Seattle is the Emerald City: a skyline between two waters, a flying-fish market, coffee on every corner and a volcano on the horizon when the sky clears. This guide gathers the best of Seattle, with the places and tours our readers love most.
Pike Place and the waterfront
Everything starts at Pike Place Market, Seattle’s vibrant public market since 1907. Eat your way through it on the Pike Place food tour or with a chef on the chef-guided tasting tour — come hungry, leave happy.
The views: Kerry Park and Gas Works
The postcard lives at Kerry Park, Seattle’s most photographed viewpoint: Needle, skyline and Rainier in one frame. Across the lake, Gas Works Park turns an old gas plant into the city’s industrial playground, and the Olympic Sculpture Park mixes art, sea and mountains in one free park.
Parks and the wild side
Discovery Park is Seattle’s wild urban escape — forests, bluffs and a lighthouse. Walkers loop Green Lake Park at all hours, and Alki Beach is the city’s sunny seaside escape with the skyline across the water.
Quirky Seattle: the Troll, the Locks and the Library
Say hello to the Fremont Troll, the beloved monster under the bridge; watch boats climb between lake and sea at the Ballard Locks; and step inside the Seattle Central Library, a dazzling public cathedral of books.
Rainier and waterfall day trips
When the mountain is out, go to it: the Mt. Rainier day tour delivers glaciers, waterfalls and wildflower meadows. Closer in, the Snoqualmie Falls hike pairs two great waterfalls in one morning, and the Olympic National Park day tour trades the city for rainforest and ridges.
Coffee, the underground and Boeing
Taste the city’s fuel on the Seattle coffee tour of Capitol Hill, descend into the 1890s on the Beneath the Streets underground tour, and step inside the world’s largest building on the Boeing Factory tour.
Planning your days? Our Seattle itineraries — from one perfect day to five — map out the market, the views and the mountain hour by hour. And subscribe to the Happy City News newsletter for Seattle’s best events, every week.
