Best Things to Do in Seattle, Washington
Are you looking for the best things to do in Seattle, Washington? You’re in the right place!
Seattle is a great city I’ve visited many times over the years. I first started going there after my cousin moved to Seattle from the East Coast. I found it to be a cool, laidback city with great proximity to nature — very different from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle I’m used to in New York.
My cousin eventually left Seattle, but a few years after that, my brother ended up moving there. So I started going back to Seattle again, and now I visit at least once a year! Since I’ve now been to Seattle so many times, I’ve tried just about everything there is to do for tourists, and these are my top recommendations.
There’s a lot to do in Seattle, but not to the point where it’s overwhelming. If you only have two or three days in Seattle, you can easily see a lot of the highlights in the city. It’s a different story for day trips and weekend trips from Seattle — there are so many amazing destinations nearby, many still on my list to visit!
For the purpose of this guide, I’ll mainly be focusing on things to do in Seattle.
Need a hotel in Seattle? I’ve written about where to stay in Seattle before a cruise, but even if you aren’t going on a cruise out of Seattle, you can still check out that guide for my top hotel recommendations. They’re all my picks for the best, centrally located hotels in Seattle close to popular tourist attractions.
Now let’s get into the best things to do in Seattle, Washington:
1. Go to the top of the Space Needle
The Space Needle is the most striking building in the Seattle skyline — I’m kind of obsessed with it! Built in 1962 for the World’s Fair in Seattle, it has a mid-century modern, retro-futuristic look about it.
Going to the top of the Space Needle offers some of the best views in Seattle. Tickets to the observation deck are on the pricey side, but I do think it’s worth it. I actually wrote a whole guide about whether visiting the Space Needle is worth it or not. So give that a read if you’re still on the fence about going.
I specifically recommend purchasing combo tickets to the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass. I talk about this more below, but it’s another one of the best things to do in Seattle. By purchasing the combo ticket, you save a significant amount of money and get to do both attractions in one day.
2. Visit Chihuly Garden and Glass
Next up, Chihuly Garden and Glass is one of my favorite places in Seattle. If you only visit one museum while you’re in Seattle, make it this one! This museum is located in Seattle Center, right next to the Space Needle and close to many other museums. (See all the museums in Seattle Center here.)
This museum is dedicated to the works of Dale Chihuly, a local artist who rose to prominence for his vibrant, surreal glass-blown artwork. The museum is stunning, filled with larger-than-life glassworks.
Part of it is indoors, and part of it is outdoors in an enclosed garden, where you have excellent views of the Space Needle looming overhead. As I mentioned, I highly recommend getting the combo tickets that will allow you to save money visiting both Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Space Needle.
3. Take an underground walking tour
Before it became a major metropolis with over 800,000 residents, known for being the birthplace of cultural phenomena as diverse as Starbucks, Nirvana, and Amazon, Seattle was just a small town.
Originally built in the mid-19th century, Seattle had its first population boom in the late 1890s during the Klondike Gold Rush. Less than a decade before that, the Great Seattle Fire had devastated much of the original town, which was constructed in what is now known as the Pioneer Square neighborhood.
New streets and buildings were constructed on top of the old town, leading to an underground network of tunnels and buildings that still exist under the present-day city streets. It’s possible to visit this historic area on an underground Seattle walking tour and learn more about the city’s fascinating history.
4. Explore Pike Place Market
You can’t go to Seattle without visiting Pike Place Market. Located on the waterfront, this is the city’s original fish market and farmers’ market that has grown into a major tourist attraction. The market is on multiple levels and packed with all kinds of unique vendors and shops. Right across from the market, you’ll find loads of restaurants and even more shops. You could easily spend several hours in this area.
One of the things that you’ll find on a lot of lists of must-visit places in Seattle is the Gum Wall. This is probably the biggest tourist trap in Seattle, and I’m not sure why it’s a “thing.” It’s literally just a brick alleyway outside Pike Place Market covered in thousands of pieces of chewed-up chewing gum.
