Short visit sightseeing: One day in Seattle

There’s a lot to see and do in Seattle. But if you don’t have much time, it’s actually a great place for a short trip too. Many of the main attractions are close together, so it’s easy to see the sights (and then move on if you want to see more local spots).

On a recent, all-too-short trip to Seattle, I set out to see some of the city’s highlights in one day.

Originally, we had planned to spend most of the day downtown. I won’t bore you with the details, but things came up, plans shifted, schedules changed, and that didn’t happen. But it was still a fabulous day in Seattle.

Tip one: Have a plan…and be ready for it to change.

If you want to see as much as you can in a short amount of time, you don’t want to leave it totally to chance. Having a plan as a starting point will also help when things inevitably change.

Morning: Fremont

Coffee is a great way to start a day in Seattle. Okay, coffee is a great way to start the day anywhere. Seattle does have an exceptional range of options, though, including dozens of independent shops and locally-based chains.

I met a friend at Milstead & Co., which shares outdoor seating with History House of Greater Seattle, a museum of Seattle’s neighborhoods and sculpture garden. It’s located in the Fremont neighborhood, which is known for its Sunday market, public art (including the eponymous Troll), and supposed position at the center of the universe.

Tip two: Think geographically. Group sightseeing by neighborhood. Remember to allow for transit time and traffic.

Midday: International District

Midday, we headed downtown. I needed to stop by the Visit Seattle office to pick up my press kit and CityPasses. That placed us conveniently near the International District (a.k.a. Seattle’s Chinatown) at lunch time.

The International District has tons of great food options. My brother and sister-in-law wanted to introduce me to dim sum, so we went to their favorite place, Jade Garden. As far as I can tell, the better the dim sum, the worse the parking. It works out, though. What goes down is that cart after cart filled with steaming hot, hard-to-turn-down dumplings and assorted goodies wheels up to your table, you try lots of delicious things that you may or may not be able to identify, pay the bill, and waddle out. At this point, you probably realize a longer walk to your parking spot is a good idea.

You can grab some boba tea before heading to your next stop. While you’re in the neighborhood, look for dragons climbing telephone poles, the Chinatown Gate, and a giant chessboard in Hing Hay Park.

Tip three: Make food and beverages part of your experience of a place, rather than an afterthought.

Afternoon: Seattle Center

Seattle Center is home to a number of attractions, fountains, gardens — and free wifi!

Space Needle

The iconic Space Needle is obviously a super popular destination. Fortunately, whoever’s in charge there is pretty efficient. There are separate lines for people purchasing tickets, with general admission, with a scheduled a time to go up, and for CityPass holders.

The CityPass really does save a lot of time, so, even if your trip is too short to see all the sights, it may be worth it for the quicker access.

Even the elevator ride is maximized, with the operator spouting facts about the Space Needle on the ride up. I was concerned it might be a bit nerve wracking to watch out the windows as we ascended, but it wasn’t. It takes about 45 seconds to get to the top, and it feels a bit like you’re just slowly floating up there.

You step out of the elevator into a room that wraps around the building. There is a huge interactive display that a crowd of people could check out at once (the “Skypad”), souvenirs for sale, and a restaurant with wine specials. I’m thinking the next time I’ll plan to just go up, find a table next to the window, and sip on merlot. We even noticed a few outlets in case you drain your phone taking photos.

Outside is the observation deck with viewing telescopes and a few benches. You can walk around the whole building and see for miles – Puget Sound, the downtown skyscrapers, the roofs of museums, a swimming pool or two, and far off residential neighborhoods. There was a nice breeze at the top. Despite the fact that it was a busy day, it wasn’t hard to find spots next to the rail to look off in the distance, and it actually felt peaceful up there.

At the bottom of the Space Needle is a large gift shop inside and the Chihuly Garden outside.

Pacific Science Center

We, unfortunately, ran out of time for the espionage exhibit at Pacific Science Center, but we did have a look around. There were animatronic dinosaurs and models of the solar system and even small animals in aquariums (including axolotls, the salamander-like object of the narrator’s obsession in Julio Cortázar’s short story. I’d wanted to see one since reading it in a Spanish lit class.) We visited the Tropical Butterfly House and smiled that this large butterfly had attached itself to one man’s pant leg and was apparently never leaving. My two-year-old niece and 10-month-old nephew enjoyed playing in the water at the stream table. Everyone with the museum was super nice and helpful.

Also near Seattle Center/Waterfront

Evening: West Seattle

We walked through the lovely Seacrest Park at sunset and took in the view of downtown and with a minature Space Needle across the water. For a longer walk, Alki Beach is nearby.

We went to the fusion restaurant Marination Ma Kai, which got its start as a food truck and now boasts several locations around Seattle. The day we were there it was packed with uniformed high school band kids for some reason. There must have been an event or competition that day. Anyway, they provided some free entertainment while we waited in line.

Tip four: Savor the moment. Whether you’re ascending a tower or simply watching ripples across the water, do your best to enjoy the view.

Alternate plans:

Pike Place Market is near Seattle Center, and you could start there instead of Fremont. Go early for fresh produce and fish or later for retailers, bars, and buskers.
Some people with a tight schedule skip the top of the Space Needle for more time in museums or seeing other sights.
If you’re not interested in the big attractions, you could also spend less of your day downtown and more at local hangouts.
Check out Visit Seattle’s one-day itinerary and day trip list for other alternatives.

