Everything I'd tell a friend visiting Seattle for the first time — Pike Place bites, the big views, the classic attractions, and the stops worth the hype.
Map
Go early on a weekday, wander all the lower levels, and don't skip the flower stalls.
Pike Place Market
Stand near the counter and wait for the famous flying fish — it never gets old.
Pike Place Fish Market
Snap the photo of the original brown siren logo — go right at opening to beat the line.
Starbucks Coffee Company
Watch the cheese being made through the window and get the 'World's Best' mac & cheese.
Beecher's Handmade Cheese
Beef-and-cheese or smoked salmon pâté piroshky — eat it walking along the market.
Piroshky Piroshky
Award-winning New England clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.
Pike Place Chowder - Pike Place Market
French bakery across from the market — a warm almond croissant.
Le Panier
Hot mini doughnuts made fresh in front of you — get the mixed dozen.
Daily Dozen
Gross, colorful, and totally iconic — add your own piece in Post Alley under the market.
The Gum Wall
Ride up for the rotating glass floor and 360° views — go around sunset.
Space Needle
Dale Chihuly's jaw-dropping glass art — the Glasshouse is unreal on a sunny day.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Frank Gehry building with Nirvana and Hendrix exhibits — the Sound Lab is a blast.
Museum of Pop Culture
The postcard view of the Space Needle, downtown, and (on clear days) Mount Rainier.
Kerry Park
Free waterfront sculpture park — walk the zigzag path down to the water.
Olympic Sculpture Park
Say hi to the sea otters and check out the newer Ocean Pavilion.
Seattle Aquarium
Glass-gondola Ferris wheel over Elliott Bay — best at dusk.
The Seattle Great Wheel
Classic waterfront fish and chips — feed the seagulls a fry (they'll let you).
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Hilarious guided walk through the buried storefronts of old Seattle.
Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour
1914 skyscraper with a speakeasy-style observatory bar and wraparound deck.
Smith Tower Observatory & Bar
The highest public viewpoint in the Pacific Northwest — you look down on the Space Needle.
Sky View Observatory
Huge Asian supermarket with a food court and a Kinokuniya bookstore inside.
Uwajimaya Seattle
The cheapest scenic cruise in town — ride over for skyline and Olympic Mountain views.
Ferry to Bainbridge Island
534 acres of trails, bluffs, and a lighthouse beach — Seattle's wildest park.
Discovery Park
Walk through a Concorde and Air Force One — worth the short drive south.
