A FIRST TIMER’S GUIDE TO SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Seattle was the first American city I had ever ventured to – and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. After having watched endless TV shows and movies set in the states for approximately 20 years of my life, I was pretty excited to finally cross the Canadian border into the Land of the Free. And as it so happens, Seattle turned out to be the best place to finally reacquaint myself with the US, as Washington offers the same bustling energy that you find in New York, with the friendly hipster vibes that you find in Oregon, the gorgeous greenery that you find in Hawaii, and the pretty architecture that you find in New Jersey. Long story short, Seattle has everything that a North American Newbie could ever need to settle into ‘Merica – and after spending some of the best weeks of my life in the city, I think I’m finally ready to share my first timer’s tips.

What to do

THE SPACE NEEDLE

The first stop on your Seattle tour should 100% be the Space Needle, a place which offers arguably the best views in the whole city. The best thing you could possibly do is plan your visit so that you rock up at around sunset, where you can sit back, kick your legs up, and watch the skyline gradually turn from blue to orange to red. As the sky darkens and the lights switch on in buildings across the city, you get to see the skyline come to life. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and one of the most stunning ways to acquaint yourself with the city.

WOODLAND PARK ZOO

Frankly, it’s a rare day that I go to the zoo. After visiting the horrendous Bioparco Di Roma in Rome, I had vowed to never visit a zoo which doesn’t focus on rescue and rehabilitation ever again. That was until I found myself at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle – a place which actually genuinely cares for their animals (such a wild concept). Not only are their animals happy with larger enclosures and proper tending, but if the weather is too cold for tropical animals to be outside then they will be moved to a warmer and more comfortable environment – something which many zoos fail to do. Whilst this may be a bit of a bummer if you just so happen to visit in the dead of winter to approximately three animals roaming the pastures, it certainly makes you feel better to be supporting a place which genuinely has the wellbeing of the animals at heart. Also, the zoo itself is super pretty – being set in one of the greenest urban pastures in the city, something which is even more impressive when you realise that Seattle’s nickname is the “Emerald City” due to how green and vibrant everywhere is.

SEATTLE AQUARIUM

Next up, we have officially the best aquarium I have ever been to in my entire life. It is 100% what I expected a typical American aquarium to look like (thanks, Hollywood Movies), and it was super cool to be able to get this close to octopi, otters, seals, and insane little neon fish – a million times better than my local Welsh aquarium. The Seattle Aquarium is the best place to whittle away a whole day, factoring in lunch breaks beside some sting rays and photoshoots in front of their three-person-tall tanks. Just remember to not get too close to the tanks – I can promise you that you will absolutely jump out of your skin when a baby shark saunters past about three inches from your face.

CHIHULY GARDEN AND GLASS

One of the most #InstaWorthy spots in the whole city, Chihuly is a gorgeous gallery full of the prettiest pieces of glass you have ever seen. My personal favourite part of the place is actually outside – the gardens feature intricately blown and painted bubbles of glass placed beside crimson camellias and handkerchief trees, with the contrast between the art and the nature being pretty darn cool. I also adore their massive feature greenhouse, where you look up through the glass ceiling to realise that you’re stood almost directly beneath the Space Needle. I can bet that approximately 99.9% of people that wander through the city take a classic Chihuly selfie underneath that visage.

ARGOSY HARBOUR CRUISE

Not only is the Argosy Harbour Cruise the prettiest way to see the skyline from the sea, (which is an absolutely gorgeous view), but it also offers a great way to learn about the city. Local guides will fill you in on history which you otherwise may not have known, telling you stories of times gone by. It certainly makes for a fun afternoon to chill at the back of a boat, staring out at the sea as you drink a hot beverage and contemplate how much your legs hurt from the sheer amount of walking you’ve done across Seattle.

TOURS NORTHWEST

If you’re either strapped for time or merely want to learn more about the city whilst also having the opportunity to jump out and have a look around every now and then, I highly recommend taking a tour with Tours Northwest. I happened to take a tour out of season – meaning that I had the whole bus and tour guide to myself and, quite frankly, felt like royalty. My guide, Lance, was the nicest guy ever, and he spent around three hours filling me in on the little facts about the Emerald City. He took me to some tourist hotspots which I definitely would otherwise have not have visited (namely Mercer Island, Magnolia Bluff, and the waterfront), and it was a pretty cool way to spend an afternoon.

