knuk

Hi Fellow Travelers,we are looking for some help with an upcoming trip.
We are a young, active couple spending next weekend (Oct.6th-9th) in Seattle. We will have a car and want to know what to see in and around this city. We like to see worthwhile tourist attractions, local markets and shops, we enjoy eating at respectable,lively retaruants and like to partake in local entertainment. Can anyone tell us what not to miss?? and where best to spend out limited time in this city?
We are looking at staying at the Holiday Inn near the space needle - is this area respectable? is it considered close to other local 'downtown' going-ons?
Thanks for any and all suggestions...

hdm

Pike Place Market
Piroshky Piroshky bakery across from the market (buy your pastry and coffee there and take it over to the look-out area beside the famous fish market for a nice breakfast)
Le Pichet (a sweet little restaurant around the corner from the Inn at the Market. Great wine list and rather unusual dishes.)
Teatro ZinZanni (a cross between dinner theatre and Cirque du Soliel; lots of fun; pretty good food; ask for a ringside table)
Boeing Factory tour -- really interesting
Underground tour -- pretty interesting
Experience Music Project -- a fabulously eccentric Frank Gerhry building; good lunch in the restaurant, but honestly? the rock n roll museum in Cleveland has better exhibits
The Fifth Avenue area for high-end shopping

suze

The usual suspects:
Pike Place Market
Pioneer Square Historic District
Chinatown/International District
Seattle Center/Space Needle
the Waterfront

... would be my personal recommendation of what could be done downtown without a car easily enough.

You could go to Black Bottle on 1st (wine, drinks, small plate foods) or Restaurant Zoe on 2nd (dinner).

Crocodile across the street (from Zoe's) or Chop Suey (Capitol Hill) for music venues.

Dim sum brunch/lunch in Chinatown is a fun thing to do.

suze

You can read reviews for the motel over on Trip Advisor, there's 60+, just put the name in the search from the main page.

The area is 'respectable' enough I guess(?) but kind of an odd part of town... near the highway (99) a bit out-of-the-way for central downtown Seattle, especially since you don't have a car. It's close to Seattle Center but that's about it.

Andrew

I was more impressed with the Experience Music Project than with the R&R Hall of Fame. R&R Hall of Fame just seemed to...glitzy for me or something. I thought the Dylan special exhibit at EMP was terrific. I highly recommend a visit to EMP, actually.

If you want to know more of the inside story of how the items were acquired for EMP, you might check out the excellent little book called "Rock and Roll Archaeologist: How I Chased Down Kurt's Stratocaster, the 'Layla' Guitar, and Janis's Boa" by Peter Blecha. He worked at EMP in the years before it opened, tracking down all kinds of cool stuff for the museum.

Andrew

happytrailstoyou

The Holiday Inn of which you speak is on the fringe of the downtown in a more-or-less light industry type area. However, you are young and, if you like to walk and you have a great rate, there is no reason not to stay there.

There is an Asian restaurant in your hotel and a lively restaurant in Experience Music Project.

There are also several restaurants in Lower Queen Anne, which is near to Seattle Center. Racha (Thai), Pesos (Mexican), and Chutney's (Indian) are stand-bys. Two popular local hamburger chains are also in the area. Dick's (wildly popular with locals, but I don't get it) and Kidd Valley (which is a good value with great fries and hand-dipped onion rings).

Andrew

I love Dick's Drive-In!!! Just a little no-frills 50's burger joint (it started in the 50's) with greasy burgers and frys. It's something I seek out whenever I'm in Seattle. For me it's mostly a nostalgia thing, as there was a Dick's at ASU when I was going to school there.

I've stayed at that Holiday Inn. It's OK. Note that the Holiday Inn EXPRESS adjacent to it has free breakfast; the regular HI does not. I stayed at this place without a car and it's not bad to get to/from downtown via bus or just walking ("ride free" buses end a few blocks south of Denny, and they end at 7PM).

I would suggest instead of this Holiday Inn bidding for a 2.5-star hotel in Lake Union on Priceline.com because if you succeed you will probably get the Residence Inn or the Cortyard by Marriott, both of which have adequate street parking according to reviews (I stayed at the Residence Inn but again didn't have a car). I preferred Lake Union to the Holiday Inn even though it was slightly further to downtown - it's just a slightly nicer area but not much further to the space needle. Go to BiddingForTravel.com to see about Priceline bidding, but you might get the Residence Inn for as low as $60 or $65/night depending on available rates. Just remember that Priceline is non-refundable/non-changeable!

Andrew

knuk

Thanks for the great tips, we had a few of these on our 'must-do' list but have already added a few more. We still want to hear more, so bring on the suggestions! Anyone know a good comedy club? local bars for evening entertainment - music, plays or shows? other entertainment suggestions? We plan to have a car, so if there is somethign we musn't miss that is not too far out of the city...

sarahbellum

I was about to make a suggestion, but realized that your trip time has passed! How was it?

Noa26

the space needle isn't far from city attractions, and walking a bit is the best way to see things when traveling(to my opinion)
about ideas for what to see and what there is to do i usually visit this site for vacation ideas http://www.tripcart.com/usa-regions/...-Cascades.aspx
they don't have the whole country, but what they do have is usually o.k for basic ideas for traveling
i would reccomend the seattle aquarium- if you're into cute colorful fish- it's really nice

happytrailstoyou

The list at this site is as good as any:
http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/was...le+sightseeing