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Seattle - Where to stay? What to do?

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Drakkon

Drakkon

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I've always wanted to go to Seattle and recent cheap air fair on Southwest ($65 both ways!) and a friend having moved up there this year to go visit is making it possible. Second week of March is the planned date. The question now is where to stay where I can be able to get around and see the most for a decent rate (like to stick around or under 100 a night)?
And what are some to-dos other than the needle and music museum?
 
It depends on how much time you have, and if you like the outdoors and cool sights.
If you are into driving around and seeing the mountains and shores, the Olympic peninsula is very nice.
A trip to Mt. Rainier National park is cool too. If you are interested in geology at all, Mt. St. Helens would be worth the trip. Each of those is a day trip.
 
Pike Place, EMP/SciFi museum, Seattle Center/Space needle, Museum of Flight (SR-71 Blackbird FTW!), jogging around Greenlake, Snoqualmie falls/Mt. Rainier/Olympic peninsula for longer trips, Bainbridge Island for a day trip (take the ferry back into the city after sunset...it comes right into downtown, all the city lights are shining, it's very pretty), Pioneer Square (do the Underground Tour, it's fun), walk along the waterfront, check out Kerry Park for the photo op, Golden Gardens (although it's more of a summer place), ride the SLUT and buy a T-shirt, check out The Ave (University Avenue between ~40th and 50th) in the U-district for good cheap eats and the local color, maybe check out the UW campus at the same time because it's pretty...
 
Do you want to do touristy or local stuff? The Space Needle is the biggest waste of time in Seattle.

If you're looking for a super cheap place to stay and are up for a hostel, The Green Tortoise is right downtown. Buses are free downtown so it's easy to get around. Much cheaper to hop a bus to go from Pioneer Square to Seattle Center than to drive; parking is a bit pricey.

If you're into outdoor sports, check out kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, etc. There are some groups that meet weekly to go to stuff like that with an ever-changing collection of people. Easy way to meet some friends and have a good time.

Pike Place Market is really cool if you like to wander, taste and look. The fish throwers are there and many people like to go watch them.

The Experience Music Project has always struck me as better for younger kids than adults, but go where your fancy takes you. There's also a museum of flight and the Tacoma glass museum. The Seattle Art Museum is pretty awesome, and htough I haven't been, I've heard that the Seattle Asian Art Museum is cool too.

If you're into wine, plan an afternoon to go to Woodinville. It's not vineyards but there's a ton of wineries operating out there and tasting can be a blast. The Redhook Brewery is also out there, great place for lunch.
 
Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Do you want to do touristy or local stuff? The Space Needle is the biggest waste of time in Seattle.
Click to expand...
Normally i wouldn't but I have a collection of towers I've visited, right now just the CN tower in Canada and the Stratosphere in Vegas. The space needle would just be another to notch on the bedpost 😀

Thanks for the ideas guys

Originally posted by: finite automaton
If you plan on eating at the space needle, call a few days in advance.
Click to expand...
Any idea how much you'd be looking at for 3 people to have dinner there (just on avg - i looked at the menu and doesn't look too crazy - the CN was around $500 for 3 people and that was just chicken and duck dishes)

 
Originally posted by: Drakkon
Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Do you want to do touristy or local stuff? The Space Needle is the biggest waste of time in Seattle.
Click to expand...
Normally i wouldn't but I have a collection of towers I've visited, right now just the CN tower in Canada and the Stratosphere in Vegas. The space needle would just be another to notch on the bedpost 😀

Thanks for the ideas guys

Originally posted by: finite automaton
If you plan on eating at the space needle, call a few days in advance.
Click to expand...
Any idea how much you'd be looking at for 3 people to have dinner there (just on avg - i looked at the menu and doesn't look too crazy - the CN was around $500 for 3 people and that was just chicken and duck dishes)
Click to expand...

When we were looking last fall, one of the best values was a sunday buffet they offered there. It was around $40 a person and you could try just about anything they had on the menu.
 
Originally posted by: FleshLight
Vancouver
Click to expand...

Meh. Seattle was a lot more laid back, I wasn't accosted by panhandlers every 30 seconds, and I don't have to worry about currency conversion, customs, or 3 hour drive up there.
 
People have said most of 'em. If you are lucky (and into that kind of thing) the cherry blossoms might be in full bloom in the quad of UW. There's some interesting buildings there as a whole but the cherry blossoms would be a good reason to go.

When my parents visited they really liked gasworks.

Pike's Place Market is cool, the waterfront can be cool, you can check out Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. The aquarium is alright but overpriced.

The Seattle Art Museum was nice before the remodel, never got to go after the remodel.

The underground tour in Pioneer Square is cool.

If you are into sports my stepmom really enjoyed the Seahawks stadium tour.

There are lots of neighborhoods you could walk around: Ballard, Greenlake, Wallingford, Fremont, U-district, Capitol Hill.

There's also the International District (sometimes called Chinatown).

Rainier is cool even if you aren't so much of an outdoorsy person, not sure what it would be like in March though as the last time I went in June there were still some areas blocked off due to snow.

In the realm of non-fancy food lots of locals swear by Dick's Burgers. I also read an article that said that Seattle has more teriyaki places than fast food places combined by some crazy ratio (4:1 or more if I remember correctly) so I guess that's sort of a Seattle thing as well (not to mention one of the fast food type eats I miss the most since moving away).

As for where to stay I don't have much advice to give. I would've recommended the U-district but its been getting worse every year crime wise. The only hotel I've stayed at there was near Seattle U. on Broadway and I think it was ~$200/night (I wasn't paying).

 
Our out of country visitors (work-related) usually stay at the Hotel Andra. Dunno how much it is but it's a pretty plush place.

Second CountZero on the cherry blossoms. The UW has a GORGEOUS campus (I didn't go to school there) and the cherry trees in full bloom are really something to see.

I've heard the food at the Space Needle is so-so. If you want to go up, go for happy hour and get a glass of wine. They supposedly don't charge for the ride if you're going to the restaurant, and a drink and appetizer is cheaper than the ticket up.

Ray's Boathouse is one of the nicest places to eat in Seattle but I haven't been there. For a decently-priced nice restaurant, Rock Salt on the shores of Lake Union is nice and you can watch the floating planes take off and land. Edgewater has a good view of the Sound and a uniquely northwest decor. Saltys in Alki is one of the local landmark restaurants, but I like Saltys at Redondo Beach (there are three locations total, that one is south of Seattle) for a Sunday brunch or a nice evening out. Palamino is a good place for happy hour too. Campagne's has been talked up a lot lately but I haven't been there.

Check out the international district for food if you're looking for Vietnamese or dim sum. Cafe Vue and Tamarind Tree are both nice Vietnamese places, with Tamarind being a notch up from the Cafe. Pho seems to be a Seattle specialty.

Check out the Greenlake Bathhouse Theater for low-price, intimate shows. 5th Avenue Theater has the more broadway type stuff. I also like Taproot an awful lot. During the summer there are some great free performances in the parks but you'll be here too early for that. You'll also be a month or so early for the Seattle Cheese Festival, which is a blast.
 
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