What's so great about it?
What all do they sell?

Well....lets just say:
it's not like a Wal-Mart.

There is a website. Fun place; go early

Salmon, serapes, olive oil, dahlias in season, bread, beer, dim sum, goat cheese, bok choy, Merlot, roach clips, geoducks, Rainier cherries, tortillas, parrots, shoehorns, records, raw milk, pain au chocolat, Dungeness crab, honey, Spanish paprika, Hungarian paprika, Portuguese paprika, American paprika, hammers, pappadums, piroshki and potatoes. Wait - there's more - snapdragons, dried mushrooms, t-shirts, rosehip tea, teaspoons, t-bones, empanadas, stash boxes, caviar, used shoes, ferryboat models, falafal....

In other words, it's fabulous.

I was there 12 years ago and we are stopping in Seattle to see the market again. Why? The sounds, the smells, the different foods, the people, and because it's different from any other "open" market we've ever been to. Can't wait!

John's post above is the correct answer. I wish I lived there so I could shop for fruits and veggies and fish. Be sure to watch them throw the salmon. You may not buy much of what is there, but it is an adventure. WalMart should be so much fun.

Great brewery, too. Get the Hammerhead stout ! Good salmon.

How did we get so many posts without mentioning the fish-throwing fish market?

It's a cross between an open market like those in Boston, NY, Bal'mer, Phila.'s Reading Mkt. and a complex of small boutique-y stores.

The Alibi Room

John you summed up the market wonderfully! Great job!

Try the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver instead. I found it much more interesting and lively.

I went there with my wife when she had a four month assignment in Seattle and I have mixed feelings. It was fine to see the different market items, especially the seafood. However, s few years later she told me she had taken a date to Pike's Market during her four month assignment. So Pike's doesn't fill me with lots of memories.

and george works there.