Travel Tips

Seattle Center is the heartbeat of modern day Seattle and a must see for anyone visiting the Seattle Washington area. It is perhaps one of the most famous places in Seattle if for nothing else, for the Space Needle that is housed here. The Space Needle is one of if not the most easily recognized landmarks in the U.S. Northwest.

The Seattle Center has evolved over time and now hosts many cultural aspects of Seattle City life. Among these cultural centers is McCaw Hall, which is the home of the Seattle Opera and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. In addition to these establishments, Seattle Circle is also home to several theatres. Among them are: the Bagley-Wright Theatre, Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre, Poncho Theatre, and the Intiman Playhouse.

If theatre, opera, and ballet is a little too ‘high brow’ for you, then you will also be interested in knowing that Seattle Circle is home to Key Arena where the Seattle Sonics play as well as the Thunderbirds (Seattle’s Western Hockey League team).

If you enjoy music, you should be sure to check out the Experience Music Project while you are here. This is essentially a museum of rock memorabilia and multimedia displays. Seeing the building itself is almost worth the hefty admission price, but the actual exhibits makes it a good bargain. You can make your dollar go even further by purchasing combo tickets for the Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. Both of these are located within Seattle Circle and they each offer a unique look at the cultures of today and the past. The Science Fiction Museum is one of my favorite places in Seattle to visit and I think even the stodgiest and most humorless among you would be hard pressed not to find something of interest in either of these museums.

For the younger members of your vacationing group, Seattle Center offers a great deal to do. First of all it is home to the Children’s Museum. This is an incredibly fun, interactive, hands on learning experience for big and little kids alike. You could easily spend an entire day at the Children’s museum without seeing the same thing twice. Even better is the knowledge that your kids will learn a lot and you can disguise their learning as fun. They will never know what is really happening.

Another point of interest for small children is Pacific Science Center, which is home to the Boeing IMAX Theater. The museum consists of eight buildings and houses not one, but two IMAX theaters, a tropical butterfly house, a planetarium, and several hands-on exhibits that are constantly changing and traveling around the country and to other museums.

In addition to all of these wonderful places, there are several fountains and gardens throughout the circle in addition to many restaurants that will appeal to all kinds of tastes and desires. But perhaps the most interesting feature of Seattle Center to the teen crowd is the skate park.

As I’ve said, you could very easily spend a day or even a week in the Seattle Center area and never run out of fun things to do. If you are planning a visit to Seattle Washington any time in the near future you will want to be sure that a stroll through Seattle Center is pretty high on your itinerary.

Visiting Seattle Washington is like walking into a refreshing spring rain. Well, it is about half of the year at any rate. The climate here is great for being outdoors as long as you don’t mind getting a little wet. My recommendation is not to even bother with an umbrella, wear comfortable waterproof shoes, and hide your hair beneath a funky hat of some sort that will handle getting a little wet.

Whatever you do, don’t let the rain spoil your good time. Rain is a fact of life in Seattle and most of the locals are quite accustomed to it. If it really does bother you, you may wish to plan an alternate indoor activity for every outdoor activity you are considering. The good news is that there are plenty of both to choose from so you really shouldn’t ever run out of things to do while on vacation here.

If all else fails, there is plenty of great shopping in and around Seattle that will get you off the streets and into the stores. While I love shopping, unless we are talking small local stores, I can do that for the most part at home. I love visiting the local shops and galleries and buying pieces of pottery or art by local artists, other than that, I have shopping malls and chain stores at home and have rarely found something new and rare at one of these stores that I couldn’t have found at home or online. But some of us are addicted to shopping in any form and really; there is no shame in that. I have a serious weakness for shoes so I can completely relate on some level.

Other than shopping the local shops and stores, there are a few other indoor activities I recommend checking out. First of all there is the Experience Music Project, The Seattle Children’s Museum (surprisingly fun for all ages), the Pacific Science Center, the Spirit of Washington Dinner train, Redhook Brewery tours, SeaBear Smokehouse tours, and a ride up the Space Needle which is a must for any trip to Seattle (I suggest getting dinner elsewhere and simply taking the ride up if cost might be a factor).

In addition to these you can take the Boeing tour and see how these huge planes are made or trek to the Museum of Flight, which consistently ranks among the top museums of this type in the country. You can take in a movie at the IMAX Theater or enjoy the Seattle Aquarium, which will allow you to take a different point of view on the things that live in Puget Sound.

If food is something that interests you, there is plenty of great food to be had throughout the Seattle area, but nowhere offers the selection that can be found at Center House in Seattle Center. While you are there, be sure to check out the Northwest Craft Center Gallery for a nice selection of Native American and other artistry. Other great places for food and dining are the Pike Place Market where you can watch your meal prepared right before your very eyes. You can also elect to take a class or two in gourmet cooking through PCC Cooks if this is a skill you’d like to bring home with you.

As I’ve said, there are plenty of things to do indoors in Seattle if you need alternatives to those rainy day blahs. Of course, you could always make the best of the situation and try singing in the rain during one of the many outdoor activities that abound in this truly unique American city. Only you can decide best how to handle your trip and the weather that may intrude. But a vacation is supposed to be fun so it is best to have a backup plan that you find agreeable rather than spending precious vacation moments grumbling about the weather.