Coffee for our favorite coffee in the area.

Work your way back through the market and be sure to checkout the vendors at the day-stalls, explore the shops “down under”, see the gum wall if that’s your fancy, and watch the “fish guys” throw a fish or two.

If it’s about time for lunch, here’s a great list of some of our favorite bites around The Market. Once you’re ready, head on down to Seattle’s Waterfront. At this point, it’s a pick-your-own adventure of taking the West Seattle Water Taxi over to Alki Beach (great for a sunny day), hopping on a ferry to Bainbridge Island and back, or working your way north to the Seattle Aquarium and then to the Waterfront Sculpture Park to catch the sunset.

If have the energy to keep going, working your way back for a cocktail and bite at Zig Zag Cafe or an evening stroll through the Seattle Art Museum. Work your way back home now, because you’ve earned it!

The Space Needle over to Capital Hill

If you plan on a visit to The Space Needle, you’ll be right in the area of the Chihuly Museum and the Seattle’s Pop Culture Museum - allowing you to make full use of a City Pass for a bit of a discount. Alternatively you can work in an Aquarium visit for another day. Once you have your ticketing squared away, we can walk through what your day could look like.

Sleep in and start your day in late morning just up the hill from The Seattle Center at Toulouse Kitchen for a tasty brunch. After brunch, work your way down to your reservations at the Space Needle and/or two museums in the area. You can generally work your way through all the above in just under 2 hours, at which point its time to work your way towards Capital Hill.

Capital Hill is a cultural center of Seattle with plenty of shops, restaurants, and bars to explore at any time of day. A few spots you might want to work your way towards are - Dicks Drive-In on Broadway for a classic Seattle burger and shake, drop into Elliot Bay Bookstore for a visit to a Seattle staple since 1973, visit Oddfellows for a cocktail and bite right next door, take a walk down the Pike Street corridor for a full selection of great shops and restaurants to visit, grab a slice of quality pizza at either Big Mario’s or Hot Mama’s, and then finish things off with an alternate view of the Space Needle from Volunteer Park’s marble donut.

Save some energy because this area is full of bar’s and a few clubs that run through until 2am or later. And if you make it out to late-night, don’t miss an opportunity to have a classic Seattle Dog from one of the street vendors which includes a hot link dog with cream-cheese, grilled onions, and a pretzel bun.

North Seattle from Ballard to Woodland Park Zoo

To do this day best you’ll likely want a car because it covers a lot of stops to get these all in. Also, you can go either East to West or West to East on this day, depending if you’d like to start your morning off with some peaceful waves or end the day with a beach sunset.

Going from West to East, start your day at Golden Garden’s - a lovely beach on Puget Sound with amazing views of the Olympic Mountain Range when the sky is clear. Working your way south a bit, stop by the Ballard Locks to watch the manmade waterway allows boat access from Puget Sound to Lake Union and Lake Washington. During salmon season, you can watch salmon swim and jump their way through the salmon ladder on their way back to spawn. You can find the salmon spawning seasons here.

Hop back in your car and work your way down to Ballard area to cruise around a cool retail area and - if it’s your thing - do a quick search for local breweries once there to see maybe the west-coast’s most brewery-dense couple of blocks.

We haven’t pointed you to food yet because we’re saving that recommendation for a visit to one of Seattle’s more popular seafood eateries - Local Tide. Their rockfish banh mi, veggie sandwich, and shrimp toast are a few of our favorites on the menu. If you’re a plant enthusiast, it’s worth taking a quick trip down the block to the Peace Love and Happiness Club for a look at some very cool plants before working your way to the Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo stays open until 4pm through the colder months and until 6pm May through September. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for some of their evening events which happen throughout the year.

A Fun Date Adventure for a Summer Day

What would this list of ways to explore Seattle be without a fun day-date addition?

During the summer months in Seattle its always worth finding your way to the water as a way to enjoy the long sunny days of the Pacific Northwest. A local favorite activity is a canoe or kayak rental from Agua Verde Cafe which offers fun Mexican faire, canoe and kayak rentals, and is just a generally fun vibe this time of year.

On a busy day, grabbing a margarita and snack while you wait is a great option. Once you rental is ready, head west towards Gasworks Park and enjoy the view of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle.