A week in Seattle. What to do?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>Labor day is coming, so we have decided to pack up and go visit our D in Seattle for a week. We are going to stay in Beetown Hotel on the 3 rd street without a car rental. We have been Seattle before, but that was just a few hours stay and we could kept us busy at the seaport market. Now we have a week on hand, where can we kill a week of time staying there without a car?</p>

<p>My wife’s friend will take us out of the town for last two days, so, still we have 5 days there.</p>

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<p>Purple Cafe is an excellent restaurant; spend an evening there</p>

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<p>Posting so I can follow this thread–son and his wife are moving to Seattle this week, so trips to Seattle are in my future, too!</p>

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<p>It is too bad that you cannot have a car. There are many great places outside of the city that are too remote for public transportation. There are car rental agencies downtown (in the garage above the Columbia sportswear store right on 3rd across from the big Macy’s), and their daily rates are much cheaper than at the airport. Maybe you can look into getting a car for a day to go to Mount Rainier if you like nature or to the Woodinville wine country if you are interested in wine tasting.</p>

<p>The usual city places to visit (in no particular order):</p>

<ol>
<li>Museum of flight</li>
<li>University of Washington campus (pretty!). If you are there, eat at Ivar’s which is a short walk from campus. Also, walk through the Arboretum and the Japanese Garden - gorgeous. </li>
<li>Fremont - the Center of the Universe. :)</li>
<li>Ballard Locks</li>
<li>Dinner or brunch at Salty’s with the view of the downtown</li>
<li>Pike place market (rub Rachel’s snout for good luck)</li>
<li>EMP and the Center (Chihuly’s glass garden, Space Needle, duck tour).</li>
<li>Eat at one of Chef Douglas’ restaurants.</li>
</ol>

<p>I will think of other stuff to do, too!</p>

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<p>Other than buying an umbrella and having coffee? Ferry to Bainbridge Island. Olympic Sculpture Park. Explore neighborhoods.</p>

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<p>Beetown Hotel
Does that translate to Belltown Inn?
Seattle Center is across Denny. You could attend Bumpershoot, an arts festval at the Seattle Center.
<a href=“http://www.komonews.com/news/content/102078518.html?mobile=y”>http://www.komonews.com/news/content/102078518.html?mobile=y&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you want to go to one of Tom Douglas’s restaurants, I would recommend Seatown.
For something free, I would checkout the Central library.
<a href=“Central Library Highlights | The Seattle Public Library”>http://www.spl.org/locations/central-library/cen-plan-a-visit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I was going to say I have friends who enjoyed the Jimi Hendrix museum experience (EMP I guess). </p>

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<p>IMHO, September is the best time (usually) to visit Seattle. Indian summer here is gorgeous.</p>

<p>Without car, I second taking ferry to Bainbridge Island. Grab lunch on the island, wander around a bit then head back for the best view of Seattle downtown skyline. Have dinner in Pioneer square near there. Check out Pike Place Market then walk to Olympic sculpture park, only about 15-20 minutes apart. You can take the monorail from downtown to EMP and Seattle Center where the Chihuly museum is. </p>

<p>If you have car, definitely Arboreturn area. Great fall color when the weather starts getting nippy. University of Washington campus and The Ave where college kids hang out. Quirky Fremont is nearby too. Mount Rainier is a great day trip. We just hiked Paradise to view wildflower. Sept is too late for that but the mountain is still gorgeous. You will feel like Julie Andrews with the song “The hills are alive…” stuck in your head! Personally, Olympic NP is my favorite but it’s big and will take more than a day to visit.</p>

<p>For anyone else with more time and comfortable with reading maps, get a Seattle Staircase Walk book. We just got one, have been doing one urban hike per weekend and discovered many hidden places of Seattle even though we practically live here all our lives! Of course it’s also great that we always end up in a cafe or restaurant for a drink and a bite. </p>

<p>Enjoy your trip.</p>

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<p>Chihuly museum</p>

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<p>Yes! ride a ferry for sure - you can just walk on</p>

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<p>Yep - the area will be hopping for Bumpershoot all weekend at The Seattle Center</p>

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<p>lol, it is Belltown Inn, I just follow the typo my wife did.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/belltown-inn.html?aid=325635&label=sppctrip-hotel-521583_xqdz-7a9b3a042bd8e1a7b32288f970f928bf_pool-com_slice-99999&utm_source=tripad&utm_medium=SPPC&utm_content=images&utm_term=hotel-521583&lang=en-us&utm_campaign=US&trip=U-OB6gokK1YAAE9Iia8AAAAe”>http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/belltown-inn.html?aid=325635&label=sppctrip-hotel-521583_xqdz-7a9b3a042bd8e1a7b32288f970f928bf_pool-com_slice-99999&utm_source=tripad&utm_medium=SPPC&utm_content=images&utm_term=hotel-521583&lang=en-us&utm_campaign=US&trip=U-OB6gokK1YAAE9Iia8AAAAe&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Following the advise above, we may rent a car locally for day or two, if so, any more suggestions? Its a bit early for skiing at Mt Hood.</p>

