Seattle, WA Road Trips

The first humans are believed to have entered the region nearly 4,000 years ago. Englishman George Vancouver mapped the area in the 1790s, but the first white settlers didn't arrive until 1851. Luther Collins led a party of settlers to the mouth of the Duwamish River (in what is today southern Seattle), followed shortly by a party led by the more notable Arthur A. Denny of Chicago, who settled at Alki Point in West Seattle. Confrontations between the original settlers initially flared, only to die out as the groups settled together on the Elliott Bay. The area was then named Seattle by David Maynard, in honor of Chief Si'ahl of the Duwamish & Suquamish tribes, and later officially established as a city in 1869. By the 1880s, development of a modern city came to life with the erection of buildings, a streetcar system, and a lumber mill at the end of a timber skid row (what is now Yesler Way), only to be destroyed by fire in 1889. The city came alive again in 1897 during the Klondike Gold Rush, when Seattle served as the departure city for miners bound for Alaska and the Yukon. Entire hills were sluiced into Elliott Bay to make flat land for development, and the Lake Washington Ship Canal was dug to connect Lake Washington to the Puget Sound. Beyond the gold rush alone, Seattle became a transshipment point in this era, for instance for the Alaskan salmon trade, a role it still plays to this day.

Seattle has a lot to see, be it prominent sights or attractions tucked away in quiet neighborhoods. For more information, look at each district's individual articles. Seattle CityPASS. A discount pass that includes admission to five attractions for half the normal fee combined. You are entitled to up to two visits (within 24 hours) to the Space Needle and a visit to the Seattle Aquarium. You also get three choices of an Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, admission to the Museum of Pop Culture, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Pacific Science Center the Museum of Flight, or Chihuly Garden & Glass. A CityPASS is valid for 9 consecutive days starting with the use of your first ticket. Transportation and parking are not included. $127 for adult, $97 for children (ages 5-12), plus tax and a $2 processing fee per ticket. (updated Jul 2024) The first thing that pops into most people's minds when they think of Seattle is the Space Needle, north of Downtown in the Seattle Center. Although it's not the tallest building in Seattle, it still has a wonderful 360-degree view of both the city and the surrounding landscape. It is best to visit at sunset, when the mountains and sky will be lit up in beautiful colors. For a cheaper and less crowded option, head to the observatory at the Columbia Center building, which is higher than the Space Needle! For a better view of the waterfront and the downtown area, go aboard the Seattle Great Wheel. Downtown, the Pike Place Market is Seattle's largest tourist area.

Kenmore Air, 950 Westlake Ave N, ☏ +1-866-435-9524. 20 minute plane tours over Seattle that are narrated by the pilot, with spectacular views of the city. Tours begin and end at the west side of Lake Union. Reservations required. $99.50 per person. Pioneer Square has a variety of tours of the Seattle Underground, the below-street-level corridors that were created when the district was raised by one floor during rebuilding after a massive fire in 1889. These informative tours are a great way to learn about Seattle's early history. Argosy Cruises, 1101 Alaskan Way, Pier 55. Cruise schedule varies by season. Ticket booth: Daily 10AM-4:05PM. Boat tour company with special dinner and sightseeing cruises. The most common tour is the hour-long Harbor Cruise on Elliott Bay, which offers excellent views of the Space Needle, Downtown skyline, freight harbor, and usually some sea lions, with a barrage of informative commentary about local history or interesting ships or cargo passing through that day. The Locks Cruise is a 2-hour one-way trip (in alternating directions) through the locks separating Elliot Bay and Lake Union, with an optional bus ride if you prefer a round trip. Seasonal cruises include the Summer Views Cruise with a sunset on Puget Sound, and Husky Football Cruises on Lake Washington before the games. Most cruises offer a decent full-service bar with large drinks and some snacks. Harbor cruise $30.50. Locks cruise $42.50, bus connection $5 additional. Discounts for kids 4-12 and seniors.

Typical of a big city, Seattle has a diverse range of fare representative of cuisines from around the world. Local chains and hole-in-the-wall restaurants dominate the city's dining atmosphere, and hearty. Prices are expensive by American standards; expect a counter-service lunch to set you back about $20, and a full service restaurant meal to cost a minimum of $30 after tax and tip. Seattle's proximity to Alaska and the waters of the Pacific Ocean make it an excellent place to enjoy seafood. Look for salmon during the late summer months as options are abundant and the prices are among the cheapest on the West Coast, especially the red (sockeye) salmon. Shellfish are a prized resource of the Puget Sound, where the cool, clean waters provide an optimal habitat. Clams, mussels and oysters can be found easily, but other specialties like geoducks (pronounced GOO-ey-ducks) are sometimes available for the more adventurous. The Dungeness crab, named for a nearby town on the Sound, is a popular seafood prized for its sweet, tender flesh and high ratio of meat. The Dungeness is a commercially important crab in Washington's waters but other crab species are also common. The Alaskan king crab, caught from the deep cold waters of the Pacific Ocean near Alaska, has a more frequent presence here than the rest of the lower 48. The mild climate also supports many types of fresh produce. Farmers' markets are a normal occurrence on the weekends, especially in residential areas, and they usually have better quality produce than what you can get at supermarkets.

