Hey NW G's,

I'm going to be visiting Seattle the first week of Aug. for the first time.

Figured there has to be some good suggestions on here about what to do/see.

I'll be attending a work conference 8/2-5, but am staying until 8/8 evening.
I'm staying at the W downtown.

Any idea's/warnings are appreciated.


Thanks

 

oh man welcome to the fun drive state

First either have a drive up to Sunrise @ Mt Rainier about 90 minute drive or so from Seattle or drive up to MT Baker along HWY 542 2 of the best drives ever about 2 hours or so drive from Seattle

try and stay off I-5 doing the rush hours (8-10am and 4-7pm) if you can around Seattle because the idiot that designed I-5 thought it was a good idea to shrink I-5 down to 1 lane and 1 HOV lane only right in the middle of Seattle lol

Alki Beach is also a great spot to get some pics if you want snaps of your car beauty area :
thats all i can think of right now lol, there is more and welcome and have a great time

 

Awesome. Thanks.

Not sure if I'm gonna get a rental car yet or not. If I do, I will def check out some of the above.

Anybody wanna rent their G for the weekend? lol

 

There is a ton of stuff to do in Seattle.....

Here are some things I have done in the past or places I go when company is in town.

Pike Place Market - About six blocks from your hotel. It's a good place to kill a couple of hours walking around, trying the food, watching them throw the fish around. There are also a lot of good hole in the wall restaurants in post alley which is right across the street from the market. If you are into clam chowder, there is a place in the alley that just serves about 6-8 different types called Pike Place Chowder.

Waterfront area - You can take the stairs from the market down to the waterfront and walk around down there. There is a pretty good aquarium as well as Argosy boat tours of the sound that give you a pretty good history of the city. Also, if you are looking for seafood restaurants, I would recommend Anthony's, Etta's and Ivars which are all on the waterfront. Salty's is also good if you make it to Alki but that may be a little harder to get to without a car.

Seattle Center - Again, there is a bunch of stuff to do here. The space needle is here…. there is also a science fiction museum and the EMP (Experience Music Project) is here also. The space needle is a bit pricey for a ride up in an elevator and I have never been a huge fan of either the science fiction museum or the EMP but that interest you more than me. I think there is also a "Ride the Ducks" amphibious tour that takes off from the area but I have never been on it.

Another thing that is in the vicinity of your hotel that I would highly recommend is the Underground Tour. It is a really cool tour under the city streets that is run out of a bar in Pioneer Square (just south of your hotel). Tells you all the cool stuff you won't see in history books.

Also, if you have some spare time, you may want to think about taking the clipper to Victoria BC (you would need a passport). It's about a three hour ride that leaves from downtown (I think) and Victoria is also a really cool place.

If you do have a car and you're into wine, Woodenville has a whole bunch of wineries and tasting rooms very close to each other (Chateau St. Michelle, Columbia, Novelty Hill etc.). They are all also right next to the Redhook brewery which has a great "tour". It only costs $1 and the tour is really just an excuse to drink a bunch of beer. You never actually leave the tasting room. Lol

If you are big on food but don't really like seafood, Metropolitan grill and El Gaucho have great steaks. Met grill is pretty close to your hotel. Ipanema (also close to your hotel) is a pretty good Brazilian steak house with Rodizio/Churrascairas style dining. If you like Asian food, go down to the international district (just south of Pioneer Square by the stadiums) and just pick any place. They are all pretty good. If you do have a car, I highly recommend going to a little hole in the wall place called Paseo. It's a Cuban sandwich place that is outstanding….always on the food network. There is always a line out the door, and they only take cash but it is worth it. Plus, it is less than a mile away from the Woodland Park Zoo which is a really nice zoo.

As far as bars/nightlife goes, the two best areas in downtown are Belltown (north area of downtown-a bit more upscale/trendy/expensive) and Pioneer Square. Don’t really know the names of all the places since it's not really my scene.

One last tip…..all the buses in the downtown area are free. You can look at the free bus zone on most bus maps to find the exact boundaries. If want to go someplace in downtown that seems a bit of a walk, I normally just hop on the first bus going in the same direction as me and hop off 6-10 blocks later.

I hope this is helpful. These are just a few a few suggestions. If you have more specific questions about tourist stuff or restaurants, let me know. I don’t know everything but I'll do what I can to answer them.

 

^ Wow.
That's exactly what I needed. Thank you.

I'm def gonna go to Pikes Place. That is a must.
The underground Tour sounds pretty awesome too.

If anybody else has anything to add, please do. I still got a couple weeks.

Really appreciate the info.

 

Damn, makes me want to do more seeing as its in my back yard almost!

Dicks, eat at Dicks.
Bruce Lees Grave
Troll on Troll street
Pictures at Alki, Gasworks Park, Kerry Park
Eat at Ruths Chris

 

what they said^ also visit Bellevue and enjoy the Bellevue Collection haha but seriously Bellevue is like a snootier really clean mini version of Seattle

 

Sounds like a mental hospital. lol

Looks like a nice a** town though.

 

Eh, I always hit Park Place Motors when I visited Seattle...in fact...I think I'll head up there tomorrow for "work"

http://www.parkplaceltd.com/

They gave you some great ideas already so that and maybe, take the Ferry over...then take it back haha cool city scape photos to be had that way