Insider’s Guide

to Seattle

After our first visit to Seattle, my husband and I decided right away that we absolutely loved the city and wanted to spend more time there. Six months later, we settled into our new apartment overlooking the Space Needle. We lived in and explored Seattle and its surroundings for almost three years; it’s our second home and the place that we created some of our most special memories. There is an abundance of things to do and see and eat and drink - it can be overwhelming! I’ve broken down my suggestions by neighborhood in hopes you can use this as a planning guide for your own visit.

Downtown/SoDo

Downtown Seattle is always bustling, rain or shine. You can’t visit the Emerald City without seeing the iconic Pike Place Market. One of my favorite spots to get coffee, Storyville, is tucked above the market and makes for a great spot to chill when you want to escape the crowds.

Pike Place Market

• Storyville Coffee Pike Place

• Pike Place Market

• Beecher’s Handmade Cheese

• Macrina Bakery

• Biscuit Bitch (BEST biscuit sandwiches)

• Elm Coffee Roasters

• Rachel’s Ginger Beer (tons of flavors plus ginger beer cocktails)

• The Alibi Room (restaurant tucked away at Pike Place near the gum wall)

• Take the ferry to Bainbridge or Vashon Island

• Tat’s Delicatessen (favorite sandwiches in the city)

• Radiator Whiskey (cozy spot for food & drink above Pike Place)

• Columbia Tower Skyview Observatory

• Seattle Public Library

• Catch a game at Lumen Field or T-Mobile Park

• Myrtle Edwards Park (walking trail along the waterfront)

• Showbox at the Market (check their concert schedule)

Inside the beautiful seattle public library

view of smith tower and columbia tower

Pre-game ceremony at the sounders game at centurylink field

Elm Coffee Roasters in Pioneer Square

Brunch at the London Plane

Ferry ride from downtown Seattle

Flowers at Pike Place Market

Rachel’s Ginger Beer flagship store at Pike Place

Queen Anne/South Lake Union

Queen Anne was our ‘hood so I’m biased, but it’s my favorite one in the city. Despite being the location of some of the main tourist activities like the Space Needle, it’s a generally quiet area with seemingly more houses than apartment buildings and some really amazing views from the top of Queen Anne hill.

• La Marzocco Café at KEXP Seattle (working radio station with a café and record shop)

• The Space Needle

• The International Fountain (originally from the 1962 World’s Fair)

• The Museum of Pop Culture (one of the coolest museums I’ve been to)

• Chihuly Garden and Glass (gorgeous glass art)

• Molly Moon’s Ice Cream

• Top Pot Doughnuts (the raspberry bullseye doughnut is my fav)

• Via Tribunali Neapolitan Pizza

• How to Cook a Wolf (fantastic Italian by Seattle restaurateur Ethan Stowell)

• Serious Biscuit

• Portage Bay Café (epic breakfast - make a reservation on weekends)

• Caffe Vita for coffee

• Holy Mountain Brewing

• Kerry Park (best views of the city and Mount Rainier!)

• Revel (Korean-French restaurant perfect for a special night out)

Chihuly Garden and Glass

Cupcakes and ice cream at Cupcake Royale in Upper Queen Anne (location now closed)

City and Mount Rainier views from Kerry Park

Top Pot raspberry bullseye doughnut

Molly Moon’s ice cream

Space Needle from Seattle Center

International Fountain in Seattle Center

Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill is filled with hip bars, tasty treats, and fun shops. It’s the perfect place to visit for a morning - grab brunch and coffee then peruse books at Elliott Bay and records directly across the street at Everyday Music. Don’t leave without grabbing a doughnut at General Porpoise.

Brunch at Poquitos

• Elliott Bay Book Company

• Oddfellows Cafe + Bar (super popular brunch spot)

• Poquitos (my personal favorite brunch - Mexican)

• Optimism Brewing

• General Porpoise (greatest doughnuts to exist)

• Mamnoon (outstanding modern Middle Eastern)

• Everyday Music record store

• Volunteer Park Conservatory

General Porpoise Doughnuts

General Porpoise’s beautiful space

Oddfellows Cafe

Outside of Oddfellows

10th Ave

Elliott Bay Book Company

Volunteer Park Conservatory

Ballard/Fremont

North of Queen Anne across the canal, are the Fremont and Ballard neighborhoods. These areas are home to countless awesome breweries as well as some really unique attractions like the Fremont Troll and Gas Works Park.

• Anchored Ship coffee shop

• Ballard Farmer’s Market (every Sunday, 10-3)

• Hot Cakes - Molten Chocolate Cakery

• Preserve & Gather (SUCH good house-made breakfast pastries!!!)

• Urban Family Brewing (if you like sours, this is the spot)

• Fremont Brewing

• Reuben’s Brews

• Populuxe Brewing

• Stoup Brewing

• Lucky Envelope Brewing

• Gas Works Park (stupendous view of the city beyond Lake Union)

• Fremont Troll (best just to see for yourself)

• Paseo (perhaps Seattle’s most celebrated sandwich joint)

• Slate Coffee Bar

• Bluebird Ice Cream (vegan horchata ice cream is everything)

• Golden Gardens Beach (go for sunset!)

Gas Works Park

Preserve & Gather

Ice cream at Bluebird

Coffee at Miir (now permanently closed)

Beer tasting & food truck eats at Reuben’s Brews

Ballard farmer’s market

Special release at Fremont Brewing

Coffee at Preserve & Gather

Other Seattle Favorites

• Green Lake

• Discovery Park

• Alki Beach (have a bonfire on the beach!)

• Two Beers Brewing (probably my favorite of all the Seattle breweries - and, as an added bonus, it is combined with Seattle Cider Company)

I’ve really only scratched the surface with these recommendations, but I hope this is helpful in planning your own trip to one of my favorite cities ever. I can’t wait to get back there to explore some of the newer hotspots and more up-and-coming neighborhoods. Let me know if you know of any awesome spots that I missed!