Hi, I’m Katie! Are you new here? I’m a travel advisor with The Magic’s Yours Travel! I send clients on vacations of all kinds all over the world but my specialty is Disney travel. Want to work together? Check out my website katievtravel.com to request a vacation quote or email me at katiev@themagicsyours.com with any questions. I’d love to make your vacation dreams a reality!
I recently visited Seattle, Washington as part of a larger Pacific Northwest vacation. It was the perfect place to end the week long trek from Portland, around the Olympic Peninsula, finally ending in Seattle. As a large city it haaa a ton to offer vacationers and we had a wonderful time exploring the Emerald City.
If you are interested in details about our time in Portland and the Oregon Coast : Click Here
Getting There
Getting to Seattle is easy, they have a major international airport. It is also easily accessible by road making it a great place to build a larger trip around. If you are approaching from the west you even have the option of taking a ferry. We approached Seattle from the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park. We drove from Forks through Port Angeles and took the ferry from Bainbridge Island. They ferry was a wonderful experience! You drive right on and then can park your car. You can get out of your car for a fabulous view. There were also seats for walk on passengers, plus a rest room, and snack stand. It was such a great way to arrive in a new city and to watch it get closer and closer and larger and larger as we approached. If you were staying just in Seattle this would even be a fun day trip out to Bainbridge Island via ferry. I highly recommend the ferry experience.
Where We Stayed
We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites: Convention Center Pike Street. As the name tells you it was on Pike Street it was about a 10 minute walk to Pike Place Market. Located right next to the convention center as well. We were able to walk everywhere that we went from this hotel. It was about a 25 minute walk to the Seattle Center, and about the same in the other direction to the Aquarium and Pier area. The area directly around the hotel had lots of dinning options, and a convince store was right next door. Of course if you prefer an Uber or taxi those were readily available as well. The hotel offered a self parking garage at an additional charge.
The hotel lobby had a seating area and housed the included breakfast location, a single desk and computer (the business center), and an ATM. They also had a small selection of prepackaged food, and sundry items for sale by the front desk. The included buffet breakfast has a large seating area. The food was what I expect from a Homewood Suites including lots of options with average quality for a buffet breakfast. Since you have a kitchen in your room you can always grab some extra items to store for lunch or snacks as well. They offered coffee and juice and sometimes fruit throughout the day in this same area. There was also a gym available on another floor, which had all the gym basics.
Our room was a standard One Queen Bed Studio Suite. The great thing about all Homewood Suites is that every room is a suite. So you get a kitchen area and a seating area on top of the bedroom. Since this was a city location the kitchen was much smaller and the seating area was a bit smaller than you might find at other Homewood Suites locations. The largest take away was that the fridge was really a mini-fridge with a connected “freezer” section that barely could stand up to the test of keeping ice cream frozen. Typically Homewood Suites has a full size refrigerator / freezer. But the room as a whole was spacious for being in the heart of a city. There was a lot of natural light and the bathroom was huge. There was also plenty of storage space including a closet with a safe. I throughly enjoyed our stay in this room and at this hotel. I highly recommend it.
Watch my full room tour as part of my Seattle video linked below.
Attractions
We used the Seattle City Pass to purchase joint admission to all of the attractions. I love these passes and have used them in other cities before. If you are going to visit several of the included attractions I highly recommend getting a City Pass. It’s also a great way to see what the most popular attractions are in a city. In some cities you even get preferred entry to attractions but we didn’t have that in Seattle.
Two things included on the pass that we did not do was a harbor cruise and the zoo. I would have been interested in both but didn’t have time to fit them in and we felt the ferry ride gave us a lot of what the harbor cruise would have.
Click here for more details about the City Pass : Seattle City Pass
SEATTLE CENTER
The Seattle Center is home to many tourist attractions, performance spaces and sporting venues. Between them all is green space, souvenir shops, street entertainment, and a few food stands.
The Space Needle – This is the crown jewel of the Seattle Center and the most iconic and popular attractions in Seattle. Before you arrive check the current ticket requirements when we visited we had to sign up for a timed entry. When you enter you will still need to wait in line before you can head up to the top. We waited about forty five minutes, half of it outdoors but under cover. There is stringent security and large backpacks have to be placed in lockers before you enter so make sure before you leave your hotel you don’t have any prohibited items. While in line on the left hand side there are panels describing the construction and history of the Space Needle. You get your photo taken on a green screen right before you head to the elevators. This photo download is free as are all the photos taken at the Space Needle so keep an eye out for photographers at the top and download the Space Needle App to get your photos. You will be assigned an elevator and take it up to the top with a tour guide. You’ll be delivered to the top floor. Inside you will find a bar and lounge area. Outside is the observation deck which has very tall glass walls all around and benches. The views are amazing and on a clear day you can see all the way to Mt. Rainer. Be sure to walk around the entire deck to see all of the view points. There are selfie stations where you can take your photo as well as wondering photographers. When you are done here you go inside and down one flight of stairs. This is where you will catch the returning elevator to the ground. But fist make sure to check out to the rotating glass floor here. This level is all inclosed. You take the elevator back to the bottom and exit through the gift shop. We had a lot of fun at the Space Needle and the views were breathtaking. I think anyone visiting Seattle should make a journey to the Space Needle, unless you are scared of heights.
