Seattle suggestions / advice / tips

[AndyGWP]

Hi folks. Does anyone have any tips for a couple of days in Seattle please?

I have poor Wi-Fi at the moment so although I am 99% certain the subject has come up before, I am unable to properly search.

I have the following notes. Any other suggestions?

Space Needle
Pioneer Square
Pike Place Market
Fremont
Beneath the streets tour
Museum of pop culture

[masaccio]

Skip Pioneer Square. Visit the space needle at night then come back for the Chihuly Glass museum (no really, it’s breathtaking — watch all of Blown Away beforehand to get in the mood). Get to Pike Place early to avoid the crowds or don’t bother.

If you like planes the Boeing factory tour is great.

If flush with cash ($1000 for 2) a day trip and heli tour of Mt St Helens is a proper once in a lifetime thing.

[Will in SJC]

Here is the last thread on Seattle. It was pretty short. I presume you are starting or ending a wider trip of the PNW in Seattle? If not then checking out Bainbridge Island is worth a shout on one of your days in Seattle.

I’ve never really understood the attraction of Pike Place Market, I’d go early in the morning get a couple of pics and head on out.

Agree with Boeing factory tour at Everett. Also worth a morning is the museum at Boeing Field (on the way from SeaTac to downtown not out at Everrett).

I am back in Seattle next month on business hopefully downtown will have rebounded and be full of life once again.

[MattB]

We got one of those City pass cards a few years back which included the space needle/pop museum/glass museum/aquariam/ ferry trip which I thought was fair value.

Stangely enough on walking into the glass museum I realised the chap in front of me in 1A the day before was Dale Chihuly himself (he has a distinctive appearance). He also did the Bellagio foyer roof art which we saw a few days later.

[mark2]

When we went a few years ago we walked past the Starbucks first coffee shop museum. A few doors away there was a French bakery where they sold excellent baked goods and wonderful coffee.

[Reney]

I took the ferry to cross the Sound that was nice, went to one of the beaches, ate my way around pike street market and watch some fish throwing.

I did go to the Japanese garden but if I recall I may have preferred the one in Portland.

If you liked Sleepless in Seattle worth seeing some of the spots from the movie. I did see the house that inspired the movie UP, but you might miss it if someone didn’t point it out to you.

[The real Swiss Tony]

Make sure you take a ride on the monorail from the World’s Fair back in the 60’s.

The scenery nearby is stunning – Bainbridge Island is a good shout but if you can get further over to the West then even better.

Has been a while but we had a few meals up at Lake union which were nice – sitting on the terrace, watching the seaplanes.

And my +1 for the Museum of flight down towards SeaTac. Very well done (as have been all the museums we visited in Seattle to be fair)

[dougzz99]

The Boeing factory tour is still closed, there’s a Boeing experience which a bit meh. The Museum of Flight is excellent. Pioneer Square give a miss, Pike Place I didn’t get, full of people so popular, not sure why.
The waterfront is bouncing back, but be aware Seattle was hit hard in the pandemic and homelessness is widespread there, the downtown area has its share of tents and people with mental health issues.
If Sports are your thing the Mariners (Baseball) are having a decent season and worth a visit, it’s next to the huge NFL stadium and NFL football will start soon. The Sounders (proper football) play there too, worth a visit if there’s a game that fits your schedule.

[AndyGWP]

Brill. Thanks for that everyone – really appreciate it. There in 24 hours – will let you know how we get on! 😬

[Ladyshopper]

Definitely don’t bother with Pioneer Square, it was awful when we went in April.

We did the citypass thing, and really enjoyed everything. Did the Space Needle during the day and at night (saw the sunset, which was lovely). Chihuly Glass museum was great, enjoyed it far more than expected. Harbour ferry tour was also really good, even though it was chucking it down!

If you go to Pike Place Market, make sure you go and see the bubblegum wall. It’s gross, yet oddly captivating!

Definitely agree with others, there are a lot of homeless people around, including many with mental health issues. Also saw members of that community openly taking drugs in the street. However, the only area we felt unsafe was Pioneer Square. It was really sad to see, I don’t think Seattle is particularly unusual though, seems to be all American cities.

We spent a week there before a cruise. It was probably just about long enough for us, I have some mobility problems so could factor in lots of rests and didn’t do much in a day. For anyone without those kind of issues, 2-3 days would be absolutely fine to get all the good stuff done.

Enjoy your trip!

[tiriavpo]

Whale watching is good it if it interests you. There are short trips or a day out which takes you out to the San Juan Islands for a few hour stay and then back.

[AndyGWP]

Hi folks – thanks for all the suggestions. 2 nights in Seattle was more than enough for us and we managed to fill it (only regret is we didn’t go to Bainbridge)

In the end we did the CityPass (thanks @Ladyshopper ). Loved the glass museum – wasn’t what we were expecting.

Only tip I can pass on is that if you try to book the sky needle for sunset, then book it around an hour earlier than you need. We booked our ticket for 8pm (sunset at 8:25) and we spent an hour in line waiting to go up in the lifts 🤦🏼‍♂️

Prior to going Seattle we had been around the Gastown district of Vancouver so thought we knew what we were letting ourselves in for. Massive surprise at the scale of the homeless issues occurring in Seattle which dwarfed what we saw in Vancouver. Mentioned the following in chat, but this seems more appropriate place for it:

Open drug use seemed common.

Open theft
– someone tried to steal a book from a shop we were across the road from
– a woman walked into a patisserie, picked up someone’s food from the counter and just left
– a couple of lads were walking down 4th Avenue shining a torch into each Parked car they passed

…that was all in a single day

Shop windows on 4th avenue seemed prone to getting smashed overnight too

That being said, it didn’t seem unsafe, you remain aware and try to consciously avoid any potential issues.

Side note – I think I saw a small piece of PDX’s famous carpet (framed) when I was in SEA the other day. Likely? It was down by the train next to the toilets at N gates – not sure why? (ah I googled it – it’s a framed piece of their own old carpet (makes more sense!))