WHERE TO EAT

RELISH BURGER BISTRO

Easily the best place for burgers in the whole city, I can promise that you will quickly fall in love with literally everything about this bistro – it’s hard to not when you’re faced with a burger about the same size of your face. Sit next to one of the large windows overlooking the city and watch the world go by, and I’ll bet that you won’t be able to get enough of the moorish food and equally as moorish location.

1900 5th Ave, WA 98101

FONTÉ COFFEE ROASTER

Located just up the street from Pike Place, it’s in the perfect area to be just out of the grasp of tourists whilst also still being in the heart of downtown. It’s a large, open cafe with white sofas and monochrome works of art hanging on the walls, and it is just the prettiest place to hang out. Fonté’s coffees are hands down the best in Seattle.

1321 1st Ave, WA 98101

ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Not only does this place make you feel like you’ve sauntered into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, but it also offers the most mouth-watering creamy chocolate. I highly recommend their white chocolate dipped strawberries for a snack that makes you feel as though you’re not eating just pure junk food.

1419 1st Ave, WA 98101

PIKE PLACE MARKET 

No post talking about food in Seattle would be complete without a mention to Pike Place. The market is most well-known for both their wide abundance of sellers and the guys that throw fish for money (I’m not going to lie, I’m not entirely sure about how that whole thing works) – but somehow, they’re not nearly as well known for their tasters. Not only is all of the food (and I mean all of it) absolutely gorgeous, but almost every stall is happy to hand out a plethora of tasty testers – meaning that you can fall in love with the food riiiight before demolishing a whole year’s supply of it in one go.

85 Pike Street, WA 98101

LOLA

Perfect for a nice sit-down meal, Lola is the sort of restaurant that demands that you stay for hours savouring each dish. Every item on the menu is delicious and made with locally sourced ingredients, and designed to showcase their array of Greek-influenced flavours. Perfect for date night.

2000 4th Ave, WA 98121

Where to stay

I hands down cannot recommend a better place to stay in Seattle than the Mayflower. It’s the sort of place where you not only fall in love with the comfort and the beauty, but you also have a chance to get entirely enamoured with the history. I knew it’d be my new favourite hotel from the second that the doorman pulled the doors aside for me and flashed me a grin – and I think you’ll feel the same about it too.

How to get there

Seattle is one of the easiest places to get to, with an endless influx of flights, trains, and boats dedicated to getting you to where you need to be. I personally took the Victoria Clipper ferry from Victoria to Seattle, due to the fact that I had read about it being a whole experience in itself and something which every traveller must do – and I fell in love with the transport immediately. For those of y’all that have never heard of the Clipper before, it is a passenger-only vessel which travels between Seattle and Victoria, and Seattle and San Juan, and it’s a super fun way of getting from one place to another. I highly recommend sitting up front in Comfort Class, as everything you could ever need is pretty much on tap. The best seats on the whole boat are at the dead centre of the front, due to the fact that you can see the whole ocean stretching out in front of you. Kick back in their insanely comfortable chairs, ordering a plethora of snacks (with my favourites being their blueberry cornmeal muffins, Northwest smoked wild-caught Alaskan salmon with bagel bits, and Jade Cloud green tea). The staff members are the nicest and most accommodating people, and every final detail is put down to perfection, to the extent of offering anti-sickness tablets if need be.

The Seattle CityPass

Due to the fact that I’d never been to Seattle before, I had absolutely no idea as where to begin exploring the city. The Seattle CityPass was the first thing that I found myself acquiring – and honestly it was the best thing I could have done. It offers admission to the city’s top attractions at a much discounted price (you genuinely save about 45% of what you’d otherwise spend purchasing the tickets independently), and overall just makes the whole experience easier. When you’re in a new city and spend approximately half of your time lost, a pass that helps you cheaply plan out your whole itinerary (and skip the ticket queues) is pretty much a necessity.

Have you guys ever been to Seattle, or plan on visiting the Emerald City? Let me know in the comments below!

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