<p>University Village is down a steep hill from the UW. It’s lovely, but it’s basically a shopping center. To get to UW, or the U district, you’ll have to either hike the hill about a quarter mile, or take a bus – not sure how often they run.</p>
<p>If it were me, I’d go for the Hotel Deca. About the same distance from campus property, but it’s a flatter and more interesting walk, past independent shops and restaurants, and yeah, some street people.</p>
<p>The Burke Museum is on campus, on the corner closest to the Hotel Deca (NW). It’s a quite nice natural history museum, with a good coffee shop downstairs. The Henry Gallery is also on campus, features modern art, and has another nice coffee shop. A taxi or bus ride will take you to the downtown Seattle Art Museum (SAM), which recently expanded a LOT, and has quite a variety of stuff to look at. It also has a nice coffee shop! (Do you detect a theme here?) Actually, SAM’s coffee shop is more of a restaurant. And by the time you are over there, you’re a stone’s throw from Pike Place Market - lots to see and do there.</p>