Seattle

Home of Starbucks and Amazon, with Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and Mount Rainier: a city of coffee and tech on Puget Sound.

Seattle is in the northwest of Washington State, between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, with views to the southeast of Mount Rainier in the Cascade Range. It is the home of Starbucks, Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing, and is nicknamed the "Emerald City." The city can be divided into several areas: Downtown and the Waterfront (Pike Place Market and the first Starbucks, the Seattle Waterfront Great Wheel, the Aquarium, the Seattle Art Museum, the Central Library); Pioneer Square and Chinatown–International District (the city's original streets and the Underground Tour); Seattle Center (the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, the Museum of Pop Culture); Lake Union, Fremont and the University of Washington (Gas Works Park, the Fremont Troll, cherry blossoms); and, to the west, the Ballard Locks and Discovery Park.

Nearby you can visit the Museum of Flight, the Boeing Everett Factory and Snoqualmie Falls; a ferry reaches Bainbridge Island in 35 minutes; and the Paradise and Sunrise areas of Mount Rainier make a classic day trip (about 2–2.5 hours by car).

June–September is dry and sunny at 20–28°C, the best time to visit, and the UW cherry blossoms bloom in late March; October–May is rainy and chilly, good for museums and cafés.

Getting there: from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, the Link light rail takes about 40 minutes to reach downtown. In the city, walking plus light rail and buses is enough, but Mount Rainier requires a car or a tour. We recommend 3–4 days. Note that the area around Third Avenue downtown is less safe at night, and in summer you may need to reserve an entry time slot for Mount Rainier.

Top sights

Where to eat

Itineraries