Bringing a Bit of Seattle to You

If you can’t head to Seattle just yet (or if you want to keep your trip fresh in your mind), here are a few ideas to make the Emerald City feel a little closer:

Fresh From Seattle: Recipes from the City’s Best Chefs – A taste of Seattle in your own home. (Ebook. Free.)
Space Needle live feed – The view from the top. (Webcam city view. Hint: If the picture is blurry, it’s probably raining.)
Four Windows: Seattle – A brand new project that features 4 Seattle-inspired novels delivered in fun-sized portions. (Ebook. Free first issue.)

—

A big thank you to Visit Seattle for providing information and CityPasses and to Ian Smith and Christine Smith of Four Windows, who acted as my city guides and assisted with this series of Seattle posts! Congrats on the launch of Four Windows Books!

September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

Seattle like a local

Jennifer asked via Instagram where she could go in Seattle to get away from the tourist areas and get a more local feel.

Finding Local Flavor Wherever You Travel

One key to doing this anywhere is simply finding the touristy part(s) of town and then removing yourself from there. If you’re still seeing postcard stands on the streets, cutesy building facades, and/or things to pose next to for photos, keep going.

Once you start to see grocery stores, permanent residences, and/or less picturesque streets, you’ve probably crossed over to the local zone.

Seattle’s Local Flavor

In Seattle, a lot of the top attractions are grouped together, which makes it easy to see the sights – and then to escape them. Get out of downtown and away from the University District (which locals call the “U District”), and you’re likely to find yourself where locals live, work, run errands, relax, and drink coffee. (Coffee gets its own category because we’re talking about Seattle here.)

The timing of Jennifer’s question was great, since my Seattle experts happened to be in town. So we brainstormed and came up with a few suggestions of where to go for Seattle’s local flavor:

The photo that prompted the question was from Pike Place Market, which I recently wrote about as being a place you’ll find both tourists and locals. There are tons of places to eat, drink, shop, and explore.
I’ve also mentioned the Fremont Sunday Market, which is a great local thing to do if you happen to be in town on a Sunday.
Starbucks is not Seattle’s only homegrown coffee shop, so you may want to branch out and try something that isn’t available in your hometown. There are tons of locally-based alternatives. I enjoyed drinking Medicis (orange mochas) from Caffe Ladro, a 14-location, Washington-only chain.
Full Tilt has all-natural ice cream, local art, and pinball. Yep. Pinball.
Hang out at Golden Gardens Park.
During the summer (and even this week), there are outdoor movies and concerts.

Finally, I’ll mention again my friend Luz’s post on things to do in Seattle, since she includes a lot of great ideas beyond the typical touristy fare.

How do you like to go local when you travel?

—

Thanks to Ian Smith and Christine Smith for help on this post!

August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Wandering Pike Place Market

There’s nothing wrong with seeing the highlights of a place, the well-known “must-see” spots. But it’s always great when you can go beyond that, get off the beaten path, take the side streets.

Pike Place Market isn’t just a tourist attraction. Locals also frequent the farmers’ market, shops, cafes, and bars. It’s brimming with quirky Seattle flavor. The Market rewards those who are willing to explore, to keep their eyes open.

Of course, it’s fun to watch the guys throwing fish, and then stroll down the main arcade checking out the fruit and flowers. But you don’t have to stop there. Try chocolate pasta. Peruse the busker bulletin board.

If you don’t want to wait in line at the original Starbucks, you can try a new kind of crumpet.

Go down a level or two and you’ll find a magic shop, a record store, a place that sells squirrel underwear.

Around the corner from the famous Gum Wall, there’s an alley covered with posters, stickers, and street art. (I’m always on the lookout for art in unexpected places – including alleys.)

A paste-up of a man wearing a business suit and a space helmet caught my eye. He’s the Clastronaut and is inspired by the feeling of never being at home.

That makes sense to me. We’re all travelers.

So you might as well wander around, get lost, and see what’s around the corner.

Pike Place Market is one fantastic place to do that.

July 30, 2014

Tips for packing shoes

When I was repacking my suitcase to return home from my SeaSFBlog trip, I remembered seeing this trick of putting your shoes in a shower cap to keep the dirty soles off your clothes. I’ve never used a shower cap for my hair, so there was still one boxed up on the hotel bathroom counter that I could try out.

Before, I had just thrown my shoes in a plastic shopping bag, which ends up being this unwieldy, crinkly blob taking over a corner of your suitcase. The shower cap’s elastic edges made it fit snugly over my flats. There was room for a pair of wedges, as well. Then I got greedy and tried to add a pair of ankle boots, and the shower cap tore. So those went back into my shopping bag blob. The tear was small enough I could still use my shower cap, and now I’ve learned its limits. In the future, I’ll pack fewer shoes – or more shower caps.

Somewhere I read that the TSA recommended packing shoes around the edges of your bag, so they don’t block the x-ray or because terrorists pack shoes in the middle or something. (Although now it looks like they’re recommending packing them on top. Seriously, who can keep up with the TSA?!)

I also try to pack shoes and anything heavy in what will be the bottom half of my suitcase when it’s standing upright, so it’ll be more stable. Really, though, it usually ends up top heavy and constantly tipping over. On the occasions I manage to pack so it can stay up unassisted, I feel like the queen of the world!

The other shoe packing tip I see a lot is to pack smaller items inside of shoes. When it comes down to it, there are not a lot of things I want to put inside cavities made for holding feet. Socks maybe. But how short on space do you have to be to think it’s a good idea to pack your toothbrush inside your shoes? Am I the only one who’s not on board with stashing a few granola bars in your ballet slippers?

I’d love to hear your method for packing shoes and whether you ever pack anything inside them!