HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Watch fish fly through the air at the Pike Place Market.
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Seattle's top attractions
What makes Seattle unique? These neighborhoods, stores, museums and landmarks are must-sees if you're staying in Seattle for a day or a lifetime. Get a strong coffee, put on some good walking shoes and start exploring.
Argosy Cruises
(Downtown)
There's no better way to see Seattle than from the bow of a ship. Enjoy an Argosy dinner, lunch or brunch cruise year-round, or climb aboard for one of the line's popular theme cruises, such as a jazz brunch or murder mystery cruise.
Discovery Park
(Magnolia/Interbay)
This 534-acre park is the biggest area of preserved wilderness for miles. Visitors can hike through breathtakingly beautiful wooded areas or beach, picnic on a vast grassy knoll and see spectacular views of Puget Sound.
Experience Music Project
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
This unique museum, housed in a blobby, swirly kaleidoscope of a building designed by Frank Gehry, is a music-lover's heaven, with its interactive exhibits, awe-inspiring artifacts and regular concert series. Regular admission's not cheap, but there's plenty to keep you occupied.
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks
(Ballard/Crown Hill)
There's a daily parade of boats of all sizes that move between the Puget Sound and its ship canal to Lake Union. Here, visitors can see the fish-ladder where salmon swim between these bodies of water.
Museum of Flight
(Georgetown)
The magic of flight is reality in this broad collection of early airplanes and nearly 40 other special aircraft in a multilevel steel and glass gallery. The museum's newest addition is the British Airways Concorde supersonic jetliner.
Olympic Sculpture Park
(Belltown)
Along with the Space Needle and the Rem Koolhaas-designed main branch of the Seattle Public Library, this nine-acre sculpture park -- anchored by Alexander Calder's striking "Eagle" -- is destined to become a city icon.
Pacific Science Center
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
Enjoy five buildings jam-packed with science exhibits, a planetarium, two IMAX theaters and a giant greenhouse filled with butterflies from all over the world.
Pike Place Market
(Downtown)
It's a mecca of gorgeous local produce, cheap fresh flowers, fabulous flying fish, endless ethnic eateries and groceries, boisterous street musicians, funky antique shops, crafts stands and hip boutiques.
Science Fiction Museum (Experience Music Project)
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
The entire history (and future) of science fiction, from "War of the Worlds" to "The Matrix," can be seen and touched in this museum, the first of its kind in the United States.
The Seattle Aquarium
(Belltown)
Fresh and saltwater marine life can be seen here, as well as fur seals and river otters. Its octopus and seahorse exhibits, and 400,000 gallon fish tank are highlights.
Seattle Art Museum
(Downtown)
With a recent addition, Seattle Art Museum has tripled its exhibition space and increased the size of its permanent collection by 1,000 pieces. This is a proper big-city museum, perfect for a forward-looking metropolis.
Seattle Center
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
The former site of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair is host to KeyArena, Mercer Arts Arena and a number of other venues. Most of Seattle's major festivals happen here.
Space Needle
(Queen Anne/Seattle Center)
This observation tower, built for the World's Fair of 1962, has come to symbolize Seattle to the rest of the world. It has a restaurant and observation deck, and not surprisingly, the view from the top is amazing.
Woodland Park Zoo
(Greenwood/Phinney Ridge)
One of the oldest zoos on the West Coast, Woodland Park has garnered major awards for its Tropical Rain Forest, Northern Trail, Elephant Forest, Trail of Vines and African Savanna exhibits.
Downtown is the center of Seattle's shopping scene, and Seattle's waterfront is always abuzz with activity. The piers stretching out onto Elliott Bay are loaded with shops, restaurants and even stages where bands play during the summer months. Pioneer Square The oldest neighborhood in Seattle, Pioneer Square is beautiful and squalid by turns. You'll find perfectly preserved structures and rampant decay, though restoration is slowly winning out. The popular Underground Tour provides a history of the area, above and below ground.  |
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