Seattle itinerary in October
 

Please feel free to comment, give advice, tell me if I am missing something I shouldn't.
A couple of things: 1.) We only plan to rent a car for one day. 2.)Of the eight days in Seattle, there are only two days that we are completedly free from work requirements.
Here goes:
Arrive on Friday midday staying downtown - visit Pike Place, Waterfront and dinner at Elliots.

Day 2 (Saturday) - Rent car, grab doughnuts at TopPot.
Go to Snoqualmie Falls and Chateau St Michelle, Silver Lake, Columbia and Januik
wineries.
Dinner at Purple Cafe in Woodinville or Palace Kitchen once we get back to Seattle.

Day 3 (Sunday)
Uwajimaya and Chinatown Discovery
Hing Loon or Tamarind Tree for lunch
Saito for dinner
maybe Jazz Alley after dinner for music and drinks.

Day 4 (Monday)
Pike Place
Columbia Center
Central Library
Have a reception this evening - dinner options are open

Day 5 (Tuesday)
Pioneer Square and galleries
Waterfalls Gardens
Salumi for lunch
Underground Tour
The Metropolitan Grill

Day 6 (Wednesday)
Ballard - Locks, sightseeing, shopping
Ettas for dinner
Pink Door for music and drinks

Day 7 (Thursday)
Ride the Ducks
Space Needle
Matts in the Market for dinner

Day 8 (Friday)
Ferry to Bainbridge - sightseeing, shopping
Lunch at Cafe Nola
Seattle Waterfront
dinner at Ray's Boathouse or Union

Excellent!! Seriously, you have included many of my favorites. Not to mention plenty of places (as a Seattle local) I've never even been.

Looks like fun.

I would add that since there is now a Purple Cafe in downtown Seattle, so you don't have to go Woodinville to eat there and you might investigate if somebody you like is performing at The Triple Door.

Thanks suze and happytrails. I checked out The Triple Door and there is, in fact, a band I would love to hear. Thanks for the tip!!

You have a great itinerary...if the weather is good, I think a trip to Woodinville wineries is a fun idea. Purple Cafe is OK, but Palace Kitchen would be better. Also, if you don't care much about ambience but want some really good sushi on your way back from Woodinville, there's a place called Izumi in Kirkland in the Totem Lake West strip mall not far from the freeway. We've been eating sushi there for 20 years, as have many Japanese in the area...very dependable and cheaper than downtown prices. The only other thing I would say is, I'm not a fan of Ride the Ducks. If you're doing it for kids, taking them to Seattle Center would be a better idea. As an adult, it held no appeal for me. The Experience Music Project or Seattle Art Museum would be more memorable, imho. Have a wonderful trip.

West Seattle is a beautiful area with wonderful views of the city and over Puget Sound. If the weather is good, consider it for Monday night. You can take the water taxi from downtown to Salty's and have dinner there. You can rent bikes close to Salty's and ride along the waterfront, going west to Alki, which is a beautiful beach area. One of my favorite restaurants is at Alki, the Phoenicia, but it is closed on Monday nights. (I don't know if Salty's is open that night, but it is more likely, as it is a bigger operation.)

Salty's is open Monday nights. There's also a Cactus down toward the end of Alki Beach, and Ovio (is it still open? I heard a rumor last spring that it was going to close) is up on California Avenue.

Looks good to me. I thought Purple Cafe was in Kirkland, not Woodinville?
Haven't eaten there, so don't know, but if you plan to eat on the Eastside, there's a new Japanese place called Koi that we thought was very good and they have jazz some nights. Also, there's a restaurant by the falls that's good, though pricey (there's a less expensive) that might be a nice stop for lunch. Food is good, not great. (IMO)

Thanks again all. I had not considered Alki Beach because I assumed the weather would not be great.

Voyager - thanks for the tip on Izumi. Now that I am "polishing" my itinerary I am beignning to feel that I have too many $$$ restaurants and may need to tone it down some.

I have read many references to "happy hours" in Seattle. I know what a happy hour is but are they somehow different in Seattle? My husband and I are not opposed to eating at the bar at all.

I don't know this is 'different' from other places, but some of the restaurants offer special priced drinks &/or a limited appetizer menu at reduced prices.

The menu at the Triple Door is from its sister venue Wild Ginger, located upstairs.

Ovio is (sadly) closed.

Oh, and Purple has locations downtown, in Kirkland AND in Woodinville.

If the Seahawks are playing at home on the Sunday you plan to spend in the International District, you might consider switching the Sat/Sun plans. The ID can be very congested on Seahawk Sundays as it's within walking (parking) distance of the stadium. I'd also suggest dim sum for a late breakfast in the ID - House of Hong is reliable and with a big selection.

<i>I had not considered Alki Beach because I assumed the weather would not be great.</i>

Even if it's not nice weather, it's well worth the drive out around the point. The views of downtown, ferries, Olympics if they're out, plus beach, waves, great air, and the Statue of Liberty - all justify the excursion.

The Alki Bakery and the Alki Cafe across the street are excellent breakfast stops by the way.

IMO the Palace Kitchen and Ettas in the same trip is too much Tom Douglas.

I checked early on - the Seahawks are away but thanks for the heads up.

Can you suggest an alternative to Etta's or Palace Kitchen that has a Pacific Northwest flavor?

For seafood as an alternative to Etta's--Restaurant Zoe, Flying Fish, Steelhead Diner.

For Pacific NW cuisine as an alternative to Palace Kitchen--Cascadia.

However, IMO, there's no such thing as too much Tom Douglas ;-)--I love his restaurants and can happily eat at several of them in quick succession (e.g. when my cousin was here we ate at Etta's and Lola's just a couple days apart).

Dahlia Lounge or Restaurant Zoe

All good suggestions; but you could go a little more casual and also try something in the neighborhoods too - Lark on Capitol Hill, for example, or Chinook's at Fishermen's Terminal. Or downtown, the Bell Street Diner or Elliott's Oyster House, both on the central waterfront.

Sure, once you get into the neighborhoods you open up all kinds of great and less expensive options. These two are on Capitol Hill. My favorite place I eat most often myself, for example, is Jamjuree Thai on 15th Avenue East. Some of the best Thai I've had in Seattle. Or maybe Monsoon on 19th Avenue East for Vietnamese preparations of fish and seafood.

&lt;Ovio is (sadly) closed.&gt;

Bummer. I'm convinced that corner is cursed.