- I will definitely be checking out the Public Library. Via deVos @ Flickr
I had a mostly restful July 4th weekend (but oy, the heat!), and now I’m on the cusp of an adventure. The Dude is active in his union, and so we are off to said union’s big convention. So, during the day, he’ll be sitting in meetings and hobnobbing with pro-labor types (goatees galore!), and I’ll be toodling around the streets of beautiful Seattle.
This is my first trip, and I’m looking forward to seeing a few friends from days of yore, the beautiful, temperate weather, the huge array of delicious things to eat and drink, cool museums, and what I can only describe as a pilgrimage to the most awesome unnecessary store ever (I mean really, pickle floss?).
I think we have some PacNW readers, yes? Any hints on how best to enjoy my daylight hours?
I’ll be back next week. You kids be good.
Your timing is perfect! The sun is actually coming out and it will be over 60 degrees, finally. Go to Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park (and the museum itself for that matter). And yes, if it’s clear, you must visit the Space Needle. It’s touristy as hell, but the views are worth it. Victrola Coffee is just up the hill from the convention center on Pike. It’s my favorite, but there are, of course, a ton of good coffee options. Take a ferry to Bainbridge Island and while there get ice cream at Mora. Or just ride the ferry there and back. Belltown, between downtown and the Space Needle has a tons of galleries, restaurants, shops. Good for walking around. Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union is a lovely oasis. OK, I’ll stop now, but for sure, you won’t get bored.
MamaSharper and BigStepdaddy live in Seattle, so I’ve spent a fair amount of time there and my advice is to eat your way from one end of Pike Place market to the other, with special attention paid to the Crumpet Shop and the Daily Dozen Donuts. Plus, peaches and Rainier cherries are in season!
Also, you and the Dude would love the Experience Music Project (within walking distance of the market and downtown, in a big Frank Gehry-designed building). It’s worth the $15 entrance fee:
http://www.empsfm.org/index.asp
Not a native, but a sometimes visitor. Seattle is something of an insider’s city: Not glitzy– the interesting and usually understated stuff is in the neighborhoods away from the tourist areas.
Fremont Neighborhood: Fremont Troll! & the artsy neighborhood in general
Capitol Hill: Twice Told Tales used books & Queen Sheba Ethopian restaurant
Museum of Flight (a number of campuses and options, including the Airpark)
Take a ferry somewhere for an afternoon.
Drive to the mountains and / or the coast.
Yay Seattle!
Left Bank Books, on Pike Street near the Market entrance, is one of the best book stores in the world. And it’s completely worker-owned.
From Seattle, but now living in OR. I’m glad the library is on the list, because that is one of our favorite stops whenever we are up there visiting family. I second the sculpture garden. If you want to get out of downtown some morning, I recommend the Sound Garden which is on a NOAA facility next to Magnuson Park on Lake Washington. It used to be open all the time, but after 9/11 it’s basically open during business hours.
I could go on at length about where to get the best coffee (I have OPINIONS) and other delights, but really, for me, no trip to Seattle is complete without a stop in the International District (south end of downtown just north of the train station and the stadia) to stuff my face. There are about 150 restaurants from pretty much every Pacific Asian culinary tradition in a 6 block area. I usually end up at Kau Kau for THE BEST Chinese barbecue. The bbq pork chow mein with extra bbq pork is heaven in a paper takeout box.
I second everyone else’s recommendations, and add to them:
- I can’t recommend enough that you stop and see the Troll in Fremont. Also, hang out in Fremont. It’s a really interesting neighborhood, and quite cute.
- Starbucks is overrated, and everywhere. Tully’s is my favorite local (national) coffee, but when you’re in Seattle try and avoid the chains; there are so many fantastic little cafes that it’s a waste to drink Starbucks
- Top Pot donuts are fantastic, and they’ve got a few locations (one is in the downtown core, 5th and …. Blanchard?)
- The aquarium on the piers is great fun (and Real World was filmed a few piers down!)
- The Underground Tour is a BLAST, partly because I know the area so the details resonate, mostly because Seattle was founded on lies and cheats and self-serving motives. It’s hard to top the entertainment that is my city’s history.
- When you’re at the Seattle Center (Space Needle / EMP / etc) .. ride the Monorail. Also fun – riding the SLUT (South Lake Union Trolley).
- Please oh please, have sushi. And seafood. Lots of it. It was probably caught this morning, and it’s delicious.
- The Fairmont Olympic Hotel (4th and University) has killer martinis. They’re expensive, but huge and strong. I couldn’t walk straight after just one.
- Any one of our million museums
- Cheap cheap cheap Mariners tickets (they start at $7!) .. we lose, but the fans are nice, and the stadium food is top notch.
- Hit Pike Place first thing in the morning, if possible … it gets crazy busy with lollygagging tourists, and it’s less hectic in the morning.
Please oh please, when you get back, tell everyone it rained the whole time. You’re here for the first week of weather that hasn’t been absolute shite (Seattle is soooooo pretty when the weather’s good, I’m glad you’re here for it!!), but we’ve got a reputation to maintain, ya know?