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<p>Ferry to Puget Sound was also fun way back when we did it. We also toured the contemporary museum and ate at Meriweather’s for farm to table fare. Definitely try to visit the Saturday Market, and Powell’s bookstore if you are a book lover. If you love the TV show, “Grimm,” you can try to figure out where they filmed some of the episodes–I believe there’s a tour but otherwise folks at hotels can generally give you some suggestions.</p>

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<p>Depending on how much money you want to spend, I would leave off the Chihuly museum, EMP, and definitely do not even think of eating at the Space Needle.( overpriced & awful)
If you really want to, you could do a duck tour, just don’t admit it to any residents.
Bumpershoot will probably give you the most bang for your buck, unless you hate crowds, ( in which case downtiwn Seattle Labor day week, probably isnt a great idea) ;)</p>

<p>I also would not think of renting a car during Labor Day week for a drive to Mt Rainier, unless you have a high tolerance for heavy traffic. And bad drivers.</p>

<p>Walkon ferry, if you haven’t done it before, could be a trip highlight.
I can’t speak to what is what is available within walking distance to otherside.
Good idea to double check DOT page for ferry schedule & service.
<a href=“http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/”>http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You could consider buying a CityPass. It looks like they are currently half/price, which could be an incentive if those destinations are on your list.

<a href=“CityPASS® - See 5 Top Things to Do in Seattle and Save 47%”>http://www.citypass.com/seattle&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you like museums, several are easy to get to from Belltown.
The Seattle Art Museum,
And in Pioneer Square,
Klondike Gold Rush Park
<a href=“Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)”>http://www.nps.gov/klse/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;
And Wing Luke Museum.
<a href=“http://www.wingluke.org”>http://www.wingluke.org</a></p>

<p>Just a word of caution. Belltown is fairly rowdy in the evening, keep your wits and your wallets close at hand.
If your daughter lives here, she probably has some ideas of places to visit.
Have a great time- weather has been fairly dry & warm.</p>

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<p>Himom, you may be thinking of Portland for Powell’s and Meriwethers.</p>

<p>We’ve done this Argosy Cruise with guests. It takes you from fresh water (Lake Union) to saltwater (Puget Sound), passing through the Ballard Locks. This would provide a different perspective of Seattle than a ferry ride so both would be fun. It’s not cheap, though.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.argosycruises.com/sightseeing-cruises/locks-cruise/”>http://www.argosycruises.com/sightseeing-cruises/locks-cruise/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You might also want to check out the CityPass discount. The Museum of Flight isn’t within walking distance of Belltown so you’d need to keep that in mind if you chose that option:</p>

<p><a href=“Space Needle Discount Admission Tickets | Seattle CityPASS® Attraction”>http://www.citypass.com/seattle/space-needle&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Note that the Argosy Cruise included on the CityPass is a different from the one I suggested above.</p>

<p>Finally, some people really enjoy Riding the Ducks! I have to admit I’ve never done it.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com”>http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com</a></p>

<p>If you search online you’ll find discount coupons for many attractions, including some mentioned her.</p>

<p>Have a great visit!</p>

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<p>Mt Hood is a 5 hour drive. </p>

<p>Mt Rainier + going to Crystal Mountain ski area for a ride up the gondola and lunch at the top. </p>

<p>The Chowhound board for Seattle will have lots of ideas for restaurants. </p>

<p>Woodinville for wineries - well beyond Chateau Ste Michelle</p>

<p>Ballard neighborhood for breweries and great food choices + a visit to the locks (great on summer Sunday evenings when boaters are tired and locksmen are cranky) + a sunset walk along the Shilshole Bay marina to Golden Gardens Park. </p>

<p>Lemay auto museum in Tacoma</p>

<p>Boeing factory tour in Everett</p>

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<p>Powells books and Grimm scenes are in Portland, 3 hours south. A great,if very long, day trip. It can be done with amtrack. </p>

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<p>As a local, I think the view from Space Needle is overrated and overpriced. I was told that the Columbia Tower viewing deck is cheaper for almost same view. Supposedly there is a Starbucks on the 40th floor that you can get city view for free. You can also walk to the Seattle Public Library from there. Visually arresting, a Rem Koolhaas (sp?) design, but lack of warmth (for me) as a library user.</p>

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<p>Hopefully, no more shots fired at bumpers at the festival! ;)</p>

<p>I second the recommendation of LeMay. I’m not much into cars, but went there with friends and really enjoyed it.</p>

<p>The Boeing tour in Mukilteo is fun. Although I am now completely spoiled by the VIP tour that takes visitors onto the assembly floor for a mile or so walk throughout the building (not something open to the general public - and no, I am not in the position to buy a private jet, I was just there at the right time with the right group of folks. Lol). </p>