I've got a day in Seattle. What to do?

Question

I will be in Seattle for a cruise to Alaska on the 29th. I arrive in Seattle on the 27th, and so I will have an entire day in area to take in the sights. I'm curious if any locals have recommendations for what I could do in a day to get an "essence" of the city. I'm completely ignorant of the area as the only tourist destination I know of is the Space Needle.

Also, how is the public transportation in the area? Should I just rent a car?

Thanks for your suggestions.

Answer 1

The Pike Place Market is a must see.  It's close to the cruise terminals and you should be able to walk there or take a quick cab ride.  Cabs can be found near the ferry terminal (it's between the two main cruise terminal areas).  Another thing that most people might find interesting is going to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks  (connecting Puget Sound and the lake).   It's not far via cab and our guests seem to find it fun and interesting.   I don't recommend renting a car because the traffic is horrible and if you don't know your way around, you'll find it nearly impossible to navigate around all of the bodies of water we have.  If you want to see a lot of areas in a short time, there are Argosy tour boats that go to many different areas.  There is one that even goes on Lake Washington and passes by Bill Gates house on the lake.   You can catch these from the waterfront too.   You won't have enough time to venture out away from the city but these things should keep you fairly busy and will give you a much better taste of what Seattle is really like.   Hopefully, the weather will improve by the time you get here.  We've had a weather front come in today and the rain was a dull reminder that fall is not far off.   Have fun in Seattle.

Karen

Answer 2

Do NOT rent a car if you're just going to be hanging around downtown.  The buses are free in the downtown core...just jump on any bus and get off wherever you want.

As far as what to do, I would suggest Pike Place Market (have lunch at El Puerco Llloron), the Space Needle (ride the monorail there from Westlake Center), if you like art you can visit the Seattle Art Museum or Olympic Sculpture Garden, Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe on the waterfront is always interesting, and then if you have time take a free bus down to Pioneer Square and do the Underground Tour or visit the Klondike Gold Rush museum.  Have dinner at an Asian restaurant in the International District or grab a beer and pub fare at a bar in Pioneer Square.

Answer 3

Seattle has no essence, as it's a very eclectic city with varying districts.  From the watefront, you can easily get to the Space Needle for a nice lunch and great view.   At the needle is also the Science Fiction Museum and the Rock and Roll Museum.

Seattle also as a touristy waterfront with lots of shops, restaurants, and an aquarium.

From the waterfront you can also easily walk -- through the parking garage -- to elevators that will bring you right up into the Pike Place Market (on the bluff above the waterfront).  You could easily just spend a half day in there if shopping and people watching is your think.  There are also several very good restaurants right there, including a good French restaurant:  Le Champagne.  (One of the restaurant's in Pike Place Market was featured in the movie SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE.

Pike Place Market is also the western edge of downtown.  Walking east 4 blocks will get you to the main shopping district for everything from Nordstrom's to great kitchen stores.  (If kitchen stores are your thing, though, don't miss Sur le Table on Pike Place, just across the street from the market.)

You won't need a car to do any of these.  The downtown area has a free bus system, but you'll have to pay to get as far as the space needle.  Outside the downtown area the bus system is terrible.  There is a street car on the waterfront that can take you to Pioneer Square, where there are some great bookstores, toy and antiquarian stores, and the city's most notorious homeless.  (Yesler Street right there is the original "skid row", where the logging sluice would slide tree trunks down the hill to the waterfront for shipping.

Answer 4

What you do really depends on what time you get in where you're staying.  Hopefully you're staying in the downtown Seattle hotel.  If so, there's no need to rent a car.   Everything is so close that taxi rides in downtown are pretty cheap, you could walk or even take the bus.

Assuming that you have the whole afternoon, use it to take in the most popular Tour Attractions.  Yes, you have to do the Space Needle, you'll beat yourself up if you don't.  If it's a clear day, you can spend a lot of time getting great pictures of the city and even Mt. Ranier in the distance.   If you wait and do it on the morning of your cruise, you can get some good pictures of your cruise ship from the top.  There's also a lot to see in that area as well.

The other attraction is Pike's Market - home of the very first Starbucks and the famous flying fish.  You can also pick up some pretty awesome cherries.  It's highly visited and higly photographed part of Seattle.  Pretty neat place and a good way to kill some time.

From Pike's Market you can head down to the waterfront along Alaska Way and Main Street. Lots of restaurants, souvenir shops, and some tour companies.  We did an Argosy Harbor Cruise.  Gives you a pretty nice view of the Seattle skyline and some history and factoids about Seattle, but it's redundant since you're going to be sailing past all that anyway.   Dinner at Anthony's Pier 66 is nice.  Great menu and not too bad with regards to price.  You can check them out online.

For more ideas, check out the GoSeattle card.  Don't buy one. You're not there long enough to enjoy all the stuff on there.

Hope that was helpful. Enjoy your trip.

Uf