Your Guide of Seattle Tourist Sights

 

There are many things to do in Seattle. This is not only because the city is brimming with all kinds of amusement parks, night spots, and restaurants that will surely fill your days and nights. But, this is also because the city itself is a great place that is steeped with rich heritage and culture that can be found in its almost every crook and cranny. The various tourist sights in Seattle are also more than enough to satisfy your appetite as a first-time or even a second-time visitor of what is known as the Emerald City.

 

Among the best Seattle things to do, especially at nighttime, is discovering the hopping bar and nightclub scene of the city. With its wealth of taverns, bars, live-music clubs, dance clubs, you will surely have the time of your life, if you are the kind of person who gets high on barhopping and clubbing. Of course, you can also take in the numerous Seattle restaurants in the city that offers different gastronomic delights. You can even go to the Pike Place Market, which is one of the Seattle tourist sights that you should not fail to see. This public market is teeming with stalls groaningly-laden with all types of food. Here, you can take your pick of the choicest Dungeness crabs and the freshest salmon. 

 

You should also head on to Pioneer Square, which can be found on First Avenue and Jackson Street, which is one of the main places in the city where you can take part of all the best things to do in Seattle. Here you cannot only discover over 30 galleries of fine arts but also more than 20 city blocks that are filled with architecture of Victorian-Romanesque influences and buildings made of red bricks. There are also more than 200 restaurants, famous nightclubs and sports bars here as well as one-of-a-kind shops. Among the tourist sights in Seattle that you can find in Pioneer Square are the Triangle Building, the Smith Tower, the Klondike Gold Rush National Park and the Underground Tour.

 

Of course, if you are big in discovering the best among the Seattle tourist sights, then you should not miss going to the Space Needle a Seattle landmark that can be found at the Seattle Center. Towering over the Emerald City by 600ft, this icon was constructed for the World’s Fair in 1962. Among the Seattle things to do at the Seattle Center is going to the Seattle Repertory Center, the Key Arena, which is the home of the Seattle Supersonics, the Center House Theater and the McCaw Hall where you can find the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle Opera.

 

Your trip to the Emerald City will never be complete if you will not make visiting its number of museums as one of the things to do in Seattle that you must accomplish. Among these museums are the Seattle Art Museum and The Museum of Flight in Seattle, which are also considered as among the best Seattle tourist sights.

 

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Information for Seattle Space Needle and "Sky City" the famous rotating Space Needle Restaurant.

The Space Needle is a symbol of Seattle, it was built for the 1962 Worlds Fair, is 605 ft. high, 138 ft. wide at the widest area and weighs over 9,000 tons. The Space Needle was built to be able to withstand an earthquake of 9.5 magnitude as well as winds up to 200 miles per hour.  To prevent lightning from damaging the Space needle there are 25 lightning rods on the roof. It was designated as an historic landmark the 19th of April, in 1999.

The restaurant  "Sky City" is located at 500 feet and revolves at a rate of 1 revolution every 47 minutes.  The restaurant serves local cuisine such as seafood, steak, vegetarian and chicken. This is a casual restaurant and does have a dress code of casual dress. Men can not wear tank tops or muscle shirts. Every table has a view of the Seattle area.  There is also a minimum food charge of $35 per guest, with an average entree price of $43.00, soups and salads average $9.00 and appetizers around $17.00. You can make reservations by calling (206) 905-2100 or (800) 937-9582. Friday and Saturdays they limit your party size and will not accept reservations for parties over 10 guests.

Sky City Hours:

 Brunch: Saturday and Sunday:       9:30 am - 2:45pm

 Lunch:  Monday - Friday              11:00am - 2:45pm

 Dinner:  Monday - Sunday             5:00pm - 10:00pm

There is also a gift shop.  The Space Needle observation deck is at 520 feet and gives you a great view of the city, the Cascade and Olymipic Mountains as well as Mt. Raineer, Mt. Baker and Pudget Sound.

 

 

Popular Places of Interest in the Seattle Area

Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee grave sites are located in the Lakeview Cemetery at 1554 15th. Avenue East, in Seattle. The grave sites are beautiful and draw many visitors each year.

The Fremont Troll: Is a sculpture of a troll clutching a Volkswagen Beetle (a real car) located under the Aurora Avenue Bridge on the north end. This was the winning sculpture in the 1990 Fremont Arts Council competition.  It stands 15 ft and weighs two tons.

Pioneer Square: There are 30 art galleries located in Pioneer Square and on the first Thursday of the month these galleries open doors to give visitors a chance to see the art in what is called an art walk. There are 20 blocks of beautiful Victorian Romanesque buildings in this area, as well as some of Seattle's classic buildings such as Smith Tower and the eight room triangle building. Many of the local hot spots for nightlife, as well as special events are located here as well. You will also see many monuments as well as totem poles in this area.

Pike Place Market: Is home of the first Starbucks. This market has become one of the most favorite areas to visit in Seattle, with local fresh fish and vegetables, gift shops, various eateries, and Danny Eskanazi's Giant Show Museum. Pike's Market is one place no one should miss visiting.  It is located at 1912 Pike Place. The market is closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  Merchants basically set their own hours of operation at the market and peak hours are during farm season.  Usually shops start opening around 8 am or earlier.  During summer months at peak season parking can be hard to find around the Pike's Market, but you can plan your trip using Seattle public transportation the Metro or Monorail. There are parking areas, one is located at 1531 Western Avenue and charges a reasonable parking rate.  Some of the restaurants in the market offer free parking after 5 pm.

Japanese Gardens and Washington Park Arboretum: The Japanese gardens are located inside the Wahington Park Arboretum, hours of operation vary according to the season, admission fee is 5 dollars for adults.  There are also over 130 endangered plant species and many plant life collections on display in the Arboretum. The business office: Graham Visitors Center is located at 2300 Arboretum Drive East in Seattle. Buses 11, 43 and 48 run close to the Arboretum and it is recommended to use the McGraw street stop. For more information please check thier website at: http://depts.washington.edu/wpa/general.htm

Other Seattle sights to see include Gas Works Park, South Lake Union Streetcar, Aurora Bridge, EMP-Experience Music Project, Smith Tower to name a few.

  

Information on Popular Seattle Tours

Future of Flight / Boeing Tour: See aviation technology for the future and also the assembly of some of the world's largest airplanes during this tour.  The tour last 4 hours and costs $47.

Museum of Flight: A tour of the largest space and air museum in the Western United States.  Tour is 3 1/2 hours long and cost $34.

Tillicum Village Experience:  Take a boat ride to Blake Island to discover Northwest Native American Culture and enjoy a salmon feast served at a traditional cedar longhouse. Tour is 4 hours and costs $79.95.

Victoria B.C.: Start at the Seattle waterfront and ride a catamaran to downtown Victoria, Canada where you can walk and explore the city on your own.  Tour is 13 hours and costs $130.00.

Savor Seattle Food Tours: Begins just outside Pike's Place Market and guides small groups through the market place sampling foods and culture. Tour starts at 10 am and lasts 2 hours. It is a walking tour, each guest receives a complimentary tote bag with Seattle maps, menu's, water, napkins and restaurant recommendations. For more information call toll free: 1-800-357-8088.

Seattle Underground Tour: Tour is a first come first serve basis, they recommend you arrive 30 minutes before the actual tour begins. Tickets cost: $15.00 for Adults, $12.00 for Seniors, $12.00 for students and $7.00 for children 7 to 12 years of age. For more information: http://www.undergroundtour.com

These are just a few of the more popular tours available in Seattle. For local a listing of Tour and Travel Agents click here.  In the search box type in Seattle Tours.