Kind of cool, kind of gross, I guess? Nevertheless, it’s there if you want to see it — and be sure to bring some chewing gum if you’d like to stick your own contribution to the Gum Wall.
5. Walk in Olympic Sculpture Park
Seattle has a lot of great parks, but one of my favorites is Olympic Sculpture Park. This is also an easy one to get to if you are staying near the waterfront in Downtown Seattle, where many tourists stay.
This park is part of the Seattle Art Museum, and it’s free to visit. There are peaceful walking paths dotted with large outdoor sculptures, and you can walk all the way down to the waterfront for nice views (especially at sunset!) You can see Elliott Bay and the majestic Olympic Mountains off in the distance.
6. Visit the Museum of Flight
The Museum of Flight is a really cool museum in Seattle. It’s the largest air and space museum in the world, so if that sounds interesting to you, this is definitely worth adding to your itinerary.
It’s a little out of the way (a 20-minute drive or a 40-minute bus ride on the 124 bus from Downtown Seattle), but it’s worth the slight detour if you’re interested in aviation. With more than 160 aircraft and spacecraft on display, this museum takes you on a journey through the history of flight.
I recommend booking tickets online in advance of your visit.
7. See great views from Kerry Park
If you’ve ever seen an amazing photo of the Seattle skyline, there’s a good chance it was taken from Kerry Park. This small park is located in the hilly Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, overlooking Downtown.
It’s about a 10-minute drive from Downtown Seattle, or you can take the bus (number 2 or number 13) to get there, which takes about 15 minutes. The park offers scenic views of the skyline with the Space Needle at the center (although you’ll need to zoom in a lot to get photos like the one below.)
The Queen Anne neighborhood is also a nice residential area to walk around, filled with beautiful, multi-million dollar homes that have beautiful views. (I’m jealous of whoever lives there!)
8. Explore Waterfront Park
Down by the waterfront next to Pike Place Market, you’ll find Waterfront Park, where you can walk along the wharf and take in excellent views of Elliott Bay. There are several tourist attractions here.
Waterfront Park is where you’ll find the Seattle Aquarium, as well as the Miner’s Landing amusement center. You can take a spin on the Seattle Great Wheel, which offers views of the city and the water, or you can hop on a harbor cruise to see some of Seattle’s best scenery by boat on a narrated tour.
9. Visit the Museum of Pop Culture
The Museum of Pop Culture is one of the most unique museums in Seattle. It’s housed in Seattle Center, the same location as the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass. The focus of this museum is on pop culture, with immersive exhibits on everything from music to fashion to film to gaming and more.
I haven’t personally been to this museum yet, but it gets great reviews, and it could be a cool museum to check out if you’ve already been to Chihuly Garden and Glass and want to try something different.
10. Go on a food tour
A food tour is a neat way to discover Seattle’s cuisine. Obviously, given its location on the water, Seattle is known for its seafood. But even if you’re a vegetarian like me or you don’t eat seafood, there’s still a lot of great food to enjoy in Seattle! This chef-guided food tour of Pike Place Market is a good option.
You’ll tour this bustling market with a local chef and sample everything from Beecher’s mac and cheese (so good) to Pike Place chowder to Seattle-made artisan chocolate, and much more.
If you have a sweet tooth, another fun option is this Seattle donut tour. On a small-group walking tour, you’ll explore some of Seattle’s best donuts, including Top Pot Doughnuts (my personal favorite), Doce Donut Co., Dahlia Bakery, and Daily Dozen Doughnuts. I’m hungry just thinking about this!
11. Explore another neighborhood
A lot of visitors don’t stray far from Downtown Seattle, especially if they only have a day or two. But if you have some extra time in Seattle (or you just want to get away from all the tourists), I highly recommend checking out another neighborhood in Seattle. There are plenty of cool places to explore.
Capitol Hill, Fremont, and Ballard are all some great neighborhoods to visit that aren’t too far from Downtown Seattle. All of these neighborhoods are walkable, with restaurants, bars, and shops.
