Weekend in the "Emerald City" (Seattle, WA)
- The Wandering Warmacks
- Apr 19, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 27, 2024
We took a break from the outdoors to visit one of the west coast’s most renowned cities. From the Puget Sound, to catching a glimpse of Mt. Rainier, and the towering skyscrapers, Seattle makes for a beautiful urban oasis.
THINGS TO DO
Pike’s Place Market - for our first stop, we visited one of the most iconic attractions in Seattle. We could have spent days here! Truth be told, this is where we spent a good majority of our weekend. A lot of food/drinks below were all housed in this one convenient location. It was so fun to browse tons of shops & produce stands. My favorite part was picking out a dried flower bouquet from the hundreds of gorgeous options. Hunter really enjoyed going to Golden Age Collectibles. There’s truly something for everyone here. Whether you're just window shopping or enjoying good food & crafts, you can make this attraction as cheap or expensive as you’d like.
Argosy Cruises - despite the rain and cloudy weather, we had a great time on the 1 hour Harbor Cruise. Luckily, the boat was enclosed so it didn’t affect our experience at all. The boat was spacious and had a bar with drinks and snacks for purchase. The narrated tour gave fun facts about many buildings along Seattle’s harbor, and getting to see panoramic views of the skyline through this unique perspective was very relaxing.
Space Needle Tour - an absolute must-do when visiting the Emerald City! Whether you visit in the afternoon, at sunset, or in the dark of night, the aerial views of the city are sure to impress. You can purchase tickets online or at the kiosk in front of the structure. You’ll have a certain time to enter, but can stay up there as long as you’d like. Concessions were available for purchase, so we enjoyed a small dinner during our nighttime viewing.
Gum Wall - located just beneath Pike’s Place Market on Post Alley, is an unexpectedly iconic attraction. While both intriguing or off-putting, it makes for a free & colorful photo op nonetheless
Alki Point Lighthouse - operated by the Coast Guard near Alki Beach in west Seattle. Tours are only offered usually in the summer on Sundays. We weren’t able to take a tour since we went in the fall, but we had a backside view with a pretty mountainous backdrop.
FOOD & DRINKS
All of those with * are located in or around Pike’s Place Market
Lowell’s Restaurant* - Hunter said this is one of the best seafood plates he’s ever had! Lines wrapped around this famous lunch spot and everything seemed so fresh. Plus, we had beautiful views of the Puget Sound from the top dining floor
Original Starbucks* - we didn’t stand in the ginormous line for coffee, but took a few photos and got a commemorative t-shirt in Pike’s Place Market. We decided to get ours from another location down the street ;)
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory* - enjoyed some decadent truffles
Pike Brewing* - the atmosphere of this place was SO cool! It was ornamented with vintage & sporty looking beer decor. You can enjoy a meal or handcrafted beer
Cloudburst Brewing - highly recommended on Google, but we weren’t overly impressed. This was pretty out of the way from most of our other attractions, and is not family-friendly. But always good to add another brewery to the list!
The Good Society Brewery & Public House - a simple and relaxing spot in West Seattle. I enjoyed that they had some non-alcoholic options to enjoy while pregnant, such as a refreshing lemonade slush. We saw a lot of young families here.
LODGING / TRANSPORTATION
As with any city, staying downtown is expensive. We found a very budget friendly option in SeaTac. SureStay Plus by Best Western was only about 20-30 minutes from most of our attractions. We used the SpotHero app to find a parking garage that would be conveniently located for walking around the city. We didn't find it too crowded or hard to navigate around here.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Aside from Chicago, this has been one of our favorite cities we've visited so far. It was classy and refreshing - we loved how green it was. There are so many other restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, parks, and stores we could have checked out, but a single weekend wouldn't have been enough time (ya can only eat and drink so much in 2 days). However, it was plenty of time for the visiting some tourist highlights. This was a great couples getaway!
TRIP BREAKDOWN
LENGTH OF STAY: 2 DAYS
📍 Seattle, WA
🏨 ~$100 (one night)
🎡 Space Needle: ~$45/person, Harbor Cruise: ~$40/person
⛽ 🍽️ : variable
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