A friend and I (both 30) are coming to Seattle for a little over 24 hours at the end of November/beginning of December. We want to experience as much of the city as we can in this short amount of time. We know we want to hit Pike's Place & the Needle. We'll be going to the Seahawks game so sports will be covered. What should we see? Eat? Buy?....

An Argosy cruise would introduce you to Seattle's water setting. I prefer the Locks Cruise, which is often available at discount on Goldstar: http://www.goldstar.com/events/seattle-wa/locks-cruise

The heart of the retail core is 5th Avenue and Pine Street. It would be wise to stay at a hotel in that area. There are many, including the Mayflower, Andra, Warwick, Sheraton, Weston, and Hyatt.

Have a good meal at one of our well-regarded restaurants. My favorite is Poppy, on Capitol Hill, but others favor the Dahlia Lounge, Etta's, or another of Tom Douglas' restaurants:http://tomdouglas.com/

HTTY

If you only have 24 hours I think the Pike Place Market, Space Needle and a football game would be all you have time for. I don't think you have time for a cruise, although I agree Argosy is a nice thing to do.

You can't go wrong with any of the Tom Douglas restaurants. Others I like include: Il Bistro, Chez Shea, Maximilliens, Assagios, Steelhead Diner to name just a few local favorites.

Also know the days are incredibly SHORT that time of year. Like expect it to be dark by 4:30pm.

Really? We'll be getting in wednesday late afternoon/early evening and then the football game is the following night so we'll really have a full 24 hours. I was hoping we'd get to do a little more than see 2 places.

I think that what you do will also depend on the weather. If it's cloudy and/or rainy, then I would not spend the time & $$ to go to the top of the Space Needle. You should take an Argosy cruise of the harbor or the Ballard Locks & see Pike Place Market. You could visit the Experience Music Project, or the Seattle Art Museum as well (depending on your interests). Then head to your game.

That would be a full day.
http://www.argosycruises.com/publiccruises/default.cfm

One thing to note is that late November/early December can be a rather wet period, so come prepared for soggy weather. Many outdoors activities are still possible, but bring your layers and maybe a brolly.

Wed. 30th: If you're arriving "late afternoon/early evening" I suspect it will be dark by the time you get downtown. Days are quite short at that time. Where are you staying? Assuming it's in the downtown area, there won't be much going on - there are movies, restaurants, maybe some holiday-season shopping at Nordstrom or such, but I expect the optimal situation is maybe a happy hour somewhere, or a decent meal.

Thurs. 12/1: I'd recommend an early start, hit the Pike Market for breakfast - Lowell's or the Athenian would be my choice. Wander around as the merchants start filling the stalls; get a Starbux or get otherwise caffeinated, then walk down the Pike Hillclimb to the central waterfront. Turn left and walk down to the ferry terminal and take the next Bainbridge Island ferry over to the island, just for the scenery, then just come back. (IIRC Argosy runs just one cruise a day in winter, at 1 or 1:30 PM, so if you go that route you could find something else to do in the morning. But the Bainbridge ferry run would be quite scenic and much cheaper.)

When you get back from the ferry, take the "skybridge" (you'll see it) to First Avenue, and take any bus (free) northbound back toward the Pike Market. Make your way to Westlake Center (4 blocks east of the market) and take the monorail to Seattle Center, then have lunch at the Space Needle. Lunch is better value than dinner, and since they comp you the elevator, it works out pretty well in terms of total cost. Plus, of course, it will be daylight.

After lunch, maybe browse around the Experience Music Project/Sci-Fi Museum if that holds any interest, otherwise take the monorail back downtown to Westlake.

If you want to explore some more, go down to the street level and take the Lake Union trolly (main stop below the monorail) down to Lake Union, where a walk along the South Lake Union waterfront park will let you see a freshwater take on our watery city. If you feel energized, you can walk up Fairview Avenue past the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center toward the houseboat jungle along Fairview. (The Sleepless houseboat is actually on the other side of the lake, off Westlake Ave. N.)

Stop for recovery, then I'd recommend heading back downtown and take the light rail (in the bus tunnel below Westlake Center/Nordstrom) to the International District station, then walk two blocks to the Uwajimaya flagship store at 5th and Weller. Hit the food court for a nosh, or else just wander around this marvelous pan-Asian supermarket/department store.

Load up on cool Japanese snacks or candy, play "name that vegetable" in the produce section or gawk at the city's best fishmonger, then walk the two or three blocks to the Clink, where the Seahawks will be ready to entertain (???) you.

Done.

Yeah, lets not kid ourselves - it's gonna be cloudy & rainy (probably)... though in lieu of a 'cruise', I would keep in mind the idea of a round-trip ferry ride across the water (cuz that's where ferry's run - the water).

In the odd event of clear skies and sunny, COLD-ish weather, the ferry ride would offer great photo opportunities of land, sea, skyline, and mountains.

Because "Pioneer Square" is near to your football game, you should walk around there a bit... maybe even visit "The Smith Tower" as well (just to go up in the elevator if for no other reason).

(note: about Gardyloo's suggestion: there might be just one bus running along 1st avenue these days)

If I were visiting for the first time, EVEN IF it was November... I would still go to the Space Needle. You aren't as much going there for the immediate view and ambiance as you are for when the news mentions "Seattle" in a few years, and what they show you IS the Space Needle.

As for dining... IF you happen to be into chinese food, Seattle's Chinatown is very near to the stadiums, and you should be able to select a nice option for dinner/lunch there.

You do have time to see more than two places. But the Pike Place Market is only open during the day. Space Needle you could do in an evening. Walking around Pioneer Square (the historic district) is good. Smith Tower and Waterfall Park are two favorite places there. Chinatown/International District is nearby and also fun. There's the downtown Seattle Public Library (architecturally famous) and the Seattle Art Museum. Ferry ride over to Bainbridge Island and back. All good ideas you could probably fit in during your one day.

Bookmark......and thanks all for the great ideas.