Seattle, Washington’s Top 5

Pike Place Market

Reason to Go: It’s touristy, but even the locals love this market lined with little shops tucked away in a labyrinth of narrow walkways.

Tip: When it’s wet out, the crowds thin out and it feels more authentic. Right next to the entrance, eat at DeLaurenti, an Italian deli, wine and cheese shop.

Seattle Public Library

Reason to Go: This 11-story architectural marvel completed in 2004 is a glass-and-steel building that looks as if the steel is a net around the glass.

Tip: Visit the “Living Room” on the third floor intended for patrons to read. Then check out the “Books Spiral” where you’ll find the library’s non-fiction collection stretching continuously up four floors without interruption to its Dewey Decimal system.

Elliott Bay Book Co.

Reason to Go: Located in Capitol Hill, this bookstore, which opened in 1973, has been around much longer than Amazon and holds more than 150,000 titles.

Tip: Check the author reading series schedule in advance to coincide your visit with a talk. You can grab a bite to eat at the cafe here, which was Seattle’s first bookstore cafe.

Olympic Sculpture Park

Reason to Go: Set on 9 acres, this sculpture park is Seattle’s largest downtown green space.

Tip: After exploring, visit the Seattle Art Museum, one mile south.

Pioneer Square

Reason to Go: Down the street from Pike Place Market, you’ll find trendy restaurants, shops and galleries housed in late 1800s Victorian and Romanesque Revival buildings.

Tip: Go on Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour where you can explore subterranean storefronts and sidewalks built before the Great Fire of 1889. After the fire, the city built on top of the ruins.