3-4 Days in Seattle
 

Hi-
My mom and I (two active, adult females) will be spending 3-4 days in Seattle in early to mid August as part of a PNW trip. This is our first trip to Seattle and we would like to see as much as possible. We will likely not have a car for this leg of the trip (unless a lot of commenters think it is necessary).
1. What parts of town are best/most convenient to stay in?
2. Where are the best places to eat that aren't too touristy or expensive?
3. What are the best things to do? (walking tours, biking tours, etc).

We are also willing to do day trips from the city but plan to hit up San Juan islands as another part of the trip (and Mt. Rainier on our way up from Portland).
Thanks!

Fifth Avenue and Pine Street is the heart of the retail core. We recently stayed at The Warwick while work was being done in our home. We found it comfortable, well located, and reasonably priced.

Tourists will be in all the restaurants located in places where tourists go. However, the only "touristy" restaurant that comes to mind in downtown seattle is Hard Rock Cafe, which is easy to avoid.

Our favorite inexpensive restaurant in downtown is Mae Phim, on the south side of Pine Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. When we dined there recently, it seemed to us like the kind of storefront restaurant that was popular in Seattle thirty and forty years ago. The food is very good, the service is friendly, and the cost is low.

Top sightseeing attractions in Seattle are:

• Pike Place Market
• Space Needle
• Ferry to Bainbridge Island

Other significant attractions include the following

• Pioneer Square
• Chinatown International District
• Museum of History and Industry
• Experience Music Project
• Seattle Great Wheel
• Underground Tour
• Argosy Locks Cruise
• Seattle Art Museum
• Olympic Sculpture Park
• Downtown Retail Core
• Frye Art Museum
• Woodland Park Zoo
• Pacific Science Center
• Seattle Aquarium

HTtY

I like the Mayflower Park hotel, the Warwick, Hotel Max, the Roosevelt for mid-priced places downtown. I think somewhere in the central downtown core is the most convenient place to stay.

I'm not sure what to suggest when you say "not too touristy". I agree with the highlights listed above, but pretty much of what you will want to see of interest would be considered "touristy" I think. Just by the nature of things!

Lots of good information:

http://www.visitseattle.org/Visitors...ttle-Maps.aspx

We took a "foodie" tour with Savor Seattle in December and loved it. A couple of the stops were touristy, but some were not on the normal tourist route.
I ride the ferry to Bainbridge and back just for the views of Seattle from the water.
One of our best dinners ever at Branzino's on 2nd Ave. maybe a mile from Pike Place Market. Not on the tourist path. Not cheap, but not overly expensive either.

I thought of more touristy restaurants--the Cheesecake Factory, the Daily Grill, and all hotel restaurants.

Also, when I was downtown last night three highly regarded restaurants located near each other were busy but seemed quite free of hometown business: Lola, Assaggio, and Dahlia Lounge. Apparently, what appeals to locals also attracts tourists.

HTtY

I'm curious HTTY. How can you tell who is locals and who is tourists when you look around a restaurant?

suze, the tourists are the ones with cameras slung around their necks...or is that passe' in these days of camera phones...?

Good question Bob!