Capitol Hill

The Pike-Pine Corridor—Pike and Pine streets running from Melrose Avenue to 15th Avenue—is the heart of the Hill. Pine Street is a slightly more pleasant walk, but Pike Street has more stores—and unless you're here in the evening (when the area's restaurants come to life), it's the stores that will be the main draw. The architecture along both streets is a mix of older buildings with small storefronts, a few taller buildings that have lofts and office spaces, and garages and warehouses (some converted, some not). Pine skirts Cal Anderson Park—a small, pleasant park with an unusual conic fountain and reflecting pool—it's a lovely place to take a break after walking and shopping. The park can be either very quiet or filled with all kinds of activities from softball games to impromptu concerts from a neighborhood marching band.

The Hill's other main drag is Broadway E (a north-south avenue that crosses both Pike and Pine). Seattle's youth culture, old money, gay scene, and everything in between all converge on Broadway's lively if somewhat seedy stretch between E. Denny Way and E. Roy Street. Broadway is undergoing a renaissance, thanks to a few new high-profile condo buildings and some mass demolitions to make way for a future Light Rail station. Although it's got a few new landmarks of note (Jerry Traunfeld's excellent restaurant, Poppy, for one), it's still mostly a cluttered stretch of cheap restaurants, even cheaper clothing stores, and a few bars. Many people still find the area compelling because of its human parade. If you really want to see Seattle in all its quirky glory, head to Dick's Drive-In around midnight on a weekend night.

Capitol Hill's old-money, fancy side quickly becomes noticeable as you head east and north of this neighborhood core, but new money is starting to change the neighborhood, too. Though this has some longtime residents on edge, the neighborhood's reputation as one of the city's hippest and most vibrant is bringing some good developments, too—in 2010 Seattle's beloved Elliott Bay Book Company relocated here in the hopes that the constant street traffic and focus on the arts would revitalize its business, which had been dwindling in Pioneer Square.