Seattle
THE AMERICAS · CITY · PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Seattle is a city built on water and hills, with a volcano on the skyline when the clouds lift. It has the oldest continuously operating farmers' market in the country, the coffee culture that colonised the planet, and enough water in every direction that half the transport is boats. Bring a rain shell and stop apologising for the weather — everyone here stopped decades ago.
The plan
Pike Place Market at 8am
Go before the tour groups: the fish throwers, the original Starbucks queue, and the lower levels almost nobody finds.
Ferry to Bainbridge Island
A 35-minute crossing for the price of a coffee, with the best skyline view in the city on the way back.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Under the Space Needle, and a far better use of an hour than the observation deck above it.
Ballard and Fremont
Locks with a salmon ladder, a Sunday market that runs all year, and a troll under a bridge.
Mount Rainier day trip
Two hours south to Paradise for meadows and glaciers. July and August only, unless you like snowshoes.
Book before you fly
Space Needle & Chihuly
A combined ticket is cheaper and both are timed.
Mount Rainier
Timed entry reservations now apply to the Paradise and Sunrise corridors in summer.
Boeing Future of Flight tour
Small groups, closed weekends, booked well ahead.
Getting there
Fly Seattle-Tacoma (SEA)
A major Alaska and Delta hub with direct flights across Asia and Europe. The Link light rail runs downtown in 40 minutes for about $3.
Take the Amtrak Cascades
From Portland in three and a half hours or Vancouver in four, hugging the water most of the way. Far nicer than flying.
Getting around
Link light rail, trolleybuses and the ferries cover almost everything. A car is a liability downtown — parking is brutal.
When to go
Best time to go
July to September — genuinely dry, 24°C, and the mountains are open. It's the reason people put up with the other nine months.
Cheapest months
November to March. Rooms are cheap, it drizzles, and the city is at its cosiest indoors.
If you've got one day
Morning
Pike Place Market at 8am
Late morning
Ferry to Bainbridge Island
Lunch
Paseo
Afternoon
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Evening
Dinner at Canlis, then Ballard and Fremont
If you've got a week
Day 1
Arrive, settle in around The Edgewater, and take it slowly — Paseo for dinner.
Day 2
Pike Place Market at 8am.
Day 3
Ferry to Bainbridge Island. Dinner at The Walrus and the Carpenter.
Day 4
Day trip — Olympic National Park.
Day 5
Chihuly Garden and Glass. Canlis at some point.
Day 6
Ballard and Fremont.
Day 7
Mount Rainier day trip. Finish with Sushi Kashiba.
Staying longer?
Nearby & day trips
Olympic National Park
Two and a half hours and a ferry to rainforest, hot springs and a wild Pacific coast.
Mount Rainier
Two hours south, and visible from half the city on a clear day.
Three hours south by train or car.
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