Seattle
If you’re going to Seattle, break out your old flannel shirts. And then burn them. The Emerald City has shaken off its grungy duds and has a lot to offer the luxury traveler these days. Surrounded on three sides by water and containing over 70 parks, Seattle is a place where you’re never far from the great outdoors. It also offers neighborhoods for strolling, and even the tourist attractions are worth braving the crowds for.
Activities and Attractions:
If it’s a nice day, get out and enjoy it! Rent a kayak and cruise Puget Sound. It wouldn’t be unusual to spot a porpoise or a bald eagle while you’re out there. Go for a hike in Discovery Park, whose 500 acres contain miles of trails. Or stroll the Washington Park Arboretum, where you can see 5,000 different kinds of plants while being treated to a view across Lake Washington.
Seattle has a downtown that not only thrives, it stays open late. Downtown, in fact, has some of the best hotels and restaurants, and makes an excellent home base. It’s convenient to a lot of attractions, including Pioneer Square. This historic district is full of restored buildings from the 1890s, and galleries and boutiques from right this second. Nearby is Pike Place Market, which, when you get past the fish-flinging kitsch (actually kind of fun to watch), has a lot of upscale offerings. Browse numerous tiny specialty stores, sip a macchiato in the original Starbucks, and, if it’s your last day, pick up some famous Washington State salmon packed to travel with you.
From the market, it’s a short, futuristic monorail ride (or a brisk walk) to the Space Needle. Lots of cities have expensive elevator rides, but few offer the reward of a glimpse of a volcano. On a clear day, you’ll get a view of 14,410-foot Mt. Rainier’s snow-capped cone, as well as a swathe of the Cascade Range.
On the way to the Space Needle, the monorail passes right through the Experience Music Project, a must-see for any music fan. What started as a place to house Paul Allen’s personal collection of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia has become a fantastic Frank Gehry-designed museum full of hands-on exhibits devoted to rock and roll.
For a change of pace, the surrounding area holds many day-trip possibilities. The lovely Woodinville wine country may remind you of Northern California as it was a few decades and a few million tourists ago. On your way to the wine country, you’ll pass through a collection of fabled suburbs, including Bellevue and Redmond, known collectively as the Eastside. Home of big corporations and even bigger wealth, you can amuse yourself by guessing which billionaire (Bill Gates? Steve Ballmer?) lives behind the impressive edifices you’ll see.
Getting back to nature, Snoqualmie Falls, 30 miles east of Seattle, is a magnificent 268-foot waterfall, beautiful any time, but spectacular during the rainy season. Finally, try to visit at least one of Puget Sound’s many islands. The famous San Juan Islands offer outdoor activities galore. Bainbridge Island, possibly the nation’s greenest bedroom community, is a lovely 25-minute ferry ride from the waterfront. And Whidbey Island is a place where lush parkland meets streets lined with trees, restaurants, and galleries--a Seattle in microcosm.
Insider Tip:
Seattle is famous for its rain, but it actually gets less annual precipitation than New York. Winter and fall can be a little drizzly and dreary, though, so consider visiting during the spring and summer, when the rain lets up and the greenery springs to life.
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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