If you see Richard Trumpka, would you consider getting his autograph for me!!! Trumpka!!
You have absolutely got to see the troll. I can’t emphasize that enough.
And if you find yourself on the waterfront, eat lunch at Ivar’s (eat in the outdoor area if it’s not raining, and ask for extra tartar sauce) and go check out the mummified woman and man at the Curiosity Shop.
ooooo Dorky, wish my union was having a convention in Seattle that I was being sent to attend.
I would so visit Archie McPhee’s in between the sessions, and purchase some Absinthe Floss and other absinthe flavoured products, not a big fan of pickles.. this shop is so full of awesome, I am overwhelmed..
I grew up in Seattle. It has sure changed, but a couple of my favorite haunts that haven’t yet been mentioned AND still exist are:
- Ivar’s Salmon House on Lake Union – That’s my favorite clam chowder in the world. I love getting chowder at the stand and eating on the dock, or going inside for a fancier dinner.
- Gasworks Park – right near Ivar’s, on Lake Union, great view of the city and fun climbing
- REI – It’s commercial but FUN! Climbing wall, indoor trail and bike path, etc.
- The Space Needle – I hear the food isn’t good anymore, but I loved the rotating restaurant at the top. We had many celebrations there.
And then I have to second, third, and fourth the Pike Place Market, the Underground Seattle Tour, and the Fremont Troll.
oh, and I’m a sucker for the Dale Chihuly collection at the Seattle Art Museum.
And the Aquarium!
And Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe near the aquarium, with a real fake mermaid mummy!
So much to see. Have fun!
@elibard — if you go to the Ivars on Lake Union, you’re next door to the Chiuly studio! Two birds with one stone
AMEN to their chowder .. like fast food of the gods.
OH! The view of the city that photographers use to cheat and pretend the Space Needle is big – Kerry Park (Highland and 3rd Ave W), on Queen Anne Hill. It’s a pretty spectacular view, and not difficult to get to.
I’m copying what I wrote from the “Local Boosterism” thread, but… I still stand by it! :O)
A tour to Seattle really isn’t complete with out checking out Pike Place Market and you’re probably near there if you’re at the Seattle Convention Center, but honestly – don’t spend too much time there. It’s fun, but really only worth and hour or two. For fun downtown stuff, I definitely second the recommendations for the Underground Tour, esp. if you’re at all a history buff and then perhaps an hour or so at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, which is near the Underground Tour.
After that, don’t spend too much more time downtown. Spend your time on a tour of the major neighborhoods in Seattle. Seattle is definitely a city of neighborhoods – each with their own distinct histories and flavors. You can really get a feel for the city by visiting them and you can actually pretty easily do it by bus, too, if you don’t want to spend the money on a rental car. (Hotel front desk should be able to help you out with bus schedules. Don’t be afraid – it’s a very simple system!)
Capitol Hill (my home!) is a young hipstery-ish neighborhood with lots of fun restaurants and bars. My current fave is Lark. They do locally grown, Northwest-style small-plate type stuff. Little pricey, but worth it. Bookstores: Elliott Bay. Also is very gay-friendly, with a large portion of the gay community taking up residence here.
Fremont and Ballard: A little north of downtown business district. Fremont is the old hippie center of Seattle – with it’s own gigantic (and kinda scary!) statue of Lenin right smack dab in the center of the ‘hood. Now the neighborhood is a little overrun with Microsoft millionaires in $60 tie-dye t-shirts, but… it’s still fun. A don’t miss is the Fremont Sunday Market, with local artisans, flea market, and lots of good eats. Ballard was the home to the main wave of Swedish and Norwegian immigrants and their stamp can be seen on lots of the buildings and streets. Also a bit of a hipster-y hangout. Lots of bars with live music, if you like that sort of thing. Sunset Tavern and Hazelwood, in particular.
West Seattle. Southwest of downtown with a great view of the Seattle Skyline and Elliott Bay. Also lots of good restaurants. My favorite, though, is a bakery: Bakery Nouveau. The strawberry cheesecake is so good you’ll cry.
Hope you have fun! Feel free to contact me at petitexl@yahoo.com if you have questions or just get stuck somewhere while you’re here. :O)
The aquarium!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA8zQw6gDNI
Shark Vs. Octopus. There is little more to be said.
I’m a West Seattleite, and would recommend making at least one trip out here for a proper Seattle sunset. The view from Alki out over the islands up to the Olympic Mountains is utterly breathtaking. It’s a bit crowded down there with a younger crowd during the summer (it’s our microcosmic version of the Riviera), but if you stay north or south of Alki Avenue proper, it’s a slice of heaven.
If you’re up for a hike but don’t want to lose multiple hours driving out to the Cascade foothills, I’d also recommend a trip out to Discovery Park. It’s the largest park in Seattle — formerly an Army post — and has an amazing trail system that runs along the Magnolia bluff.
