Seattle is the biggest city in the entire state of Washington. It’s a city of steep hill and lies in the western side of Washington in between two bodies of water- lake Washington to the east and Puget Sound on the west. Seattle has one of the finest landlocked harbors in the USA and it’s also the county seat. Seattle is also referred to as the Emerald City. It’s a green gem, with spectacular views of Cascade Mountains on the east and Olympic Mountains on the west. The city has plenty of evergreen trees. It’s the home of all times famous space needle, Boeing aircraft plants, Costco, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Starbucks, T-mobile, Nintendo of America as well as the University of Washington.
When it comes to traveling to Washington, no visit can be complete without some time spent in Seattle. The total population of Settle is about 608,660. It’s population growth rate stands at 9.71 which is lower than the average population growth rate in the entire USA of about 14.09. The most prevalent race in Seattle is the white, which take more than 69.48 of the total population. The Average literacy level in Seattle is the highest in USA.
Major Attractions
Museums
Seattle has a huge number of Top-notch museums. Downtown Seattle is the houses the popular Seattle Art museum that displays an overview of art assortment from across the entire world. Another key museum located in Seattle is the Seattle art Asian Museum which is situated in the Central district of the city. This museum is an off-short of the top-notch Seattle art museum mainly focuses on displaying Japanese and Chinese art but also includes art from other places as far as India.
Another museum you will see while traveling to Seattle is the popular Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience which is the sole Asian Pacific-American Museum in the Nation. Just near this museum you will find the Frye Art Museum which is a private museum that features 232 painting which have been done by Munich based artist. Although not a museum as such, while traveling to Seattle, you will see Seattle Metaphysical Library which is normally open to visits by the public and is located in Ballard.
Another big museum that you must visit is the well equipped Pacific science Center which is an engaging science museum located in the area near the Space Needle. Other museums in this area include Experience music project which is a rock and roll museum that houses a special exhibit of Jimi Hendrix and a Science Fiction Museum.
On the north of South Lake union, you will find the recently reopened History and Industry museum which is called Mohai in short-form. Downtown you will find the Seattle Aquarium. This university holds on the largest contemporary photo galleries in Washington.Located within this university compound is the Burke museum which is a combination of archaeology and natural history museum. Further down in a town called Georgetown is another museum called Museum of flight that has a huge collection of Air craft from fabric crates to sleek Concorde.
If you are traveling to Seattle and you are planning to visit many attraction, you should take advantage by taking Seattle City Pass which grants you admission to six Seattle Attractions within the first 9 days of use at reduced rate and may include expedited entry. Some of the attractions that you may be able to access using this pass include, Space Needle, and Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour, Pacific Science center, Science Fiction museum and Woodland Park Zoo.
Architecture
Most of architectural attractions of Seattle are located Downtown in a small area which is easy to transverses by foot. So if you are traveling to Seattle, don’t miss on them. Among the most popular are the OMA designed Library which is a contemporary building with a huge glass-fronted atrium, the Smith tower in addition to Experience Music Project which was designed to look like Jimi Hendrix smashed guitar and done in a way that only Frank Gehry thought of.
Other major architectural attraction you will see while traveling to Seattle includes the art Deco Sky with an observation Deck and the Seattle City Hall which was designed by Bohlen Cywinski Jackson Basseti Architects and its roof garden that was designed by a company called Gustafson Guthrie Nichol limited. You will also get to see the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which were design by the same artists. It has 12 acre garden which was designed by Gustafson as well.
Off course the most famous view in Seattle is the Space Needle revolving top located at Seattle Center. The best way to get to this scenic view is through the Monorail that connects Downtown to Seattle center.
Where to Eat
Seattle and its environment offer some of the best hotels in the Washington. It offers American true cuisines that are rooted in seafood and plenty of small scale purveyors, great local wine and Seattle’s ever-growing pool of chefs who know how to draw on the local abundance to create perfect meals. It’s also home to steakhouses and northwestern style seafood restaurants and restaurant that draws their influence from Chinese and Asian dishes. Some of the most standout restaurant in this area includes
Art restaurant and lounge
This is a modern beautiful restaurant in the 4 season’s hotels in Seattle. It offers some of the best American cuisines that matches the eclectic design and well sourced local ingredients.
Assaggio
Assagio Restaurant located in the southern of Seattle offers excellent Italian cuisines. Its wine list is endless and has something for everyone. This restaurant is a must visit for anyone while traveling to Seattle
Grand Hyatt Seattle
This hotel is located adjacent to the Washington convention center just near the space needle. It’s a calm hotel that is specifically designed for both business travelers and leisure visitors. The rooms in this hotel are beautiful and features amenities such as laptop-compatible safes, large soaking tubs, premium demanding, on demand movies and other beautiful views.
