Heading up to Seattle next weekend. We were thinking about doing CA, but tickets were pretty cheap at the time to Seattle so we decided to do CA later this year. Any suggestions on what to do/where to go? Whats the 'fun' area to stay where we can walk to a variety of restaurants and things to do? We were thinking about going to Vancouver, but with only 2 full days there, not worth it. Now we're thinking about taking a ferry to San Juan Island... anyone been there? Worth it? Found this, looks like it might be fun: http://pikeplacemarket.org/news_events/arcadelights
Seattle is a great place to visit. There is a lot to do and see. I recommend getting a Seattle City Pass. It includes a lot of great tourist attractions at a discounted price. San Juan island would take roughly an entire day. If you are there for two days, it does not leave a lot of time to see the city. As for hotels, I always prefer to stay downtown. You can walk to the Market and the waterfront. Downtown also has easy access to the a Seattle Center monorail, which will take you to the Space Needle and Pacific Science Center. You can also catch Sound Transit rail to Pioneer Square and SODO if you decide to take in a ball game or stadium tour. I have stayed at the Roosevelt and the Paramount. I prefer the Paramount. Have a great time. It is easy to get hooked on that place.
This is from an email that my wife sent to a friend of ours a week or so ago with lots of great information. SEATTLE Le Panier French bakery/Cafe at Pike Place Market. Their Cappuccino is really good. We love the Feuilletés with mushrooms. Their croissants are also very good as are their sandwiches with butter, ham and cheese. Grab one to go and enjoy it whenever. We usually do breakfast/brunch one morning and order a cappuccino, mushroom thingy and a chocolate croissant. Perfection! http://www.lepanier.com/ LOCATION: By Pike Place pretty close to the original Starbucks. Shiro’s This must be THE best Sushi restaurant outside Japan. Trey knows more about the chef and the story behind his fame. Shiro trained under Jiro, one of the best sushi chefs in the world, and the only one to be awarded 3 Michelin stars. Here is a link about Jiro: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi/ You may also be interested in watching the documentary about Jiro as we found it of very high quality. Also, try and sit by the sushi counter and order the Omakase. We did Shiro’s Omakase and it was amazing! If you like sushi, please go to this place! http://www.shiros.com/ Wild Ginger One of our favorite Asian Fusion restaurants. http://www.wildginger.net/ LOCATION: 1401 Third Avenue Seattle, WA (We usually walk to Wild Ginger, but it depends on where your hotel is located.) They also have a location in Bellevue but we have never been to that location. 11020 NE 6th Street Suite 90 Bellevue, WA 98004 The Herbfarm This has been voted the number one restaurant in Seattle for quite some time now. It is a culinary experience that is out of this world! We always enjoy sitting at "the European table", a table with room for 8-10 random people. http://www.theherbfarm.com/ Rovers Another nice restaurant in Seattle. We tried the degustation menu and it was truly amazing. http://thechefinthehat.com/rovers/ Ray’s Boathouse This is one of our favorite lunch/early dinner spots. The view is amazing and DO order the House Smoked Salmon with the cucumber relish and pineapple. We prefer Ray’s Cafe which is located upstairs over Ray’s Boathouse (the main restaurant). We have tried both and feel that Ray’s Cafe is far better. http://www.rays.com/ Fran’s Chocolates They have locations in a few different spots in and around Seattle. The main location downtown Seattle is at The Four Seasons Hotel, just one block from Pike Place Market. https://www.franschocolates.com/ BELLEVUE Gilbert's on Main Very casual Deli a few streets from Bellevue Mall. Order the "Pastrami, Corned Beef and Swiss sandwich" (with homemade coleslaw and Russian dressing). It is to die for and one of our favorite sandwiches of all time. http://www.yelp.com/biz/gilberts-main-street-bagel-deli-bellevue/ LOCATION: 10024 Main Street Bellevue, WA 98004 (425) 455-5650 DAY TRIPS One reason we love going to Seattle: the endless possibility of day trips!! Snoqualmie Falls A very cute town with a view of Snoqualmie Falls. It is fun to drive out there perhaps on your way to Leavenworth. http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/ Leavenworth Beautiful drive and a very cute town to visit. It is surrounded by mountains and makes for great pictures. Go to Leavenworth via Snoqualmie and back to Seattle via Highway 2. Victoria Take the ferry "clipper" to Victoria. Something that we never ended up doing, but now really wish we had done. Teatime at the Empress. http://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/dining/afternoontea/ Woodinville We also enjoy driving to Woodinville and other areas where they have wineries. We love Washington wines! I hope you enjoy your time in Seattle!
