Seattle Travel Guide
My family recently took a Pacific Northwest trip to Seattle and Portland, one we’ve wanted to take for years but finally did this year since it’s our “last family vacation” before I move around the world for a while. Although my family may or may not have been annoyed at me a few times during this trip for dragging them to weird restaurants and spouting off random historical facts, I think we had a really great time together in these cities and in nature.
Seattle in particular is a city that’s hard to grasp as it’s constantly changing now, but that can be exciting to witness and at the very least, is a fantastic place to visit. As someone who wrote for a few travel guides this year, I’d highly recommend getting free copies of the Washington State Visitor’s Guide or Visit Seattle, as you’ll get insider knowledge of where to go, eat, and what to see. For now, let me give you my take. Here’s my guide to everything we did in Seattle and what I’d recommend.
Food (the most important part)
Biscuit Bitch: Our flight landed so early that we needed a breakfast spot once we got to the city. These biscuits and gravy are to die for, and don’t forget to grab a sticker. Downtown
Il Corvo: The one Italian hole-in-the-wall restaurant I was dying to try, since it’s on every list of Seattle’s best restaurants. It’s open from 11am-3pm on weekdays only–I was sixth in line at 10:30am, but by 10:45 the line was down the block. But let me tell you: the kale salad, focaccia, and hearty bowl of pasta Bolognese kept me dreaming all day–and I had to eat it across from my dad, who can’t eat gluten. I’m a horrible person. But I can still taste it as I write this. Pioneer Square
Pho Bac Sup Shop: I made my mom try Pho here for the first time, which she wasn’t much of a fan of. But Peyton and I loved this warm Vietnamese noodle soup, spring rolls, and peanut sauce. This place is trendy, but worth it. International District
Humble Pie: A block from Pho Bac is Humble Pie, an entirely sustainable pizza place in a shipping container, recommended to us by our Airbnb hosts. The fast-fired pizza was delicious, organic, local, and helped the planet. A win all around. International District
Pike Place Market: Both a sight to see and a place to eat! Grab some fresh salmon from the stalls or sit down at one of the market’s seafood restaurants. Downtown
Fremont Brewing: I only managed to make it to a couple breweries, so I’m not going to create a separate “drinks” category. Try the staple “Sky Kraken,” sit at one of the picnic tables, and play a couple board games with your family or friends. Food can be delivered from any one of the nearby restaurants. Fremont
Cherry Street Coffee House: A cool coffee shop that’s not Starbucks. Cherry Street offered my family a nice refuge to recuperate and plan our next move when we were jetlagged or worn out from the day’s activities. Pioneer Square/various locations
Sights
Pike Place Market/Gum Wall: The market is one of Seattle’s most iconic spots and one of the nation’s most famous farmers’ markets. Spend an hour or two exploring five stories of seafood, flowers, crafts, and funky shops, and don’t forget to stop by the disgustingly satisfying Gum Wall and leave your own mark.
Seattle Center: The Seattle Center consists of the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Chihuly Garden and Glass, and much more. Look into getting an all-encompassing ticket if you’re interested in seeing everything there. We skipped the Space Needle (it’d rather see it than be in it), but we did explore these spots:
MoPop: As a museum fiend, this was one of my favorite places. We saw Prince’s Purple Rain motorcycle, learned which fantasy fiction archetype we’d be, traveled to the final frontier, and listened to Kai have his own drum jam session.
Chihuly Garden and Glass: I was totally blown away by Dale Chihuly’s glass masterpieces. Check them out all over the country in various botanical conservatories as well. Anyone want to join me in a glassblowing class now??
University of Washington: My dad and I checked out UofW one afternoon, reveling in the campus’s lush hidden trails and its grand library reading room. Did anyone say grad school?
Ballard Locks: A good stop if you’re already in the Fremont or Ballard areas, or heading to Golden Gardens Park like we were. See boats pass through the busiest shipping canal in the U.S., up or down twenty feet of water between Puget Sound and Lake Washington. You can also watch salmon swim through the fish ladder between the bodies of water as well.
Elliot Bay Book Co: Although not as famous as Powell’s Books in Portland, Seattle’s Elliot Bay Book Co. was a beautiful treehouse-inspired bookstore that I could’ve spent hours in. Its Capitol Hill neighborhood is worth some exploration as well.
Fremont Troll: Behold: a friendly monster guarding the underbelly of the George Washington Memorial Bridge. However, it’s whereabouts are not a secret, as you’ll have to fight off dozens of tourists to get a picture with it. Escape its clutches to Fremont Brewing a couple blocks away.
Gems
Pike Street Press: When we exited the back of Pike Place Market to walk along the harbor, we happened to run into this little print shop. It smelled like paper and heaven. I’m a total sucker for prints and bought cute cards, stickers and postcards to memorialize my travels. If you ever need a gift idea for me, get me a print.
Kerry Park: Since we didn’t go to the top of the Space Needle but still wanted as good of a view, enter Kerry Park. It’s a little plot of land that sits in the beautiful Queen Anne neighborhood and is also featured in the opening scene of 10 Things I Hate About You. Amazing layered view of the city, the water, and the mountains.
Woodland Park Zoo: I didn’t go there personally, but Peyton, Kai, and my mom did. They were raving about it afterward.
West Seattle Junction: One of our last neighborhood stops in the city was over to West Seattle, where I would totally live if I could afford it. West Seattle Junction is a three-block strip of funky shops, like Easy Street Records, where you can wander for a while. Don’t forget to drive around the neighborhood and stop at Alki Beach!
Stop in Tacoma: At the beginning of our drive to Portland, we stopped in Tacoma to see the really freaking cool high school from 10 Things I Hate About You. But Tacoma itself seems really chill, and it has some awesome museums as well.
Outdoors
Golden Gardens Park: I’ve heard that this park is an ideal place to watch sunsets, but it’s just as fun during the day, too. We relaxed on the beach here for an hour one day while Kai and my dad tossed a baseball.
Alki Beach: This is definitely a busier, trendier beach than Golden Gardens. We didn’t end up stopping because it was so busy, but the West Seattle area is gorgeous enough to head over that way anyway. Amazing views of Olympic National Park to the west and the Seattle skyline to the east!
Mount Rainier National Park: About an hour and a half from Seattle. This has to be one of, if not the, most amazing thing we did in Washington. Peyton, Kai, and my mom might disagree, but my dad and I really enjoyed the 7 mile round-trip hike from Mowich Lake to Tolmie Point, an old ranger fire lookout tower and the most breathtaking view of any mountain I’ve seen in my life. The sense of accomplishment I felt by the time we made it to the top is one I’ll never forget.
Happy Travels!
Click here to see my Portland Travel Guide!
