Attractions


Pike Place Market
First Avenue and Pike Street
(206) 625-4764
Nine decades old, Pike Place is one of Seattle's most popular landmarks, as famous for the theatrics of its boisterous vendors as it is for its appealing wares. Its most popular buildings are the Main and North arcades, with their carefully arranged stacks of produce, and fresh fish, crabs and mollusks piled high with ice. The best time to visit the market is to go on a weekday morning. Wander slowly, sample frequently and remember to watch for flying fish!
Over half of the market's open-air stalls are now devoted to locally made arts & crafts, and its lower levels are filled with small shops of all descriptions, from Indian spice stalls to magicians' supply shops. The streets surrounding Pike Place Market continue the maze of shops, with ethnic food stalls, plant shops, galleries and gift boutiques. Pike Place Market is in the northwestern corner of downtown, close to the waterfront.

Seattle Center
305 Harrison Street
(206) 684-7240
Seattle Center general information: (206) 684-7200
The 1962 World's Fair, also known as the 'Century 21 Exposition', brought in over 9 million visitors from around the world for a glimpse of Tomorrow, Seattle-style. What remains of the futuristic enclave of exhibition halls, arenas and public spaces is today called the Seattle Center. The center hosts more than 1,500 events every year, including summer festivals celebrating the cultures of the Philippines (June 10-11), China (June 16-18), Brazil (Aug. 20) and Tibet (Aug. 26-27). The grounds are home to dance, theater, opera, museums and Key Arena.

Space Needle
219 4th Avenue North
206-443-2100
Elevator hours are Sunday 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to midnight. Tickets are $9 adults, $8 seniors, $4 children 5-12, free for 4 and under. There is no elevator fee for restaurant patrons. (206-443-2111)
The Space Needle is a 600ft (180m) rocket styled observation station and restaurant. After the 41 second zip up its elevators to the top, visitors are treated to breathtaking 360° views. The top of the 605-foot Space Needle is the best place to orient yourself to the city and its surroundings.

The U District
University of Washington
The U District is 3 miles (5km) northeast of downtown and accessible by bus. The campus sits at the edge of a busy commercial area known as the U District. The main streets here University Way, commonly called the Ave, and NE 45th St are filled with affordable restaurants and cafes, arthouses, cinemas and student filled bars. 'U Dub', as most people refer to the university, is a lively place that's definitely worth touring, especially in spring, when pink and orange flowered azaleas paint the campus in brilliant hues.

Washington Park Arboretum
(206) 543-8800
Daily 10-4
Donation requested
The park features 5500 different plant species within 200 acres (80ha) of mature forest and gardens. At the southern edge of the arboretum is the Japanese Garden, a collection of koi pools, waterfalls and manicured plantings. Bird watching is popular at the northern end of the arboretum, as are canoeing, fishing and swimming. free public tours are offered.

Broadway
dotted with restaurants and pubs along the neighborhood's main strip. With its multitudes of sweets shops and cafes, it's also a fine place to develop sugar and caffeine habits. For some divine accompaniment with your indulgence, sit close to St Marks Cathedral, where a chorus performs Gregorian chants on Sunday nights.

Pike/Pine Corridor
a nightlife hotspot of all-night coffeehouses, live-music clubs and rowdy, smoke-filled bars. If you're looking for late night action, this is one of Seattle's most lively scenes. Capitol Hill is a mile (2km) northeast of downtown and connected to the city center by bus.

Queen Anne
Rising above Seattle Center is Queen Anne - a neighborhood of majestic red-brick houses and apartment buildings, sweeping lawns manicured to perfection and gorgeous views of the city and bay. Queen Anne is not nearly as established as other neighborhoods, but it does have cafes, trendy music clubs and some old-time Seattle entertainment. The main reason to visit is to check out the view. The observatory deck at 3rd Ave and Highland Drive is the best spot for it, especially at night or sunset. Queen Anne is just over a mile (2km) northwest of downtown and has frequent bus connections to the city center.

