Seattle is truly unique. I can't think of another city to compare it to. The Triple Door and Jazz Alley are both great clubs for live music downtown.

But hard to say without knowing your age and music preferences. Maybe a club like The Crocodile or Chop Suey is more what you seek?

I am 44 and a huge jazz and blues fan and I will check out the places mentioned. What about late night places to eat and relax and generally are people out and about walking at night?

I'm not looking for specific places, more a sense of the pace of life at night, I'm assuming it is nothing like NYC

I heard Wynton Marsalis at a small club in NYC, what a treat.

No, it is nothing like NYC here!!

Sure there a lots of places to hang out later at night. The Belltown area has lots of choices, as example.

Seattle is more neighborhood-centric than one single urban area. For instance for me and my friends, we'd likely just go down the street somewhere on Capitol Hill for a meal, then some drinks afterwards. On to a dance club, if it was that kind of night.

In the summer there are some great venues like the winery (as mentioned above), concerts at the Zoo, Folklife and Bumbershoot arts festivals, etc. for a wholesome Northwest-y vibe.

To the original question "what is so great" all this is why some people love it here & others think we're a podunk city.

If you're still around, poor bugswife1 (and not wishing by now that your business trip was to Chicago instead of Cd'A) - when is your trip?

Some weeks are funner than others hereabouts. In a couple of weeks we'll have the annual dog-tormenting festival (Blue Angels) and at other times of the year we have naked cyclists, pirates that kidnap people on the beach, a Wurst festival, a "folk life" festival featuring people in Birkenstocks playing dulcimers, or various street parades, pet parades, pride parades, or last weekend torchlight parades (fortunately not the Nuremberg kind.) What's not fun about that?

My trip to the Coeur d'Alene resort is Sept 7 to 12, and Seattle would follow that.
We are not into night clubs, but my husband loves theater and fine dining.
We will be going to a Marinars game if we go to Seattle because our cousin gets comp seats.
I think a boat ride for a day, not overnight, would be a good thing. What do you suggest?
And, my husband would not throw a tantrum if he didn't like Seattle, nor would he hold too much of a grudge. I just might end up going someplace less appealing to ME on the next trip. And such is marriage.

Let me suggest the boat trip to Tillicum Village on Blake Island (leaves from the waterfront). You get a nice tour of the harbor, great scenery coming and going, and on the island you get a salmon bake and Indian interpretive dance. Every visiting relative gets the tour.

I agree with lennyba, but I love Seattle and you couldn't pay me to go to Las Vegas. But if DH loves Las Vegas, he may not like Seattle. As a good friend of mine says, "There's no accounting for taste."

Picking up on the Mariners...

They are at home to Oakland 9-10 to 12, to Tampa By from the 13th to the16th, then go on the road. All night games except for the 16th.

The thing is, my husband has always enjoyed both kinds of vacations. That is why I am at a loss for why he is not more eager to see Seattle. We go to vegas to visit friends and for a business convention every year, and we enjoy it for the shows and the dining.
We go boating and wave running on Lake Mead, which is beautiful. And, we have been to Costa Rica, Africa on Safari, Morocco, Tahiti, and all over Europe sightseeing, hiking, etc. So, it is not the concrete jungle vs nature kind of thing. I think a boat ride to the San Juans might appeal, I just have to get more info on that.

See if you can find the recent Smart Travels show on Seattle. If that doesn't get him interested, nothing will. (It made me about die of homesickness).

google "roche harbor", friday harbor, rosario resort, orcas island, anacortes.. should do the trick.

or whistler.. also a gorgeous place up from vancouver.

does he golf??
check out furry creek golf course. it is unreal, as are the ones at whistler.

Argosy Cruise runs various boat tours on Lake Washington and on Puget Sound. Check those out for a nice trip but just nearby and for a few hours.

Thank you. I have my research cut out for me this weekend. He doesn't golf, but if he did, he would be coming to the Coeur d'Alene to golf on the floating green.

If you could find one, a boat trip from Seattle to the San Juans and back would be an all day non-stop trip...65 miles straight-line at 10 knots? 20 knots?

Go to www.argosycruises.com and pick out a trip that gives you some time on shore.

If DH is into dining then you might want to plan a dinner at the Dahlia Lounge: http://www.dahlialounge.com/ or Wild Ginger: http://www.wildginger.net/.

"Lone Star Love" will be at the The 5th Avenue Theater:
http://www.5thavenue.org/showsandtickets/
Tony Bennett will be at the Paramount:
http://www.theparamount.com/

Other to do's:
Take the ferry to Kingston.
Drive out to Snoqualmie Falls
http://www.salishlodge.com/
Pacific Science Center & IMAX Movie theater
Seattle Art Museum

And everything that has already been mentioned:
Mariner's Game
Harbor Cruise
Pike's Place Market (check out the Mac 'n Cheese at Beechers Cheese)

I think Seattle would make a great 4 day getaway & I live just a ferry ride away.

Pike Place Market, halfapair, Pike Place Market. It does not belong to anyone named Pike.

I mean no disrespect to Seattle, but IMHO it is Cleveland with bumps in the earth.

A little more scenery and a little less classical culture. And believe it or not, I think you'll find the weather more agreeable in Cleveland.

However, if you've been to Vegas 7 times and you'll be there 7 more times, give Seattle, as well as Cleveland, at least a weekend. It's worth it just to say you did.

Then tell us what YOU think.

Weather in Cleveland is more agreeable than in Seattle if you like it colder in the winter, hotter in the summer, and more rain April through October! (Source: Weather.com's Travel Planner).

Who was it who said of Cleveland, "I spent a lovely year there one weekend."

I wouldn't even try to persuade someone who wants to go to Vegas to come to Seattle - he wouldn't like it. If, however, if you want a low key and lovely place with great hotels and restaurants and no bling, visit Seattle.