Seattle – Have Fun Like a Local

Seattle Great Wheel and ferries crossing Puget Sound are best viewed from the roof deck at Inn at the Market.

Seattle. When you think of The Emerald City what pops into your mind? The Space Needle? Salmon? Bill Gates?

Seattle is chockablock with iconic images – each suggesting something to do or something to eat or drink. I’ve lived in Seattle and visit frequently and know that – as in any big city – some of these options are touristy and some are fun for authentic travelers.

Here are my personal recommendations:

Pike Place Market is easily the most popular attraction in Seattle.

Pike Place Market

Of course, you don’t want to miss this somewhat chaotic and very colorful public market. The trick is to find a time to visit when you won’t be trampled by other folks ogling the gorgeous displays of fish, flowers, fruits and veggies.

My solution is to stay at Inn at the Market, a charming boutique hotel just steps from the buskers, vendors, and fish throwers that everyone wants to see. My husband and I were guests here for five days in July. In addition to enviable proximity to the market, the hotel offers Seattle’s most wonderful water views.

Three GIrls Bakery, Pike Place Market.

First thing every morning we looked around the market for the best breakfast goodies. My favorite raspberry muffins came warm from Three Girls Bakery, and we had the pick of the first peaches being set out on display. We could have waited in line for coffee at the original Starbucks, but – seriously – how savvy to you have to be to decide that this just isn’t worth the bragging rights?

Instead, we enjoyed Inn at the Market’s free brew and ate our goodies on the hotel’s private rooftop deck. Here, among hanging flower baskets, we watched ferries coming and going, vendors setting up, and the crowd starting to swell. It was divine.

The roof deck at Inn at the Market was the best possible place for breakfast.

Salmon

Speaking of fish vendors, we enjoyed some tasty Northwest salmon served with a celeriac remoulade at Café Campagne in Post Alley adjacent to Inn at the Market.

Also in Post Alley, I fell in love with the lasagna at The Pink Door. Made with fresh spinach pasta, this dish has been on the menu since the restaurant opened 33 years ago. Tip: book well ahead.

Glass flowers and nature’s blooms grow together at Chihuly Garden and Glass.

Chihuly or the Space Needle?

The Needle is Seattle’s best known icon (and lots of tourists were waiting in line when we walked past), but the nearby Chihuly Garden and Glass is definitely the authentic travelers’ choice.

Here, the work of renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly is exhibited in several galleries, a large glasshouse, and a stunning garden. The work displayed in the galleries is breathtaking – colorful, imaginative, almost magical – but when I walked out into the garden, I was actually rendered speechless. Here, beautiful live plants bloom amongst his imaginative glass flowers.

Could you carry water for your family? Credit Michael Hansen for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill Gates

Bill and Melinda Gates live in a 66,000 square foot house on the east shore of Lake Washington. Tourists drive by every day.

Seattleites know that it makes much more sense to spend time at the beautiful Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center (steps from the Space Needle and the “disappointing” EMP). At the Visitor Center, state-of-the-art interactive exhibits are inspiring, educational, and refreshingly upbeat. Which would you prefer? Seeing the outside of their house or getting an inside view of their plans for helping the world become safer, healthier, and smarter?

Green Lake or Pioneer Square?

Green Lake. This urban park is beloved by anyone in Seattle who runs, cycles, or walks – which is pretty much everyone.

Ride the Seattle Great Wheel or a Washington State ferry?

Take the ferry to Bainbridge Island and have lunch at The Harbour Public House overlooking the yacht harbor.

What else?

Check out Seattle’s Museum of Flight. This is, after all, Boeing’s historical hometown.

Ballad Locks. Credit: Visit Seattle.

My personal Seattle Favorite?

Ballard Locks. North of the city, this link for boats between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal, Lake Union and Lake Washington was built in 1917. I was first taken here by my beloved Aunt Mable and Uncle Neal, hard-working Minnesotans who migrated west in the 1930s. We spent many a happy hour watching the parade of sailboats, tugs, and barges pass through, as the locks’ water levels were adjusted to allow their safe passage.

With thanks to Aunt Mable and Uncle Neal for showing me how to have fun like a local in Seattle…(and how to make raspberry jam)…

Best,

Elizabeth Hansen

Oh My God peaches for sale at Pike Place Market.

Tags: accommodation, advice, authentic travel, Bainbridge Island, Ballard Locks, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Dale Chihuly, ferries, Gates Foundation, Green Lake, hotels, Inn at the Market, Italian food, like a local, Pacific Northwest, Pike Place Market, Puget Sound, Seattle, Seattle Great Wheel, Seattleites, The Pink Door, travel, WA, Washington

Category: Washington