12. Visit the Seattle Art Museum
One more museum you might want to visit is the Seattle Art Museum. This is the perfect activity for a rainy day, which Seattle has its fair share of! The Seattle Art Museum has a top-notch collection encompassing more than 25,000 works from around the world. This is a must-visit museum if you love art.
You can book your tickets to the Seattle Art Museum online in advance. I recommend doing this because if you wait until the day of to buy your tickets, you will pay an additional $3 per ticket.
13. Ride the ferry somewhere
I mentioned taking a sightseeing harbor cruise as a fun thing to do earlier, but if you have more time, I actually recommend riding the ferry to a destination outside of Seattle. Not only is this usually cheaper than doing a sightseeing boat tour, but you can also explore somewhere a little different.
My top recommendation would be Bainbridge Island. From the Seattle Ferry Terminal, it takes 35 minutes on the ferry to get to Bainbridge Island. The ferry terminal on the island is just a 10-minute walk to the center of town, where you’ll find cute restaurants and quaint shops. Perfect for a half-day trip!
14. Take a day trip from Seattle
Finally, I wanted to touch on some of the day trips you can take from Seattle. If you have more than a couple of days here, I highly recommend getting out of the city at least once. Seattle is an amazing gateway to the natural beauty of Washington State, with tons of stunning places less than two hours away.
You’ll probably want to rent a car if you plan to take any day trips from Seattle. If you don’t want to drive, it’s also possible to book some organized tours that depart from and return to Seattle.
Here are my top picks for the best day trips from Seattle:
- Snoqualmie: One of the easiest day trips from Seattle, less than an hour away. Skiing in the winter, and several gorgeous waterfalls. This guided tour includes wine tasting and waterfalls.
- Bainbridge Island: Another very easy day trip from Seattle! You can take a 35-minute ferry from Downtown Seattle and explore the cute town on foot. Lots of shopping, dining, and quaint scenery.
- Whidbey Island: Hiking, beaches, small towns, and more! You can get here by ferry, but you need a car to explore. My favorite place is Deception Pass State Park, 1.5 hours from Seattle.
- North Cascades National Park: For some reason, this national park just over two hours from Seattle is one of the least visited national parks in the US. I can’t imagine why — it’s gorgeous!
- Leavenworth: This charming mountain town is two hours and 15 minutes from Seattle and looks just like a Bavarian village! You can visit on a guided day trip from Seattle.
- Mount Rainier National Park: I still haven’t been here, but it’s on my list! It’s about 2.5 hours from Seattle. You can also book a highlights of Mount Rainier guided tour.
Check out more of my favorite day trips from Seattle here.
Where to Stay in Seattle
Where should you stay in Seattle? I highly recommend basing yourself in Downtown Seattle, specifically the areas around Pike Place Market and Belltown, closer to the waterfront. These are the most convenient neighborhoods for tourists, with proximity to all the top attractions in Seattle.
- Best luxury hotel: Four Seasons Hotel Seattle
- Space Needle views: Hyatt House Seattle Downtown
- Best value: Staypineapple, Hotel FIVE, Downtown Seattle
- Most Pacific Northwest charm: The Edgewater, a Noble House Hotel
These are some of my top picks for the best hotels in Seattle for every budget!
Need a Rental Car in Seattle?
You don’t need a rental car to get around Seattle. Downtown is very walkable, and if you want to get to other neighborhoods that are not as central, you can easily take public transportation.
However, if you want to take any day trips from Seattle, a car is a must. You can book tours, but having your own car gives you a lot more flexibility and can be more cost-efficient for two or more people. I recommend using DiscoverCars to compare the best prices on rental cars in Seattle.
Top Things to Do in Seattle, Washington
This guide showed you the best things to do in Seattle, Washington.
There are so many cool things to do in Seattle, and it’s one of the best places that combines vibrant, eclectic city vibes with amazing access to nature (water and mountains everywhere you look!) Regardless of what kind of activities you’re interested in, this city truly offers something for everyone.
Enjoy your trip to Seattle!
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