Chihuly Garden and Glass – This museum features the glass artwork of Chihuly. With expansive rooms featuring huge pieces of art to smaller pieces with lots of detail. I am not normally one for art museums but this was certainly not your typical art experience with the size and style of the pieces. At the end there is a large greenhouse portion with stunning overhead glasswork hanging and where you can enjoy a cafe, or observe a glass blowing demonstration. Then you can walk through the garden with views of the Space Needle and glasswork pieces throughout the flowers.
MO POP = Museum of Pop Culture – This museum was so much fun and I highly recommend it for fans of pop culture! I am a big movie, TV and pop culture fan so this was a perfect place for me. They had some really exciting pieces like original props and costumes from iconic movies, and guitars from famous artists. There were broad exhibits themed to things like fantasy, science fiction, video games, and horror movies. Then there were more Seattle specific exhibits like a huge Pearl Jam one and a Nirvana one. They also had a few traveling exhibits that rotated while we where there they had a visiting exhibit exploring the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and a visiting Disney Achieves costume exhibit. The Disney one was an additional entrance fee so be sure to check what is going to be there during your visit.
**** The Seattle Center is also home to several theaters and performance spaces, the new Climate Pledge Area and Memorial Stadium. It is also where you will find the Pacific Science Center. ****
Other Attractions
Pike Place Market – This is the iconic seafood market that is prominently featured in basically any movie that takes place in Seattle. Located on the water it has three levels, reaches across the street, and spans several blocks. I absolutely recommend walking around the area and grabbing a meal here from one of the many restaraunts or stalls. It is almost always very crowded but you are able to walk though early in the morning before most of the stores are open if you want to take it in without the crowds. Of course there are stalls and stores that sell fresh seafood, produce, crafts, home goods, and souvenirs of all kinds. A few highlights here are the first Starbucks which seemingly always had a very long line unless you arrived extremly early in the morning. They have special merchandise and a special coffee blend served only at this location. In an alleyway on one of the lower levels you have to visit the Gum Wall which is a famous wall of discarded chewing gum. You won’t want to miss the Pike Place Fish Market stall where the workers famously throw the fish orders through the air. Then pose for a photo with the bronze pig statues, Rachel is right in front of the Pike Place Fish Market, and Billie is out back on the top level on the porch. If you take a peak into The Athenian Inn restaurant on the main level you’ll see two stools at the corner of the counter located right up front with plaques on them. A scene in Sleepless in Settle was filmed here and Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner sat on these stools. Pike Place Market is a must visit while in Seattle.
Seattle Aquarium – The Seattle Aquarium is right on the water appropriately enough. Located among the piers this Aquarium is moderately sized as aquariums go. With a large “touching pool” where you could reach your hand in to touch starfish and anemones. The building itself and the layout was unique. They had several large tanks with Pacific Northwest fish. About half of the aquarium was outside and this was where you would find seals, otters, and sea birds. This part of the aquarium seemed older and the enclosures didn’t provide the best views. But nothing seemed too small or run down or anything like that. The sea otter and puffins were my favorite here. I had a nice time here but I wouldn’t put it on my list for a return trip. For adults it’s a good filler attraction if you need something else to add to your visit. If you are traveling with kids this is a good option with plenty of entertainment value. If you have the Seattle City Pass this is included and I would certainly take advantage of that if it fits in your schedule.
Miners Landing Pier 57 – Located right next to the aquarium and on the water was Pier 57 Miners Landing. This is your basic tourist trap amusement. It was free to walk around the indoor portion so we checked it out. The Gold Rush theming was fun and they had an arcade, shops, and a casual sit down restaurant. There is also a 4-D virtual reality simulator Wings Over Washington. Outside was a small carnival amusement section with a ferris wheel and a few other things. If traveling with kids this could be a fun option as long as you know what you are getting into, but the cost will add up quickly.
Kerry Park – Outside the heart of the city this little park had a small playground but was worth the stop to get photos with the Seattle skyline behind you. We made a quick stop between the ferry and our hotel. Free street parking was available. See views in the first photo on this post.
Freemont Troll – Close to Kerry Park is at the famous Freemont Troll the bridge troll statute is a really fun photo op. Free street parking was available.
That was our Seattle trip! I hope you found this interesting and informative. Considering a trip to Seattle? I’m a travel advisor and would love to work with you! Check out my website katievtravel.com to request a vacation quote or email me at katiev@themagicsyours.com with any questions. I’d love to make your vacation dreams a reality!
Katie Vassalotti - Travel Advisor - Travel Blog 