Few, if any, American cities can challenge Seattleites' love of coffee. This is perhaps best signified by the Seattle-based international chain Starbucks, but locals aren't satisfied by recognized chains alone, as evidenced by the hundreds of good locally owned coffeehouses. The best places to look for coffee are in Capitol Hill or Queen Anne Hill, where they take matters of coffee very seriously. Local favorites include Cafe Ladro, Vivace, Victrola, Caffe Vita, and Zoka, all of whom do their own roasting. Seattle coffee shops have their own slang: drip-brewed coffee is called simply "drip", two shots of espresso in a cup is a "doppio", and a "shot in the dark" is a shot of espresso poured into a cup of coffee, for a boost of extra caffeine. Some independent shops offer free cupping (tasting) classes, to educate customers about specialty beans. If you prefer tea, many coffee shops offer a selection of teas, and specialty tea shops offer a large catalog and can help you with recommendations. Like any other city with a large Asian population, bubble tea or boba milk tea shops exist, and are popular among young people. Bubble tea is basically milk tea with various flavors and tapioca balls. Many of these shops also offer Asian snacks and delicacies. If you are thirsty and hungry, and budget is your main concern, this can be a good option. Most of these can be found in the University District as well as a few in the International District. Craft beer is a Northwest specialty.

For such a large city, there is a surprising lack of accommodation options available, thus rooms in Seattle are more on the expensive side. Most sleeping options are in Downtown and consist mostly of mid-range or high-end hotels. Other options, especially budget hotels and hostels can be found near the Seattle Center, the University District, the International District, and in North Seattle. There are also bed and breakfast options in Fremont, Ballard, and Capitol Hill. Some low-priced motels along Aurora Ave N are notoriously associated with prostitution, drug dealing, and other crimes; travelers primarily interested in sightseeing should look elsewhere. Alternatives to Seattle accommodations are a train ride away south in Tukwila and SeaTac, especially the areas surrounding the airport. Because of their proximity to light rail stations that offer a direct ride to major stadiums and arenas, airport-area hotels offer a frugal, traffic-free alternative for tourists in town for a sports or entertainment event. By SouthCenter Mall in Tukwila, there are more hotels to choose from with a wide range of rates. You can also find more options for hotels across the I-90 bridge in Bellevue or other towns on the other side of Lake Washington, such as Kirkland, Issaquah, or Renton.

1 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA IATA), 17801 International Blvd, SeaTac, ☏ +1 206-787-5388, toll-free: +1-800-544-1965. Nicknamed "Sea-Tac", is in the city's southern suburbs 14 mi (23 km) south of downtown Seattle. It's a major domestic hub for Alaska, Northwest and West Coast destinations, and also handles many international trans-Pacific routes, as well as some flights to major European and Middle East airports. In addition, the airport is well-connected to virtually every part of the US, with multiple daily flights to many major US cities, as well as to Alaska and Hawaii. (updated Oct 2023) Alaska Airlines uses this airport as its primary hub and is by far the biggest carrier here, with Delta catching up with an international hub here and an increasing number of domestic destinations. The reliable Link light rail 1 Line (see § Get around) connects Sea-Tac to many points north, including South Seattle, Downtown, Capitol Hill, University of Washington, Northgate, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood. Sound Transit bus route 560 provides direct service from Sea-Tac to West Seattle. Paine Field (PAE IATA), also known as Snohomish County Airport, about 30 mi (48 km) north of Seattle in Everett, serves limited commercial flights from Alaska Airlines from the western half of the continental US. The much-smaller Bellingham International Airport (BLI IATA), 94 mi (151 km) (about 90 minutes drive) north of Seattle in Bellingham, can be used as an alternative to fly into Seattle, despite the scarcity of flights.

Seattle's public transportation system, while no rival for Chicago or New York City, is the most convenient and simple way to get around most of the city. While public transportation is also good in suburbs such as Bothell and Everett, if you plan on visiting those areas you may wish to use a car. Driving a car in Seattle is possible, but the frequent and awful traffic congestion can leave you frustrated. Parking for free in Downtown and many of the adjacent neighborhoods, such as Capitol Hill, is all but impossible. Seattle is also one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the country, although you should be aware of the hilly terrain of the city that often makes cycling difficult. Carsharing services such as Zipcar, and ridesharing services such as Lyft and Uber, are also convenient and safe transportation options. Seattle's street designations are generally easy to remember once you understand them. Most of the city is laid out in a grid, with north-south roads called Avenues and east-west roads being Streets. There are occasional irregularities: Ways are long roads that don't always conform to the grid, Drives are long, circuitous routes, and there's the occasional very short Place or Court. Seattle has a somewhat convoluted address system that can be confusing to the uninitiated. Outside the downtown area, the city is divided into 7 compass directional sectors (N, NE, NW, W, E, S, SW; no SE section), with the name of the sector applied to every road that passes through that sector. Streets are written with the sector before the name (e.g.

Statistically, the crime in Seattle is similar to what you would expect in any major city in the United States. As long as you use some common sense, you are unlikely to be the target of a crime. Auto break-ins and theft are a notable problem, so never leave your valuables visible in a car and always lock your car doors. Downtown Seattle has a sizable population of homeless people (many neighborhoods have forced their homeless into Seattle's downtown core). While many beg for change or seem unstable, only a few are actually dangerous. Some places to be careful near major tourist areas include 3rd Ave downtown (especially between Pine St. and Pike St.), around Pioneer Square, and the International District (especially near 12th Ave and Jackson St). The rough parts of Seattle are fairly safe compared to the worst parts of other American cities, and you are unlikely to get into trouble by being in the wrong neighborhood during the day. However, there are areas to avoid walking around at night, including along Aurora Ave and Lake City Way in North Seattle, the International District, and parts of South Seattle. On Friday and Saturday nights, take caution in the bar districts, including Belltown and the Pike/Pine corridor of Capitol Hill. You should be safe as long as you are not looking for trouble, but drunken and unruly behavior, in very rare cases, can lead to assault or shooting. Drivers in Seattle are typically nice but indecisive. As long as you're careful as a pedestrian, you don't run a high risk of getting hit.