Things to do · Seattle · United States
18 best things to do in Seattle
18 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Jordon Kalilich, Public domain
Quick answer
The essential sights in Seattle are Pike Place Market, Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass. Of the 18 picks below, 11 are free, 8 work on a rainy day and 7 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Pike Place Market
- Free sights
- 11
- Good on a rainy day
- Chihuly Garden and Glass
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike Place Market | Downtown and Pike Place | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Space Needle | Seattle Center | 1–1.5 hours | Expensive |
| Chihuly Garden and Glass | Seattle Center | 1–1.5 hours | Expensive |
| Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) | Seattle Center | 2–3 hours | Expensive |
| Waterfront and Pier 62 | Downtown and Pike Place | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Seattle Aquarium | Downtown and Pike Place | 2 hours | Expensive |
| Olympic Sculpture Park | Belltown | 1 hour | Free |
| Seattle Art Museum | Downtown and Pike Place | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Pioneer Square and the Underground Tour | Pioneer Square | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Ballard Locks | Ballard | 1–1.5 hours | Free |
| Discovery Park | Magnolia | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Kerry Park | Queen Anne and Seattle Center | 30 minutes | Free |
| Museum of Flight | Tukwila | Half a day | Mid-priced |
| Gas Works Park | Fremont | 1 hour | Free |
| Fremont Troll | Fremont | 20 minutes | Free |
| Washington Park Arboretum and Japanese Garden | Montlake | 2 hours | Free |
| Volunteer Park and Conservatory | Capitol Hill | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Frye Art Museum | First Hill | 1 hour | Free |
The 18 best things to do
Market · Downtown and Pike Place
1.Pike Place Market
Seattle's public market has run since 1907 across several levels above the waterfront, with fish stalls where workers throw salmon to each other, farmers, flower sellers, bakeries and small restaurants. The lower levels hold old-fashioned shops, and Post Alley's Gum Wall is just below the main arcade.
Arrive before 10am for flowers, produce and breakfast before the cruise and tour crowds; weekday mornings are calmest.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Food
- Free
- Shopping
Landmark · Seattle Center
2.Space Needle
Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the 184-metre tower has an observation level with floor-to-ceiling glass and a rotating glass floor, The Loupe. On a clear day you see downtown, Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier.
Save it for a clear day; if Rainier is hidden by cloud, the view loses much of its point.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets are sold online; sunset slots sell out on clear summer evenings.
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- After dark
Gallery · Seattle Center
3.Chihuly Garden and Glass
A museum devoted to the work of Tacoma-born glass artist Dale Chihuly, with eight galleries, a glasshouse with a 30-metre suspended sculpture and a garden where glass forms mingle with plants beneath the Space Needle.
Visit late in the day when the glasshouse and garden pieces are lit, or buy a combined ticket with the Space Needle.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Art
- Couples
- Photo spot
- Rainy day
Museum · Seattle Center
4.Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)
Frank Gehry's crumpled metal building houses exhibitions on music, film and gaming, including permanent galleries on Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix, both of whom came from the Seattle area. The Sound Lab lets visitors play instruments in small studios.
Head to the Sound Lab early, before school groups arrive.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Architecture
- History
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Waterfront · Downtown and Pike Place
5.Waterfront and Pier 62
Since the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the downtown waterfront has been rebuilt as a promenade with new parks and an Overlook Walk connecting Pike Place Market to the shore. Piers hold the Seattle Aquarium, the Great Wheel, harbour-cruise docks and the ferry terminal at Colman Dock.
Walk from Pike Place down to the water, then south to Colman Dock for a ferry ride at sunset.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Outdoors
- Kids
Aquarium · Downtown and Pike Place
6.Seattle Aquarium
On Pier 59, the aquarium focuses on the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Ocean, with sea otters, harbour seals, a giant Pacific octopus and touch pools. The Ocean Pavilion, across the street, adds a large tropical reef habitat.
Check the day's feeding and talk times at the entrance and plan around the otters.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Park · Belltown
7.Olympic Sculpture Park
The Seattle Art Museum's free outdoor park zigzags down from Belltown to the shoreline, with large works by Alexander Calder, Richard Serra and Louise Bourgeois framed by views across Elliott Bay to the Olympics.
Combine it with a walk along Myrtle Edwards Park, which continues north along the water.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Views
- Outdoors
Museum · Downtown and Pike Place
8.Seattle Art Museum
SAM's downtown building, marked by Jonathan Borofsky's giant Hammering Man outside, has strong collections of Northwest Coast Native art, African art, European paintings and contemporary work. Its sister Seattle Asian Art Museum is in Volunteer Park.
