offwegooo.com
Travel guide
Seattle
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to September
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Welcome
Seattle, in a few days
A city of hills and water set between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, where ferries pass seaplanes and Mount Rainier, a 4,392-metre snow-capped volcano, rises at the end of the streets on clear days. Pike Place Market, the 1962 tower, the rock of Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana and the rainforests of Washington State all come together here in a few days.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 3 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Pike Place Market free · 2 to 3 hOne of the oldest working public markets in the United States, opened in 1907 above Elliott Bay, with flying salmon at the fishmongers, the Gum Wall and the original Starbucks.
- Afternoon · Bainbridge Island Ferry · half a dayThe green and white state ferries cross Puget Sound in 35 minutes, the cheapest way to see Seattle from the water, to the cafés, bookshops and wine rooms of Winslow.
🛏️ Where to sleep · MarQueen Hotel ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€200 a night
D2
Day 2
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Space Needle · about 1 h 30The 184-metre tower built for the 1962 World's Fair, with a glass-walled observation deck and the world's first revolving glass floor, looking out to Puget Sound and Mount Rainier.
- Afternoon · Chihuly Garden and Glass · 1 to 2 hA museum devoted to glass artist Dale Chihuly, with darkened galleries of blown-glass installations, a 12-metre glasshouse and a garden where glass sculptures mingle with plants and flowers.
- Late afternoon · Museum of Pop Culture · 2 to 3 hPaul Allen's museum in a Frank Gehry building of coloured metal, telling Seattle's music story from Jimi Hendrix to Nirvana, with science fiction, video games and a hands-on Sound Lab.
🛏️ Where to sleep · MarQueen Hotel ↗€200 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Kerry Park free · about 30 minA grassy viewpoint on Queen Anne Hill giving Seattle's postcard view: the Space Needle in front, the downtown towers behind and, on clear days, Mount Rainier towering over everything.
- Afternoon · Ballard Locks free · about 1 h 30Locks opened in 1917 that lift boats between Puget Sound and the lakes, with a fish ladder where salmon swim upstream behind windows and a botanical garden on the north bank.
🛏️ Where to sleep · MarQueen Hotel ↗€200 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Discovery Park free · half a dayThe city's largest park, on the former Fort Lawton, with a loop through cedar forest, meadows and sandy bluffs overlooking Puget Sound, and a trail down to West Point Lighthouse.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €210 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to September
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/seattle
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.