Things To Do
Tourist Attractions
The Space Needle Pike Place Market Chihuly Garden and Glass: Located next to the space Needle, it's a cool museum with colored glass created by Chihuly. MoPop: Museum of Pop Culture is located near the Space Needle. It has some interesting exhibits that rotate every so often. For the latest check out https://www.mopop.org/ Smith Tower: Seattle's first "skyscraper" built in 1914! (this is old for Seattle) Smith Tower includes 360 views of the City and Mt. Rainier. There's a craft cocktail bar at the top with excellent drinks! It's in a rougher part of town. We still recommend visiting, but please take an Uber/Lyft to and from the tower. Reservations strongly encouraged. https://www.smithtower.com/observatory-and-bar.php The Columbia Tower: Tallest building in Seattle with observatory at the top https://www.skyviewobservatory.com/en-US The Museum of Flight: https://www.museumofflight.org/
Parks
Olympic Sculpture Park: Park located next to the Edgewater hotel. Erica and Aaron spent a lot of time here when they lived in Belltown. Discovery Park: Moderate hiking trails and great views of the Puget Sound on a nice day. Kerry park: Stunning views of Seattle from this park. You've likely seen many pictures of the city taken from this location. Washington Park Arboretum: Great place for long nature walks. There's a Japanese garden nearby you can also check out. Note there is a fee to enter the Japanese Garden. Seward Park: Great views of Mt. Rainier and Mercer Island.
Restaurants
Some Random Bar: Erica & Aaron's first date spot! Shiro's Sushi: Great sushi spot in Belltown. The owner Shiro is the apprentice of Jiro from "Jiro dreams of Sushi" on Netflix (reservations recommended) Umi Sake: Solid Sushi spot, can probably get in without a reservation The Pink Door Classic Italian food located in the market. (reservations recommended) Radiator Whiskey: Eclectic mix of sharable foods located in the market. Good whiskey selection Vonns 1000 Spirits: Solid spot for a quite bite. Located near the market How to Cook a Wolf Italian place owned by Ethan Stohl (famous chef in Seattle) Portage Bay Cafe: Popular brunch spot in Seattle. Reservations recommended
Hikes near Seattle
Rattlesnake Ledge: Popular hike for locals. Requires a Discovery Pass (https://store.discoverpass.wa.gov/) Mt. Si: This is a leg burner! Start early and bring plenty of water/snacks. Wonderful views of Mt. Rainier while at the top. Requires a Discover Pass: https://store.discoverpass.wa.gov/ Poo Poo Point: Located in Issaquah and includes great views of Mt. Rainier and the Sammamish plateau. Discover pass required (https://store.discoverpass.wa.gov/) Lake 22: Classic Alpine lake hike. Requires a Northwest Forest Pass or National Park inter-agency Pass (https://www.wta.org/news/signpost/print-your-own-new-northwest-forest-day-pass-option) Oyster Dome: Great views of the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands. Discover Pass required (https://store.discoverpass.wa.gov/) Looking for more hikes, check out the Washington Trails Association site. https://www.wta.org/
Coffee
Macrina Bakery: One of Aaron's favorite morning stops. Grab a pastry to pair with your coffee, it's all made from scratch in house! Victrola: Aaron's favorite coffee roaster in Seattle. We recommend the capitol hill locations. Avoid the location on 3rd and Pine. Slate coffee: They do a nice coffee tasting if you're looking for a unique experience. Starbucks Roastery: This is a fun experience. It's worth stopping in to see it, even if you're not a coffee drinker. You can also do a tasting here.
Beer, wine, and craft cocktails
Beer: Fremont Brewing: Great outdoor space to have a beer on a nice day. This is one of the more popular breweries in Seattle. Cloudburst Brewing: Great beer located near the market. The space is a little small. Old Stove Brewing: Really nice views from the market on a sunny day. Rueben's Brews: Some of the best beer in Seattle. Queen Anne Beer Hall: German style beer hall with lots of good German and local beer. Wine: Woodinville has a bunch of tasting rooms from some of Washington's best wineries. Some of our favorites include: Chateau St. Michelle Mark Ryan DeLille Cellars Zig Zag Cafe: Great for wine and craft cocktails Knee high stocking: Speakeasy bar with great cocktails (reservations required)
Day trip: Bainbridge Island
Catch the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island! The ferry is a great way to get views of Seattle and the surrounding area. Bainbridge is filled with many great shops and restaurants. Mora ice cream is one of our favorite stops on the Island.
Day Trip or Overnight Trip: San Juan Islands
You can take the Victoria Clipper (boat next to Edgewater Hotel, advance reservation needed) or seaplane (Kenmore Air, next to Marriott Courtyard in South Lake Union) to the San Juan Islands and stay overnight or for the day. Friday Harbor has a small "downtown" area with restaurants, access to kayaking, biking, and access to whale watching cruises. Another option would be renting a car and taking a ferry from Anacortes but note ferry times are usually very long in the summer.
Day Trip or Overnight Trip: Victoria, Canada
You can also take the Victoria Clipper (boat next to Edgewater Hotel, advance reservation required) or seaplane (Kenmore Air, leaves next to the Marriott South Lake Union) to Victoria, Canada for the day. Victoria is known for it's gardens and has a nice waterfront downtown area with restaurants. We also recommend tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel if you can get a recommendation.
Day Trip or Overnight Trip: Leavenworth, WA
Leavenworth is a Bavarian Village about 2.5 hours from Seattle. It has a lot of German restaurants and shops. It is also a great spot to stay if you're interested in hiking out East (Colchuck Lake is popular) or going rafting on the Wenatchee River.
Overnight Trip: Olympic National Park
We recommend staying at least 2-3 nights here. You can stay in Forks, WA if you want to access the beaches and Cape Flattery. If you stay in Port Angeles you can access the park visitor center, Hurricane Ride, and Lake Crescent. You will need to rent a car.
Overnight Trip: Vancouver, Canada
You can take a train from Seattle or rent a car and drive to Vancouver, Canada. We'd recommend spending at least 2 nights here.
Overnight trip: Cannon Beach / Oregon Coast
This is a popular beach along the Oregon Coast that also has restaurants, breweries, and tasting rooms in the town. It's on the northern part of the Oregon Coast so it's a good place to go for 2 nights minimum if you want to see a part of the Oregon Coast. If you have more time and want to travel South along the Oregon Coast we'd recommend that too!