Conference widow in Seattle
 

I have never been to Seattle, and am looking for recommendations as to where to stay and what to do while my hubby is attending conference downtown. Thanks

Been that, done there. Love Seattle.

But won't you be staying at same hotel as DH? Makes the most sense to stay near the conference site, unless those hotels are booked up. In any case, staying downtown is fine, often perfect, unless money is an issue.

Things I did on my own:

1. tour the new library -- really! They give tours, but I preferred to take the elevator to the top and work my way down.

2. 1/2 day just at Pike Place, with lunch overlooking the Sound (several places to choose from).

3. very good shopping (Nordstrom's, Coldwater Creek) downtown -- mind you, I shop exactly as if I were in a museum: look, don't buy.

4. I'm a museum person, so the art museums appealed to me. But if not:

5. Take a bus out to the University District -- funkier shops, interesting art museum, but above all, a FANTASTIC view of Seattle and Ranier (weather permitting) from in front of the library. On the way back, get off the bus in Capitol Hill, putter in shops and have lunch there.

6. You can also get to the Zoo by public transport -- and it's a lovely one.

7. Fremont is a GREAT place to have a good meal and putter in the more upscale but still funky shops, see the statue of Lenin (if you care) and the troll under the bridge (don't miss). Again, all you need is bus fare.

Summary -- get a feel for the bus routes from your concierge or on line, and it's a fabulous city for puttering.

Do you need a hotel recommendation, different from where your husband's conference is?

I saw this driving to work yesterday and thought it looked great for someone in your situation. Grey Line of Seattle has various city tours. I saw both enclosed vans, and one large red double-decker bus with the open-air top-deck seating. Was thinking what a perfect way to get an overview of the city. Especially for someone traveling solo. They were picking up outside the Warwick Hotel, so am assuming make stops at other downtown major hotels as well?

I think walking to and thru the Pike Place Market is great fun. Also the Pioneer Square Historic District (don't miss Elliott Bay Bookstore, where there's also a cafe downstairs).

I did this same thing while my husband attended a conference in Seattle a few years ago. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Seattle which is right by the convention center and very nice. I spent plenty of time shopping - Nordstrom's, etc... I spent a good amount of time at Pike Place market too. Another thing I did that I really enjoyed was taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island and walking around. The ferry takes about 30 minutes and is very scenic. You can also rent a bike when you get there if you choose. I walked to the ferry terminal from the Hyatt. We also went to a baseball game while we were there which was great.

take a boat tour of the harbor area - its very informative - you can get tickets down on the waterfront

we really enjoyed it

My daughter and I just returned from vacation in Seattle. We had a great time and loved the City. We stayed at Inn at Harbor Steps and very much recommend the place. The location is wonderful-across from Seattle Art Museum and very easy to get to everything. Plus they have good exercise facilities and a pool.

We took the Show Me Seattle tour and recommend it. It give a nice overview of Seattle and was a great beginning point for figuring out what to do in the city. As others mention, spend some time touring Pike Place, go to Seattle center on the monorial from downtown and visit the Experience Music Project-very informative and our favorite. There is lots of shopping districts downtown, take ferry over to nearby smaller islands to explore, go to Old Town Seattle and do the underground tour. If you search for previous Seattle postings you will find losts of ideas.

We ended up going to a Mariners Game (fun stadium) and a Seattle Storms game so we didn't eat at as many nice places as I had planned, however we loved Etta's Seafood, the pike place chowder place (what I would give for a crab roll now) and bleechers (incredible mac and cheese).

heres a link to the boat cruises

http://www.argosycruises.com/flash.cfm

I did a convention in SEA and had a couple of days to explore.
Greyline is a great option... I wish I would have done that... even better if there is hop on/hop off option.
Shopping at the big mall stores did not appeal to us because we have all that here in Dallas.
I was looking for more artsy owner operated places.
We really liked Pike Place. In fact we went a few times, including a last minute trip to buy several bouquets of flowers to take home.
I got a big shopping bag and carried them on the plane. Not a hassle at all! They lived a full 5 days after I got home and were gorgeous!
We also bought quite a few things from the vendors there...

Thank you all...great ideas. Hubby and I will be staying at the same hotel...as long as his snoring improves ! ( Kidding dear :) )
Conference is still several months away, and we haven't picked a hotel yet, but it looks like it will be downtown, close to conference centre.
We're coming from the east coast of Canada, and although I have been to San Fran and Victoria/Vancouver...Seattle is new to us both.

PS to mine: Heartily second everyone's recs re: tours -- forgot to mention the ferries, and I took the "lock" cruise and thought it fascinating.

You'll love Seattle, rain or no.

Once you have your hotel location, check back and we can maybe give some more specifics.