Our favorite hotels are The Four Seasons, The Edgewater (their restaurant Six Seven is fantastic), and Hotel 1000.
All great advice. Pike Place is a must, as is the Space Needle. I stayed at the Hotel Max. Great location, decent price, reasonably nice quality, EXCELLENT service. San Juan islands are great, but you won't have time with just two days.
The Sci Fi museum and the tour of the Seattle underground. Great bit of history and super entertaining.
I stayed at the Max too. The rooms are small but it's a cool boutique hotel. And I didn't spend much time in the room anyways. I don't typically do tours, but I did the Duck tour (I think?) where it's a bus that can go in water. Not too long and it's a good way to get acquainted with the downtown area quickly. Plus great views of the city when you're in the middle of the bay. With so much to do in Seattle itself I would save that San Juan trip for another time.
dunno about Seattle much but here's some seattle hiphop <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pIBdAdnTqqo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wz79goWQrYU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
My favorite tours are: - Underground tour - Sub Seattle tour - Ride the Ducks - Argosey cruise around Puget Sound (included with City Pass) The sub Seattle tour and the underground tour are in Pioneer Square and are operated by the family of the late historian Bill Speidel. It really takes 3 or 4 days to see everything. If you identify all the tours you want to take and attractions with City Pass, you may be able to knock most of it out in two days.
Someone mentioned the "scifi museum." I think that is actually the EMP Museum, which is right next to the Space Needle. If it is the one being recommended, it is actually a pop culture museum, with a lot of rock (Hendrix, Cobain) and scifi and horror movie exhibits. A great history of the guitar that inspired me to buy a Fender. http://www.empmuseum.org/ The Space Needle provides a great panorama of the city. Kind of expensive though. I understand Pikes Market is fun and must see.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention the Experience Music Project (EMP). Pretty cool, especially if you're into Hendrix (they had a GREAT walking timeline of his entire life/career). Lots of fun.
I know I am a real dork when it comes to City Pass, but it is a great value. It includes two trips to the Space Needle, one during the day and one at night. I cannot express how highly I recommend it.
A lot has been said. Stay downtown. Four Seasons, Fairmont Olympic, Westin, Grand Hyatt are all good landmarks for the area of hotels you should be looking in. (And Hotel Max that others have mentioned...yes, solid value and location, though tiny rooms) From there, you're good walking east to Capitol Hill just to check out the hipster Seattle neighborhood that's fun to check out...north to stuff in Queen Anne (incl EMP), + you're in downtown for some other tourist stuff. And all of them are close to Pike Place Market / the water.
Within the Portland area, you've got: Microbreweries Food trucks McMenamin's - Kennedy School, etc. Washington Park and the Rose Test Garden Multnomah Falls Columbia River Gorge Hood River, OR - very cool town on the Gorge Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood I'd also take a day to drive out to Cannon Beach and see the Haystack Rock, possibly do the hike through the woods in Ecola State Park to the beach. One week also gives you a chance to see both Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier as you from Portland to Seattle.
Seattle + Vancouver would be a better combo, IMO. And since you're presumably Indian, I'm sure you'd appreciate the culinary offerings in Vancouver far more than Portland.
