1. SEATTLE CENTER
www.seattlecenter.com | map

The Space Needle
A 41-second elevator ride takes you up 520 feet to the observation deck of the Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair. Enjoy a meal at SkyCity, the restaurant at the top that revolves 360° while you dine.

Experience Music Project
Housed in a 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry-designed building, the Experience Music Project is an interactive music museum filled with American popular music history, artifacts, memorabilia, hands-on equipment and live performances. Through high-tech exhibits, visitors are able to listen to the musicians tell their own stories and inspirations.

Pacific Science Center
Budding scientists of all ages will enjoy this interesting, exciting and educational Seattle favorite. Explore natural wonders from interactive dinosaur exhibits to the tropical butterfly house.

2. Pike Place Market
www.pikeplacemarket.org | map

Born in 1907, Seattle's Pike Place Market is the granddaddy of farmers' markets. Today, it's a major tourist attraction with 200 businesses operating year-round, 190 craftspeople and 120 farmer booths - plus street performers and musicians. Flowers by the bucketful, flying fish, fresh pastries and fruit, handmade cheeses, local honey, wine, an assortment of restaurants, import goods, antiques, collectibles and lots of surprises are around every corner.

3. The Seattle Waterfront
www.seattlewaterfront.org | map

A bustling collection of attractions, restaurants and shopping, as well as starting points for ferries, cruise ships, the Victoria Clipper and Argosy boat tours are located here. Feed the seagulls at the statue of Ivar Haglund in front of Ivar's Acres of Clams, stroll by the fountains on the wooden piers of Waterfront Park, admire the view or shop for souvenirs.

Ferries
Traveling by ferry is a state of mind as much as a means of transportation to some of the Puget Sound's most historic and scenic sites. Views of the Olympic and Cascade mountains, the Seattle cityscape and the green shorelines will draw you out onto the deck to feel the salt breeze on your face. The state ferry system takes passengers and their vehicles from Seattle and nearby departure points to Bainbridge Island, the Kitsap Peninsula, Vashon Island, and the San Juan Islands.

Seattle Aquarium
Meet Lootas, the Aquarium's famous sea otter subject of a popular children's book. Marvel at the 120,000 gallon Window on Washington Waters exhibit. Walk under the water in a glass dome as bluntnose sixgill sharks and other Elliott Bay creatures swim all around you. Touch a sea anemone. Learn about the lives of salmon at the world's first aquarium-based salmon ladder. Marvel at the impossibly bright-colored coral reef fish. And don't forget to wave to the giant Pacific octopus.

4. Pioneer Square
www.pioneersquare.org | map

Seattle began in Pioneer Square. In the 1850s, the city set its sights on becoming great - and then got right to work building and growing. Even the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, which left the business district in smoldering ruins, couldn't keep the city down. Pioneer Square was rebuilt and today is one of our most eclectic neighborhoods.

The 19th century Romanesque Revival brick buildings are filled with art galleries, cafes, independent shops, bars, nightclubs and office space. By day it's a vibrant retail area; by night, a bustling hotspot. Wandering visitors admire the Tlingit totem pole, the Pergola, cobble-stoned Occidental Park, the waterfall garden, historic King Street Station and the stately Smith Tower, once the tallest building in the world outside Manhattan.

Bill Speidel's Underground Tour
After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city was rebuilt over the top of the ruins. This guided tour takes visitors through the hidden subterranean passages that once were the main roadways and storefronts of old downtown Seattle and tells stories of the frontier people who lived and worked there.

5. Art & Architecture

Seattle Central Library | map
Designed by world-renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, the award-winning glass and steel structure of the new Central Library makes the building seem a little off-kilter and translucent - allowing passersby on the street to look in.

Seattle Art Museum | map
The newly expanded downtown Seattle Art Museum offers an outstanding permanent collection and notable special exhibits.

Olympic Sculpture Park | map
The Olympic Sculpture Park is a nine-acre open and vibrant green space for art. This new waterfront park gives Seattle residents and visitors the opportunity to experience a variety of sculpture in an outdoor setting, while enjoying the incredible views and beauty of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound. Admission is free.

9. Washington State Wines
About 35 wineries in the Puget Sound appellation grow more than 80 acres of vineyards. The Puget Sound appellation breaks down into three sub-areas: Woodinville, Seattle and North Sound.

Tasting rooms are within easy reach of the city, including the Hedges Cellars Tasting Room (the winery is in the Red Mountain appellation) in Issaquah and The Tasting Room, a cooperative venture near Pike Place Market. The E.B. Foote winery, one of the oldest in Washington, has a tasting room in Burien open several days a week.

10. Culture & Entertainment
Seattle embraces diverse cultures and creative ideas, and offers you unlimited opportunities to experience art, heritage and culture, all in a setting of rare natural beauty. What will you find? A thriving music, dance and theatre scene. Vibrant galleries and one-of-a-kind museums. Native American, maritime and pioneer history. Strong and diverse ethnic heritage influences. Fun festivals for every interest. We invite you to discover the creative vitality that makes Seattle such a great place to live and to visit.