OMG! I am getting homesick reading these recommendations! *Seattle person currently in Taipei*
I live in the University District, and while you might expect it to be janky, there are actually quite a few special places you can’t find anywhere else. For example, there is a vegan pizzeria on University Way & NE 55th St that will blowwww yer miiiind. (The manpanion and I are not even vegan, but we regularly starve ourselves all afternoon to be able to eat half a bigass pizza there!) That one is called Pizza Pi (yeah, like the pi symbol, ha ha, see what they did there…gosh not funny at all but just ignore it)
Araya’s is a vegetarian/vegan Thai restaurant located on NE 45th St between 11th Ave NE & 12th Ave NE that is run by what the manpanion and I affectionately call “hella Buddhists” who are super adorable and sweet. It’s def one of my top faves; before I leave Seattle, I always have to eat there. My favourite dish is the panang curry (I ask them not to put lime leaves in it) with brown rice. Lovely curry exploooode. You seriously don’t miss meat at all; it doesn’t feel like “something’s missing”. You can tell that whoever made your food really cares about, well, good food, without being all douchey and pretentious.
Oh another awesome thing about the abovementioned restos is that they’re affordable (without being janky!!).
I don’t know why I keep mentioning vegetarian/vegan stuff (I’m really not…maybe I’m thinking about it because of the meat overload here in Taiwan??) but there is also a vegan donuts place called Mighty-O that would be fun to try! A lot of people try to compare it to Voodoo Donuts in Portland, but I think that’s like apples & oranges. They’re also different from Top Pot in that they are pretty much rather simple but interesting cake donuts, but they don’t feel “heavy” like regular cake donuts do. I clearly am not describing them in a way that does them justice, so you should just look at their site: http://www.mightyo.com/ They are located at 2110 N 55th St~
PS. GUYS sorry for any bad/really random English, I don’t use it here a lot D:
I’m a lifelong Seattlite!
-Ivar’s, as everyone else said. If you eat on the waterfront, sit outside and throw fries to the seagulls. But don’t hang on to them as I did- you’ll get whaled on by a large seabird.
-Pike Place Market– upstairs, underground, the tea shop, Tenzig Momo, Beecher’s cheese store (get the mac and cheese!), the piroshky stand, oh god it’s amazing.
-Flagship Nordstrom’s is downtown. And natives call it Nordstrom’s because that’s what our grandmas called it before the ‘s was dropped in the 70s.
-Locally-roasted coffee from Lladro, Victrolla, or Caffe Vita. I personally love Vita’s Seattle Roast beans– it’s worth buying bags and bringing it home (I’ve shipped it cross-country to friends).
-If you’re here on the first Thursday of the month, it’s free admission at SAM, which currently has a Cobain-inspired exhibit, a Warhol exhibit, a fantastic Pollock, and an exhibit explaining the actual spiritual beliefs and practices of the Quileute people. Admission covers admission at the sculpture park on the water front and the Seattle Asian Art Museum, which is in Volunteer Park.
-Go to Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill (catch the 10 bus from downtown) and look at the view, the conservatory, the art museum, and Seattle’s oldest cemetery is next door (Lakeview), with the graves of the founding fathers and Bruce and Brandon Lee. Walk around the neighborhood- VP is in the middle of Seattle’s “old money” neighborhood, and the houses are to die for.
-Come to my neck of the woods (Ballard) and get food at La Carta de Oaxaca or Ocho, then head to the Locks and Golden Gardens Park (a beach on the sound, trails up the hill, and an off-leash area full of happy dogs)– if you can handle it, on the way to Golden Gardens, stop at the pink burger stand (cash only) and get some AMAAAZING Cuban sandwiches at Paseo.
-if you can rent a car, do so. Driving the loop around Mount Rainier National Park is free and an easy day trip. This week it will be drop-dead gorgeous and packed. Prepare to do 10 MPH while you try to not drive off the road and yell “I CAN SEE GLACIERS!”
-If you have to stay in-city, University of Washington has a gorgeous Ivy-wannabe campus, great views, and is a short distance away from more pho restaurants than you can shake a stick at, as well as the aforementioned vegan/gluten-free pizza place which even my meat-loving brother goes to. Cedars on 50th and Brooklyn has great Indian food and I think the owner’s better now and the waitstaff gets tips. UW also has a contemporary art museum, the Henry, which is pretty good.
-The Space Needle is cool, I haven’t done it since senior year homecoming, but it’s fun to go up in it, but don’t waste your money on the food.
You came during the perfect week, but yeah, please tell everyone we were mean and that it rained the whole time.
Oh, I almost forgot. Dick’s Drive In. I’ll be the last to recommend a greasy hamburger joint, but Dick’s is just… impossible to explain to anyone who didn’t grow up in Seattle.
Thought I might also mention, if you are in town this weekend, Seattle’s annual summer festival, Seafair, begins on Saturday with the Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki Beach. Yes; pirates. In full garb. Bounding off a Higgins boat. Woohoo! (It’s very kitschy but quintessentially OLD Seattle.)
They tend to be found around the rest of the day as well, on their “ship,” the Moby Duck — an old Naval amphibious craft — or sometimes just randomly about town. I ran into one, still in full garb, in a bar in Pioneer Square a few years back.
The underground walking tour is AWESOME.
The donut shop in Pike Place is also essential.
Have a delightful time!