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
This is a luxury hotel that is situated near Seattle Washington. It’s just a walking distance from Major Seattle attraction including Pike place market, Museum of flight and space needle. It’s close to Washington ski resort and it’s also close to numerous hi-tech industries which makes it very popular for business travelers.
Sheraton Seattle hotel
This hotel is located in downtown hotel in Seattle. It’s just a few steps from Pike Place market. It offers Seattle business travelers unique shopping and dining experience while still in settles central business area.
Shopping
While traveling to Seattle, You will definitely run out basic supplies especially if you will be spending more time here. But don’t worry; the city has some of the best shopping mall in Washington State. Some of these include,
Pike place market
This market is an attraction on its self. It’s highly reputed for its produce stands and seafood. As the weather becomes more warm and conducive, you will find artisans selling their wide variety of ware in this market. It’s located along the second Ave and pike.
Seattle retail core
Another great area you should go shopping in Seattle include the retail core of down town which is a 26-30 square block area located between conventional center and pikes pace market and bounded by Union on the south, north by Stewart, East by 6th avenue and west by 1st avenue. This are offers a concentrate number of hotels, shops, boutique, and a few prestigious restaurants and cafes.
West-lake centre
West-lake centre is another downtown mall which offers additional restaurants and shops that deal with all sorts of things. In addition to the food shop, this shopping mall houses a branch of the Travelex Bureau du Change’ that deals with exchange of foreign currency. So while traveling to Seattle, you do not have to worry about not having your money in dollars. Below this mall are underground tunnels of rail and buses
North gate mall
North gate mall which is located on the northern of Seattle is another great place to go shopping. It offers most of what you will be looking for.
Westfield south center mall
Westfield South Center mall is another huge shopping mall that includes sears, JC Penney, Macy’s and Nordstrom. You can access this mall by using no 150 buses that goes down to south center form downtown. You will also get other small malls on the way in case you are not up to large
Where to Have Fun
Seattle has a rich night life. It has numerous local bars that will make any visitor feel like a real Seattleite. It’s also rich in Irish pubs, lounges, British bars, blue clubs, dive bars and among other. Also, it has several places to imbibe from the University district’s college bars to Capitols and Bell town’s posh lounges. It has everything for anyone who visits it. Some of the most popular places for night life in Seattle include:
Ale House in 74th street
This bar offers one of the best bear selections in the entire Seattle. It provides a very royal and well-packed house every night. You will find the locals commanding the booths and barstools sipping the unique imported and local microbrews. The jovial atmosphere in this bar certainly makes any newbie fell right at home.
Admiral pub
This bar will make any visitor instantly feel like a regular. The pub is so calm such that a night here is more like watching a game while taking a bottle of beer or drinking a glass of wine at your buddy’s home than being at a local bar. you will definitely have a lot of fun spending your night in this pub. It’s also one of the places that you can get live music performance in Seattle.
Alibi room
This is a restaurant and a bar that is situated under pike place market. It serves delicious seafood and other excellent offering while complementing them with stiff drinks.
Bamboo bar and grill
This is situated in the Alki beach in Seattle. It’s a welcome place for beachcomber and bomber set. It’s one of the top places for a night life in Seattle.
Bookstore bar
This classy bar caters for a well-dressed up after work guests mainly from Alexis hotel that drop in for the premium drink, cigar encouraging and providing atmosphere of this bar.
Central saloon
A night life in this bar is loaded with good food and stiff drinks. This local Seattle bar was opened way back in 1892. It has passed the test of time and its one place you can’t miss to visit while traveling to Seattle. Music here is a staple food for everyone.
How to Get Around
By public transport
Metro transit actually works well and will get your around the town. The web trip planner is accurate and straightforward so long as your bus is on time. You may also use Google map planner to find your way around but fair charges may sometimes be incorrect. During rush hours, adult bus fares usually go up to 2.5 dollars for adults. The youth fare is normally 1.25.
Ferries
If you are living in some place new downtown, the state run ferries are at your disposal. Normally, you will pay to travel to westbound at a rate of about $7.5 but the trip to Seattle will be free.
Driving
Just getting out of your room and driving around Seattle can be great fun. The Seattle area is Scenic and roads are good. Just have a map with you to avoid easily getting lost in the City. Some key destination that you may want to drive into may include, Everett which is the home of the Boeing factory, and Two mountain pass among others.
By train
Trains offer a means of transport in Seattle all along the west coast commencing from King Street Station all the way to south of downtown near Safeco Field.
In conclusion, Seattle has a lot to offer anyone. It’s a perfect holiday destination and a great place to hold business meetings in. If you are planning to travel to Seattle, be ready to experience a unique culture, environment and numerous attraction and sightseeing.