It is two blocks from Pike Place, so it makes a good wet-afternoon follow-on to a market morning.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
Historic site · Pioneer Square
1.Pioneer Square and the Underground Tour
After the 1889 fire the city raised its streets by a storey, leaving old sidewalks and shopfronts below ground. Guided Underground Tours walk through these passages with a humorous history of early Seattle, while above ground the brick blocks and the free Klondike Gold Rush museum tell of the city's gold-rush boom.
Do the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park museum first; it is free and gives useful context.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Landmark · Ballard
2.Ballard Locks
The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks move boats between salty Puget Sound and the freshwater Lake Washington Ship Canal. Watching yachts and fishing boats rise and fall is free, and a fish ladder with underwater viewing windows shows salmon migrating, mainly from about July to September.
Visit in summer to see salmon in the fish ladder, then stroll the botanical garden beside the locks.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Nature
- Off the beaten path
Park · Magnolia
3.Discovery Park
Seattle's largest park covers about 216 hectares of forest, meadows and sea cliffs on a former army post in Magnolia. A loop trail leads to bluffs over Puget Sound, and a path descends to the beach and the West Point Lighthouse.
Allow about two hours for the loop plus the walk down to the lighthouse and back up.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Views
- Active
Viewpoint · Queen Anne and Seattle Center
4.Kerry Park
A small terrace on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill with the classic postcard view of Seattle: the Space Needle in front of the downtown towers, Elliott Bay and, on clear days, Mount Rainier behind.
Come at dusk on a clear evening when the city lights come on and Rainier glows pink.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Photo spot
- Couples
- After dark
Museum · Tukwila
5.Museum of Flight
Beside Boeing Field south of downtown, this large air and space museum displays more than 150 aircraft, including a Concorde, an early Air Force One, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and a full-size Space Shuttle trainer, plus Boeing's original 'Red Barn' factory building.
Allow at least half a day; the Aviation Pavilion across the footbridge holds the large airliners.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Park · Fremont
6.Gas Works Park
Rusting towers of a former coal-gasification plant stand on a grassy point on Lake Union, preserved as industrial sculpture. The kite hill gives views across the lake to downtown, with seaplanes landing and houseboats along the shore.
Bring a picnic for sunset, when the skyline is lit across the water.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Photo spot
- Outdoors
Landmark · Fremont
7.Fremont Troll
A 5.5-metre concrete troll crushing a real Volkswagen Beetle crouches under the north end of the Aurora Bridge. Built in 1990, it has become one of the city's favourite pieces of public art and a climbing frame for children.
Combine it with Fremont's other public art and a walk along the ship canal.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Art
- Photo spot
Garden · Montlake
8.Washington Park Arboretum and Japanese Garden
The University of Washington's arboretum spreads over about 93 hectares along Lake Washington, with Azalea Way's spring blossoms and autumn colour. The Seattle Japanese Garden at its southern end is a formal stroll garden with a koi pond and teahouse.
Visit in April or May for azaleas and rhododendrons, or October for maples.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Couples
- Outdoors
Park · Capitol Hill
9.Volunteer Park and Conservatory
An Olmsted-designed park at the top of Capitol Hill with a 1912 Victorian glass conservatory, a water tower whose stairs lead to a viewpoint, and the Seattle Asian Art Museum in a 1930s Art Deco building.
Climb the stairs of the water tower for a free view over the city and the Cascades.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Views
- Rainy day
Gallery · First Hill
10.Frye Art Museum
Seattle's free art museum, founded on the private collection of Charles and Emma Frye, shows 19th-century German and American paintings alongside contemporary exhibitions in a calm building on First Hill.
A short walk uphill from downtown; pair it with lunch on Capitol Hill.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Chihuly Garden and Glass, Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Olympic Sculpture Park and Seattle Art Museum |
| History | Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Pioneer Square and the Underground Tour and Museum of Flight |
| Views | Space Needle, Waterfront and Pier 62, Olympic Sculpture Park and Discovery Park |
| Outdoors and nature | Waterfront and Pier 62, Seattle Aquarium, Olympic Sculpture Park and Ballard Locks |
| Food and markets | Pike Place Market |
| After dark | Space Needle and Kerry Park |
| With children | Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Waterfront and Pier 62 and Seattle Aquarium |
| On a rainy day | Chihuly Garden and Glass, Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Seattle Aquarium and Seattle Art Museum |
What to book ahead
- Space Needle: Timed tickets are sold online; sunset slots sell out on clear summer evenings.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Seattle?
Pike Place Market. Seattle's public market has run since 1907 across several levels above the waterfront, with fish stalls where workers throw salmon to each other, farmers, flower sellers, bakeries and small restaurants.
+What can you do for free in Seattle?
Pike Place Market, Waterfront and Pier 62, Olympic Sculpture Park, Ballard Locks and Discovery Park. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Seattle when it rains?
Head indoors to Chihuly Garden and Glass, Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Seattle Aquarium and Seattle Art Museum.
+What is there to do in Seattle at night?
Space Needle and Kerry Park are best after dark.