Seattle Center, South Lake Union, and Queen Anne

Seattle Center's 74-acre complex was built for the 1962 World's Fair. A rolling green campus is organized around the massive International Fountain. Among the arts groups based here are the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, the Seattle Opera, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. It's also the site of three of summer's largest festivals—Northwest Folklife Festival, Bite of Seattle, and Bumbershoot. Seattle International Film Festival's Cinema is also here.

Just west of the Seattle Center is the intersection of Queen Anne Avenue N and Denny Way. This marks the start of the Queen Anne neighborhood, which stretches all the way up formidable Queen Anne Hill to the ship canal on the other side. The neighborhood is split into Upper and Lower Queen Anne, and the two are quite different: Lower Queen Anne is a mixed-income neighborhood that has a small, interesting mix of independent record shops and bookstores, laid-back pubs, as well as a few up-market restaurants and bars. Past Aloha Street, the neighborhood starts to look more upscale, with the snazzy Galer Street commercial strip marking the heart of Upper Queen Anne. Queen Anne doesn't have many sights, but the residential streets west of Queen Anne Avenue in Upper Queen Anne are fun to stroll, and sunny days offer gorgeous views. This ribbon of residential turf extends to the Magnolia neighborhood. There's only one sight to see in off-the-beaten-path Magnolia, but it's a terrific one: Discovery Park.

South Lake Union, on the east side of Seattle Center, will soon be a destination in itself. Though it's currently a bit of a ghost town, Amazon's new headquarters here will bring more and more amenities—famed restaurateur Tom Douglas even has plans to open two new eateries here. For now, the biggest attraction is Lake Union itself, as well as the incredible REI megastore.