Exploring Seattle, Washington

Things to consider: 

-Seattle has a very good transit system that you may want to try if you staying outside of the city. Like any city it can be very congested traffic and it can be expensive to park. The light rail system is called sound transit

- Depending on what you are doing you might want to consider the Seattle City Pass. Depending on your itinerary it might be more beneficial for you utilize this pass rather than pay for attractions individually. I'll talk more about the city pass at the end of this blogpost.

Pikes Place Market 

The most typical Seattle tourist stop- but for a good reason. I feel like everyone should come here at least once. There is a lot to see. It is fun to walk around and see all the beautiful flowers, look at all the different shops, smell the fishy smell. Plus it all located right on the water front of the Puget sound. On a clear day you can see the Olympic mountain range across the way. 

Be warned- this can get very busy depending on what time of day/season you are visiting. It can be very crowded and the lines for things can be long. If you want to really explore the market it might be better to go right when it opens to try to beat some of the crowds. Also some of the floors are wet and slippery from the ice melting to keep the fish cold and fresh.

 

There is the "first starbucks" here that has the original brown logo instead of the green. It is technically not the original starbucks but it is the longest operating one. I have never been in because every time I've gone there is a line literally down the street to get in it. 

Also in the area is the infamous gum wall- this is pretty gross when you are actually there. A lot of people bring gum to chew and add to the wall. There's also a lot of people there taking Instagram pics. 

There are many restaurants in this area. We have eaten at Pike Brewery and Old Stove Brewery and we enjoyed both of them and they have great atmosphere. Be prepared for "when in Seattle" prices. To save money you could just eat light snacks at the market. 

Max at Pike Brewery

The Space Needle

Ok so until recently, I had never actually been to the space needle, despite visiting Seattle multiple times. I just feel like it's very expensive and semi over-rated. Its not the tallest building in Seattle.  It's $35 per adult. The only reason that we went the time that we did was because we had city passes. The tickets are timed and you can only enter at that specific time. While you are waiting in line for the elevator  there is a some information that you can read about why it was built and how long it took. They took the restaurant out and it is an expensive bar up a the top. The rotating glass floor is neat though. 

Museum of Pop Culture 

The museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP as it calls itself is right next to the Space Needle- so you can take your picture and then move on. This museum has permanent and temporary exhibits. The first time that we went there there was a temporary exhibit on the Marvel movies and Max and geeked out like the crazy nerds that we are. The next time they had an exhibit on Disney heros and villans costumes. This museum is on the pricier side in my opinion but it was really neat. Ticket prices now vary apparently depending on what day/time you visit but range from $25-30

 

Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit

This an art exhibit from a local glass blower. His glass structures are really neat! Remember that this is an exhibit and not a museum- I was a little bit shocked at how small this was. They also had a section of

exhibit where people blowing glass. We did this as part of the city pass offer and while it was very neat I probably wouldn't' have been as happy just because there are only like 5 rooms and a garden of exhibits. The regular cost of admission is $32 per person. It only took us about a half hour to see everything and then we watched them blow glass for a half hour. If art is your thing then I would highly recommend this but we were so-so on it.  

Olympic Sculpture Garden/Park

This is a public park that features contemporary art. I will be the first one to say that I'm not an art enthusiast but this is a pretty park right on the Puget sound. It also has some nice view of the space needle if that's what you are looking for. If you are looking for a nice walk down by the waterfront this is the place to go. 

Kerry Park 

If you are looking for a great view of Seattle and a picture with the seattle skyline this is a great park. It's honestly not much of a "park" but it's a great view. We have been here twice on sunny days and love the view. You can park along side of the road for free and walk. 

Argosy Boat Tours 

This is boat company that offers multiple boat tours around the Seattle waterfront. We took the harbor tour because it was included as part of the city pass but if we paid for it separately it would've been $35 per adult. We really enjoyed it and it was very informative. I was slightly worried because Max tends to get seasick easily but this boat was very smooth and moved slowly around the harbor. Pro Tips: get there earlier to get line for a good spot on the boat. We sat on the top deck outside- while it was a little chilly (we did this in November) it was nice and provided nice views. If you sit on the left hand side you get the best views of Seattle when the boat turns around. I imagine on a clear day you can see the Olympic Mountain range but it was cloudy when we did it. 

 

Columbia Tower- Sky View Observatory 

This is the tallest building in Seattle. When we went up in it in 2018 they were just building the observatory up so I don't think we paid $25 a person but apparently it now has a bar and is more tourist friendly. Still less than the space needle- plus you get the space needle in your pictures. We really enjoyed the views from this tower. It was really neat! 

Klondike Gold Rush Museum

This is a free museum from the National Park Service that gives information on the history of downtown Seattle and it's participation in the Gold Rush during the 1890s. It is considered a National Historical Site and has an NPS stamp. It is located in near Pioneer square which does have a large homeless population- just something to be aware of- but worth the visit. I really enjoyed learning about this part of Seattle's history and how it really benefitted the city. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures when we went here in 2018.

Washington Park Arboretum- Japanese Garden

So I'm a plant nerd and I'm always down to explore a Japanese garden. This Japanese Garden is very pretty- we really enjoyed it. It costs $8 per adult to enter the garden. The rest of the arboretum is free and there many paved and groomed trails with beautiful plants to see! Apparently there is a tea ceremony that I was not aware of but they have currently suspended it due to covid. 

Museum of Flight

The museum of flight is an air and space museum in south Seattle. It features the history of Boeing and the development of the modern airplane. It also has exhibits on the airplanes of world war I & II. My personal favorite part was the outdoor hanger where you could tour old airplanes. They have the old Airforce one from 1959-1962 in the hanger and it was so cool to tour such a piece of history. Even if you are "meh" on planes like me I would recommend it- it is a pretty cool museum and there is something for everyone. 

Price: $25 for adults- they do have senior and military discounts. 

Plan on spending at least 2-3 hours minimum inside the museum. If you like to read every single sign then add more time. This museum is HUGE and there is so much to see. This is a great activity for a rainy day. 

Restaurants we've tried in Seattle 

-Pyramid Brewing Company. This is a brewery and a restaurant. It is right next the Seahawks stadium. It was very good and the beer was good as well. 

-DinTai Fung- This is a few blocks from pikes place market. It is a Taiwanese restaurant. It was soo good- the dumplings were delicious!

City Pass

So one weekend that we went to Seattle I decided to try the Seattle city pass. This gets you access to the Seattle Aquarium (which I hear is supposed to be really good but I'm terrified of aquariums) and the space needle for free plus three other attractions. You pick from the Chihuly Glass and Garden exhibit, MoPOP, Woodland Park Zoo and the Argosy boat cruise. If you are planning on doing some of these during your stay it makes sense. You have 9 days to utilize the pass once its activated. I calculated the price if we were to buy all of these tickets individually and we did save money. The cost is $109 per adult and $84 per child.