A friend and I will be visiting Seattle at the beginning of April(for a mutual friends wedding). Neither of us have ever visited Seattle before. We know we want to see Seattle, obviously. With limited time, are there any must-see's we can squeeze in to see along with Seattle. We have 2 and a half days free before the wedding.
It seems we may only have time for one full day trip. I know there are options, just dont' know which is a must. (Mt Ranier, San Juan Islands, Canada, etc)
Any suggestions or opinions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

If it is clear you might go to Mt. Rainier, which is the most popular day trip from Seattle. If it isn't clear, you might consider driving to Vancouver, BC--it is also a great city.

In Seattle, visit Pioneer Square, the Pike Place Market, the retail core, and take the ferry to Bainbridge Island for great views of the Seattle skyline. On Bainbridge Island, have lunch at Cafe Nola.

If you like any of the performing arts, go to www.nwsource.com to find out what will be available during your stay. We have excellent theater, dance, and music of all kinds.

Hi Nosaj---you could easily spent all your time right in Seattle; there is plenty to do (museums, the aquarium, Pioner Square, Pike Place market, the UW arboretum (incredible in April). Mt. Rainier in April is for skiers and snow play---actually I've skied there in mid-June, and with the snow pack this year it might be the same. You can, however, see Mt. Rainier from downtown Seattle (not every day, but often). The San Juan Islands can be very nice in April, but that's a very long day trip. You could go if you rent a car and stay overnight there. If you hit spring break week here, though (ours is April 10-15) it could be pretty crowded in the San Juans. A nice option for a day trip, if you do have a car, would be to take the ferry over to Bainbridge Island (30 minutes plus waiting time) and drive up to Port Townsend (one hour). PT is a small Victorian town at the tip of a peninsula; there are nice shops and restaurants, as well as an interesting state park (Fort Worden) right on the water. Or without a car, just ride the ferry over to Bainbridge, walk around and have lunch there.

Get going early in the day for your city touring. Be on the first Underground Seattle Tour, explore Pioneer Square area, the Pike Place Market area for lunch, head over to the Space Needle, take last Duck Tour on the day for a fun splash on Lake Hood.

With such a short time, I would just sight-see in and around Seattle.

I agree that the San Juans are a little too far for a day trip but I like the above advice to take a ferry to Bainbridge, and continue on to Port Townsend.

As pointed out Mt. Rainier could be fun IF the weather is clear, but do realize you will find about 12 feet of snow still there. So, your visit will be limited to the Visitor's Center and some tromping around in the snow.

Seattle is great! There is plenty to do. Don't miss the market. ALso, the Underground Tour is very interesting. Gray Line offers a self-guided tour.
If it is clear, go up to the Space Needle. Vancouver is worth the drive, but it is a long day!

Some of teh best shopping downtown too....Nordstrom, Coldwater Creek, Pike Place for great Puget Sound/ferries and Olympics views..trinkets & mementos.

One activity I always recommend to first-time Seattle visitors is a stroll along First Avenue. It's only a few blocks, but it's jam-packed with sights and interesting stuff.

Start on the south end, in Pioneer Square ("old town Seattle"), where there's always plenty to see and do. Pioneer Square and its history is the main topic of the Underground Tour

Proceed northward on First, and enjoy views of Puget Sound and the waterfront. If you want to take a short diversion down to the piers and shops, there's also much there to see to explore.

Back to First, and walk north to Pike Street where the Pike Place Market surrounds you. You can easily spend at least a half-day there.

If some serious shopping is on your menu, the downtown core is only 2-3 short blocks eastwards of First Avenue. (Easy tip: If Puget Sound is behind you when you're downtown, you're facing east. If you're facing the Sound, you're going west.)

If you're really a walker, and have loads of time, you can follow First Ave all the way to Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle and other attractions.

As another poster said: you can easily use up all your free time within Seattle. But return again in the later Summer to take some side trips to gorgeous Western Washington, as well.

Fritzrl

You don't have time for the San Juans. But do take the ferry to either Bainbridge or Bremerton, as a walk-on, and then take it straight back to Seattle. Make sure you time this so that you come back into town right at sunset--ideally you want the sun to go down when you're two-thirds of the way back. The sight of the golden sun on the buildings of downtown is the prettiest thing about Seattle.