I know a long weekend visit to Seattle in January is not the most logical choice for 2 gals from South Carolina, but we're taking advantage of an opportunity that presented itself and that's when we're going. We are fully aware of the winter weather we are likely to experience.

We (me, adult daughter, and my mom) will be arriving in Seattle on a Friday late morning/early afternoon. I got a deal at the Crowne Plaza downtown and booked a room there, so my accomodations are set. We will be leaving on a Tuesday, late morning.

We have an all day event to go to in Edmonds, Wa on Saturday and I have booked a rental car Sat.- Mon, in case we want to venture out of the city for a second day, but we prefer to explore the city as much as we can in the few days we have there. For Sunday morning I have booked a Savor Seattle tour of Pike Place Market. These are the only things I have planned right now.

I have read a little bit here on Fodors about the Seattle Art Musuem and that seems like a strong possibilty and depending on the weather (visibility) we think a trip to the Space Needle might be fun.

What I am looking for are any suggestions for indoor activities that would be fun and/or interesting. We love food, wine,history, and architecture. Since it will be the middle of winter I'm thinking a ferry ride may be out of the question but if any Seattlelites think it's do-able we'd consider it. I've also heard about an underground tour (near Pioneer Square?) I'm assume most of that would be outside...yes? We are also not adverse to a day of shopping. ;-)

And if you have any restaurant suggestions I's would love to hear them too. We love Italian, and have already booked Assaggio and Tulio, but are interested in any Asian and/or Pacific Northwest food focused restaurants too. I can always change my restaurant reservations.

Thanks for any help you can give!

The underground tour is a really fun (and informative). But you are underground -- this is not the Four Seasons!

http://www.undergroundtour.com/

Wild Ginger is a popular and well-regarded downtown Asian restaurant.

Your hotel is a short walk from Nordstrom and two indoor shopping malls--Pacific Place and Westlake Center.

The Underground Tour is wildly popular. I think it is boring and a waste of time, but I am in a minority. Rangers from the Klondike Gold Rush National Park sometimes give walking tours of the Pioneer Square area: http://www.nps.gov/klse/index.htm

If you like art museums, The Frye Museum, not far from downtown, offers very interesting exhibits with free admission and free parking: http://fryemuseum.org/

If we knew which weekend you will be here, we could advise you about what might be playing in local theaters, jazz clubs, or whatever else interests you.

Thanks for the quick replies! I'll check out all the links posted.

Happy...I'll be arriving Friday, Jan. 15th and leaving Tuesday, January 19th. Would definitely be interested in any local theater events going on that weekend.

In mid-January, the most important theatrical event here is Il Trovatore: http://www.seattleopera.org/tickets/...&production=76

All of our three professional acting companies are dark, and Pacific Northwest Ballet has no performances scheduled until March.

While you are in town, Seattle Symphony will present a program of Baroque Masterworks: http://www.seattlesymphony.org/symph...=t&dateid=7743

If you catch mild weather, take the drive to Snoqualame and have breakfast or lunch at the Salish Lodge. Weather will determine if you can hike to the base of the falls or not. If the pass is open, drive east for another hour for the best winter scenery ever. You don't have to leave the interstate to drive through a post card.

I am sure you know to visit Pikes Market for lunch and a walk around. A brief search of the Forums will review favorite restaurants.

While McCormick & Schmicks is a chain, the downtown Seattle location is in an historic building with very reliable quality and an extensive selection of local seafood.

Take an Argosy cruise if weather is decent- there are several choices- I like the one that does the Seattle skyline and the bay - quite a bit of historical information given too

I love the town of Edmonds - just a short drive north- cute restaurants and shops - you can take the ferry over to Kingston for lunch or breakfast - as a walk on - dont have to bring the car

Thanks for the great suggestions. The Opera option could be a possibility.

I love this place: http://www.thepurplecafe.com/locations.html

Very close to your hotel. Wouldn't give up Tulio for it, though.

Lenny...

Thanks for the link to The Purple Cafe...looks like a place we would enjoy!

A ferry ride is fine in the winter-time. You can stay inside on the ferry and still have great views. They are really large and plenty of room to walk around. Over to Bainbridge Island and back is a logical choice.

Don't change Assagios! It's a great restaurant.

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Public Library (for the architecture), Smith Tower (for the observation deck), Space Needle (also for the view) are all good indoor activities (last two depending if you have any visibility that day or not.

You'll have no problem finding great shopping, just start at Nordstrom & Macy's and fan out from there. All kinds of great stores downtown.

> Scoot over and make some room for me, htty. I'm right there with you.

Here's my suggestion:
http://www.seattlearchitecture.org/t...Date=1/31/2010 Friends of ours did the art deco tour and enjoyed it.

I'll also throw the Seattle Asian Art Museum in there. http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visi...tionSAAMheader It's open Monday the 18th and is located in one of Seattle's more interesting neighborhoods (I know suze will agree with me ;-) ).

A couple of other performing arts alternatives -

Teatro Zinzanni - a 3-hour dinner/vaudeville/variety/circusy... show. A bit pricey but usually a lot of fun. http://dreams.zinzanni.org/

Triple Door - a fantastic dinner/theatre venue, walkable from your hotel, with food provided by Wild Ginger (upstairs.) http://www.thetripledoor.net/ We were there last night for their annual Nutcracker Burlesque (fan-dancing sugar plum fairies etc.)

Seattle is a big movie town; there are 27 or more screens within four or five blocks of your hotel. If you want to combine food/shopping/entertainment, and maybe sample the Oscar contenders, the big Pacific Place center can more than fill the bill on a wet weekend.

For architecture, catch the central library before Monday - it's MLK day and I don't know if it's open on the holiday.

Thanks everyone...these are all great...I really appreciate it!