JoeTro

I'm thinking of a quick trip to Seattle around President's Day weekend. I realize this sounds stupid, but, I'm not totally sure what all there is to do in Seattle, especially for someone like me who is not very outdoorsy. Of the top of my head I'm thinking:

Seattle Art Museum for Gaughin exhibition.
Pike's Place Market
Waterfront area
Space Needle (or another less touristy place for great views)?
Any parks or gardens?
Maybe a ferry to Bainbridge Island?

.......................

and then I'm kind of at a loss. Maybe walk around U-W or take some sort of walking or boat tour? I'm definitely more of a museum/indoorsy kind of person which may not fit Seattle as well as other cities. I keep hearing about great Seattle architecture.

So, other things I should do? Great parts of the city to explore? (I may check out the gay scene in Capitol Hill).

Thanks!

Bobmrg

We have plenty to offer the museum/indoorsy person: Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Museum of History and Industry, Museum of Flight (if you are into airplanes), Seattle Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, Pacific Science Center (combine with Space Needle trip), Wing Luke Asian Museum. The Experience Music Project, also near the Space Needle, has its historical aspects.

It's Pike Place Market, BTW...no one named Pike owns it...still a fun place to visit. The ferry idea is good, plus there are boat tours around Elliot Bay and from Elliot Bay through the locks into Lake Washington.

Come and enjoy!

happytrailstoyou

In addition to what you mention, I suggest:

Pioneer Square
Olympic Sculpture Park

Woodland Park Zoo
Safeco Field
Experience Music Project
Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

Bus to Madison Park for lunch at Cactus
Breakfast at Macrina Bakery
Chinatown for a meal and Uwajimaya Asian Market

Argosy cruise through the Locks
Opera or Symphony Concert
A night at Jazz Alley or the Triple Door
Performance at Seattle Rep, Intiman, or ACT

Perhaps you find some ideas here:

http://www.seattle-side-trips.com
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...2_indattr.html

HTTY

suze

Capitol Hill is a great neighborhood (i live here and love it!) to spend some time.

Theh Frye is another nice museum and it's free. Also the Asian Art Museum along with the Conservatory and water tower (you can climb for a great view) at Volunteer Park. Olympic Sculpture Park downtown is also pretty cool and unique.

Yes a ferry ride over to Bainbridge and back is a good idea.

There are lots of good walking tours downtown. There are some offered by the Market itself www.pikeplacemarket.org and also thru Savor Seattle www.savorseattle.com

Going up somewhere high for a view is good if the weather is clear. I'm partial to Smith Tower in Pioneer Square. But of course there's also the Space Needle.

Bobmrg

A new attraction near the Space Needle is in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's headquarters...it opened today and is free. Melinda says that the purpose is to illustrate to visitors just what it is that the Foundation does worldwide in fields like medicine, agriculture, education, etc.

lazuliangel

I was about to mention EMP, but HappyTrails... listed that. So let's see what I can add.

You probably have already figured this into your decision, but a weekend trip won't give you much time to see things. A good friend of mine from Vancouver, BC came to visit me over Veterans Day weekend, and with two and a half days, we covered a lot, though by no means enough. Here are a few tips:

1) Whichever day you decide to do it, START the day with the Market. Go early to avoid the heaps of people that come on Saturdays and Sundays. Take the stairs from the waterfront (they're almost right across the street from the Aquarium)to street level. Visit the original Starbucks in the Market annex. Grab a pastry at Three Girls Bakery (a personal favourite of mine? The berry-stuffed scones!) Tooling through the Market may take as high as three hours, so be prepared. The Market's got a lot of Seattle's most iconic restaurants, too, including Lowell's and the Athenian.
2) The Ride Free Area of Metro's bus service is handy to get at least 1/3 of the way towards wherever you want to go. Take advantage of it and ride to its edge, then get off and walk to a planned destination. You can, for instance, ride much of the way to Capitol Hill or Belltown (another really interesting district).
3) I'd second Uwajimaya, and even the ID in general. It's a really interesting place, and there are some great places to eat down there.
4) UW is beautiful (I'm an alumna and proud of it), and if it's a nice day, the campus is the place to bring a sandwich and a coffee. It's also a great place to just hang out. There's a great cafe on the corner of 42nd and University Way (the Ave) which is called Cafe on the Avenue. It's got great coffee and pastries, and the atmosphere is really lively in a studious sort of way. Take the 70s series busses (70,71,72,73,74) from the transit tunnels downtown and get off on University Way. Walk north (uphill). You won't miss it.
5) It will likely rain.
6) If you do go to the Space Needle, take the Monorail from Westlake Center up to it. Visit the Space Needle (it's about $20 a ticket nowadays, but not going is like being in NYC and not going up the Empire State Building) but then walk back into town (it's not that far). Follow 5th Avenue.
7) If you're up for a really cool movie experience, go see one at Cinerama. It's on 4th Ave in the Belltown area.
8) If you're into seafood, there are loads of good places to go, but two of my personal favourites are Salty's on Alki (West Seattle; take the number 54 bus, if memory serves) and Ray's Boathouse in Golden Gardens Park.
9) If you'd like another neat neighbourhood experience outside of Capitol Hill, consider Ballard or Wallingford. Each is easily accessible by bus and very walkable.
10) Finally, I know you said you're not the outdoorsy type and yet, I'm blathering on and on about walking, but Seattle is an eminently walkable city, has really good public transport and is pretty clean. You don't have to be a really outdoorsy person to get around here, and the air's good.

Enjoy your trip, if you do come here!

suze

I wanted to add... not everyone here in Seattle is "outdoorsy" (especially me -lol!) there's lots of "city people" and urban activities.

lazuliangel

Ditto, Suze. I'm an ex-Ballardite currently living on Vashon, and I stick out like a sore thumb because I'd rather spend a day roaming downtown than hiking in the Island Centre Forest!

suze

I can't think of the last time I went hiking... oh now I remember... never (hahaha!).

JoeTro

Thanks for the tips. I hope to get my walk on especially if the weather is okay. I think the thing that confuses me is how public transport works, especially from my weird Lake Union location. My hotel does have a shuttle, which I may use some in the mornings. I think there are lots of buses which always kind of confuse me. Isn't there some kind of metro/trolly (SLUT) system? Finally, I don't get this free ride zone business ... practically speaking, what is in and out of it.

tomfuller

For a solo traveler the HI Hostel is nice and will save some money. http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels...-060147.en.htm
I do remember getting off an Amtrak train, walking about 3 blocks to get into the free bus zone and riding (with luggage) all the way up to near Pike Place Market where the old Hostel was. It seems that the "free ride" will end in October 2012.
Last year I visited Groundspeak Headquarters which is in the Fremont section of the city. Groundspeak is the parent company of geocaching.com.