Best Things to do in Seattle

This isn’t the drive-thru cup of Pike’s Place you’re used to. It’s more of a sit-and-taste store than a quick coffee schlepper. They have a library of small-batch and single-origin roasts to sample. 

A cozy shop in Capitol Hill that serves pour-overs and has cold brew on tap.

They helped pioneer the practice of latte art, and they’re still one of the best at it. This is the spot for anyone in desperate need of a good latte or cappuccino. 

The city’s hub of Asian communities, known for its dim sum restaurants, sushi houses, ramen and Bruce Lee’s favorite Seattle restaurant, Tai Tung.

Home of vast old-growth forests and the Olympus Mountains, this park covers nearly the entire Olympic Peninsula and contains glacier-capped mountains, temperate rainforests and coastline.

A 35-minute ferry ride over lets you trade towers and pavement for trees and log cabins. Bainbridge Island offers beaches, hiking trails and more rustic accommodations. That one-day trip might roll over into two or three. Maybe you’ll spend the rest of your vacation there.

This is a primetime spot for watersports, perhaps none more fun and accessible than paddleboarding. There are plenty of places to rent boards and take quick introductory lessons. Lake Washington lies just east of the city, and it’s big enough that you can find some solitude if that’s what you’re after.

Hotel Max exemplifies the Pacific Northwest’s status as a breeding ground for American rock, whether Jimi Hendrix in the ’60s or Pearl Jam and Death Cab for Cutie in recent years. Seattle is also the hometown of Sub Pop Records, the famed indie record label that signed Nirvana and boasts beloved indie acts like Fleet Foxes and The Postal Service. In honor, the Hotel Max boasts a floor devoted to the Sub Pop’s heritage, including providing record players outfitted with Sub Pop favorites and accenting rooms with music decor. 

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Hotel Max

Another Seattle hotel entrenched in music history, this waterfront property once banned Led Zeppelin after their rambunctious members caught 30 sharks swimming in the Pacific below and, naturally, trashed their rooms. Today The Edgewater keeps their foothold in music history alive with a calendar of live music and suites devoted to Pearl Jam and The Beatles, the latter of which famously stayed there at the apex of Beatlemania. 

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The Edgewater

Strolling around, you’ll probably stumble upon one of many public art pieces, like the Fremont Troll — an 18-foot-tall concrete sculpture under N. 36th St. — or the controversial Lenin statue. Spend an afternoon exploring quirky shops and an evening drinking at local breweries (Fremont Brewing, Hale’s Ales, etc.), or have a picnic in Gas Works Park, a patch of green space that surrounds a former gasification plant.

The area’s oldest and most famous winery. They have a beautiful estate and make a killer Riesling.

Another “founding father” of the Washington wine industry with a pretty cool estate. Snag a bottle of their Syrah or Vigioner. 

Features several small-production wineries alongside craft breweries and eateries.

“The Croc” has been a mainstay of the local scene more or less since 1991 (it closed and changed ownership between December 2007 and March 2009). Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were regulars. Sunny Day Real Estate, Death Cab For Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse, Fleet Foxes and Macklemore all cut their teeth in the club before achieving international notoriety. It’s one of those business-turned-community-hub type places that had, like the city of Seattle, an outsized influence on our music culture over the past 30 years. Now, it’s partly owned by Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney and Portugal. The Man guitarist Eric Howk, and has reopened in a new location. But, if you’re looking to get a feel for Seattle while you’re here, it’s a place to check out. 

Also check our oral history of the Croc for a look at the club’s heyday.

What started as an early 20th-century vaudeville theater is now a laid-back, multi-genre venue with amazing acoustics. 

Slightly larger than the other two listed here, Neumos is a hip spot that hosts some great indie rockers. 

A peculiar yet very cool public art installment situated on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) campus. Yep, it inspired the name for ’90s grunge legends Soundgarden too. When the wind passes through these 12 steel towers, you’ll be treated to a mellow symphony of soft-toned sounds. It’s not “Black Hole Sun,” but it’s still a charmingly odd artistic experience.

Dale Chihuly is hands down one of the world’s best glass artists. His works are included in 200+ museum collections worldwide. And he got his start at the University of Washington. His exhibit in the Seattle Center includes a garden, Glasshouse and an indoor art gallery, all graced by his stunning creations. If you’re lucky, you might catch a live glass-blowing exhibition in the theater area.

If you’re looking for exhibits on tattoos, indie video games, horror movies, etc., go here. If not, still go here, because it’s fascinating.

For something just plain odd, go for the Museum of Bad Art, which honors the kitschy, tacky and so-bad-they’re-good masterpieces.