Experience Music Project
(Just opened in July, 2000; please check locally in Seattle for address)
Museum of Rock 'N' Roll combines exhibitions of artifacts with interactive displays that help people create and play music on their own. A tribute to the "Seattle Sound," the museum was financed by billionaire Paul Allen who was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, the legendary Seattle guitarist of the 1960's. Memorabilia from the bands Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden and many other local groups are displayed along with the history of the bands that sprang from Seattle and redefined the industry.

Seattle Art Museum
100 University Street
(206) 625-8900
Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm, Thursday till 9 pm. US$7 adults, US$5 seniors and students.
Free the first Thursday of the month.
Save your ticket! It will admit you to the Seattle Asian Art Museum if you go within one week. 100 University St. at 1st Avenue. Phone (206) 654-3100.
The mammoth Hammering Man sculpture guards the museum's entrance. Within are four floors of African, European and Northwest Coastal Native American art.
Jonathan Barofsky's towering metal "Hammering Man" makes the museum at 100 University St. easy to spot. Visitors pass the gift shop and climb an impressive staircase to the main galleries. The Ebsworth Collection"opens Aug. 10 and runs through Nov. 12, with oil paintings, with some sculptures and works on paper by artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Alexander Calder and Willem de Kooning.
Among the museum's most distinguished permanent collections are African, Northwest Coast Indian and Asian art. "The Russian Decorative Arts: The Plestcheeff Collection" offers visitors a look at Russian porcelain and decorative arts. And "The Northwest Art/Asian Affinities" exhibit explores the relationship between Asian aesthetics and recurring motifs in the work of Northwest artists.

Seattle Asian Art Museum
1400 E. Prospect.
(206) 654-3100
Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm, Thursday till 9 pm.
US$3 adults and children age 13 and older.
Free the first Thursday and Saturday of the month.
Your ticket is also good for admission to the Seattle Art Museum within one week.
This museum houses one of the nation's most important collections of Asian art. The building itself is a gorgeous example of art nouveau architecture. Ample free parking.

Observation Towers
Bank of America Tower (formerly Columbia Seafirst Tower), 701 Fifth Ave., offers a dramatic but less panoramic view from the 73rd floor because its observation deck doesn't go completely around the building. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays; the cost is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and children. (206) 386-5151.
The best free view in the city may be from the 108-step climb to the top of the old water tower in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. Open daily.

Woodland Park Zoo
5500 Phinney Ave. N
(206) 684-4800
Open 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
Admission is $9 adults, $8.25 seniors, $6.50 ages 6-17 and people with disabilities, $4.25
ages 3-5, free for 2 and under.
Discount for King County residents.
The zoo is a pioneer in open-environment exhibits where animals live in natural settings with a minimum of fences. Popular spots include the Northern Trail of Alaska, the tropical rainforest exhibit, Elephant Forest and the African savanna.
"Butterflies and Blooms," an outdoor exhibit representing nearly 1,000 butterflies of North America, opens May 13 and runs through summer at the award-winning zoo. Another summer exhibit (opening May 27) is the Dragons of Komodo, where visitors can get an up-close-and-personal glimpse of the largest lizard in the world.

University of Washington Museum
15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 41st Street
(206) 543-2280
Admission is $5; $3.50 for students and 62-plus free Thursday 5-8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., until 8 p.m. Thursday.
The museum is a mecca for contemporary art in Seattle. On display this summer will be "Andy Warhol: Drawings, 1942-1987," with more than 200 rarely seen drawings that survey Warhol's entire career. It runs July 20 through Oct. 8

Museum of History and Industry
2700 24th Ave. E.
Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m
Suggested admission is $5.50 for adults, $3 for children 6-12 and 55-plus, $1 for children 2-5.
(206) 324-1126
This is the place to get a sense of Seattle's distant and not-so-distant past. Exhibits of artifacts bring to life Seattle's roots (from the Klondike Gold Rush to Boeing's early days), and a new show, "See All About It," features 100 images of 20th-century Seattle taken by Seattle P-I photographers. The museum offers walking tours (to the Montlake Cut with a museum historian and the Washington Park Arboretum with a naturalist), on most weekends through September. The museum is off Montlake Boulevard, south of Husky Stadium and the Montlake