My wife and I are traveling to Seattle from the 12th to l7th.We have never been there before and are wondering what to do at this time of the year.Any suggestions would be appreciated.Thank you

Well, dress for rain if today is any indication! My favorites are pretty mainstream suggestions: Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square Historic District, International District (Chinatown), take a ferry (a round-trip from downtown to one of the close islands makes for an inexpensive but scenic ride). Seattle Art Museum, symphony, opera, theater (depending on your interests). Great restaurants of all kinds. Go up the Space Needle if you get a clear day. Do your Christmas shopping downtown. Welcome!

You will find LOTS of info if you do a "search" on this web site.
then after you sift through this info you will be able to ask more specific questions regarding your interests
i.e. -museums , art, shopping ,bookstores historical "plain or fancy" restaurants--will you have a car??
One note about "searches" take note when posted--some may go back a year or more and "dated"
Take clothes for "layers" and umbrella or poncho and a change of shoes .
We are going up in Jan or Amtrak--can't wait..

Great ideas from the other posters! We used to lvie in the area and really miss it. We do get to go back over Thanksgiving weekend though.

Will you have a car? Do you want to get out of the city at all? There is so much to do all around there!

I like going out to the wineries. It's a nice drive and the WA wines are gaining in both quality and reviews.

www.woodinvillewinecountry.com/wwc.php

storymygirl, you little wine-o, you! LOL I can't believe we get to visit Portland/Oregon Coast for a week. I have vehemently been researching which Pinot Noirs I want to acquire this trip.

In Seattle, we enjoyed Pike's Place, the Space Needle and all the great world-class shopping. Tons of great places to eat. Our favorites were: the Dahlia Lounge (Tom Douglas has a few places in town) the Flying Fish and Salty's on Alki Beach. There are many fine places to dine and to experience fantastic seafood.

How about Teatro Zinzanni? You could be entertained for a few hours and also experience the fine food of Tom Douglas. We hope to see the show this summer when we visit. Stay dry! ***kim***

Kim, you are right! My husband and I "collect" wines. That is code for "we like to drink them!"

Thanks for the comments.We will have a car.Would a trip around Olympia be a good idea this time of year.?

Do you mean the city of Olympia or over to the Olympics (the mountains on the west side)?

I would not bother with Olympia at all. But the mountains...yes!!! Gorgeous!!!!!!

One other thought--if you get there and the weather is really rainy, take the Edmonds/Kingston ferry to the Olympic Peninsula and drive over to the Sequim area--it's in the "rain shadow" and is often drier than Seattle. You can hike on Dungeness Spit, drive up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic NP if it's not too snowy (probably won't be), and have lunch at The Three Crabs Restaurant, a quaint and reasonably priced place in Sequim. If there's time, you can go farther west into the NP, although you get out of the rain shadow at that point and into the rain FOREST. Which is quite beautiful also.

The ten day forecast is for cloudy and showers, also rather cool, which means the high country might be getting some snow. With short daylight I'd be inclined to stay closer to the city but YMMV. The Olympic Peninsula/Sequim area idea is a good one; the ferry across the Sound from Seattle is probably the best part of the trip this time of year.

The border shouldn't be a problem on weekdays, so if you want to spend a night in Vancouver BC you might consider it - use Priceline for very good hotel deals. Around 3 hours from downtown to downtown most days.

Good shopping at the Pike(not "Pike's") market, a good "25 for $25" restaurant promo at a number of top-rated places (i.e., 25+ restaurants where a prix fixe menu costs $25 pp), some decent theatre openings, lots of movies, music, all that, and the drama of unresolved elections. Ain't America great?

stormygirl: then I also collect wine, LOL! We've been trying all of the great Merlots and Syrahs we picked up in Paso Robles. Do you have a favorite Pinot Noir from Oregon? ***kim***

Etta's Seafood is at the north end of Pike Place Market (Tom Douglas again) and a wonderful place to stop in for a nice lunch. Even if it is rainy most of The Market is covered then you could dash over to Etta's.

Thank you very much for the helpful info.One more question.?How long would it take to drive from Seattle south and then follow 101 around the peninsula?