Seattle

What trip to Seattle would be complete without a visit to the city’s most iconic landmark? Standing at a whopping 605 feet tall, the Space Needle offers 360 degree views of all the urban and natural beauty the city has to offer including Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges surrounding the downtown area. Enjoy a drink and light lunch in one of the structure’s two cafes while you take in the view, experience open air views on the upper level, and take a spin on the world’s only rotating glass floor on the lower level: a new feature that makes you feel like you’re walking on air! 

Experience an art gallery unlike anything you’ve ever seen at the Chihuly Garden & Glass! This sprawling art installation includes eight galleries, a botanical garden, and the signature “Glass House” exhibiting and celebrating the work of world-renowned glass sculptor and Washington native Dale Chihuly. While Chihuly’s art has been featured in gardens and galleries around the world the Glass House and Botanical Garden in Seattle are custom-designed to complement the colorful collection of giant glass sculptures housed within them.

Built on the site of the country’s last coal gasification plant this site is so much more than your average walk in the park. Recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, Gas Works Park has been called “one of the strangest parks in the world” and incorporates elements of the old gas plant into the park’s architecture. Popular for bicycling, events, picnics, and kite flying the park features an ornate, oversized sundial and a “play barn” for kids constructed in the remnants of the gas plant’s exhauster-compressor building.

Go figure the city that made Grunge music mainstream has a unique way to celebrate pop culture! MoPOP, the Museum of Pop Culture, features unique, revolving exhibits dedicated to popular music, movies, and video games, including tributes to hometown rock heroes Nirvana and Pearl Jam as well as galleries dedicated to horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films, and much more. 

Looking to support small, local businesses on your trip? Look no further than Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continuously operating farmers’ markets in the United States. Since 1907, this historic waterfront district has served as a hub for local farmers and artisans to sell their products to the community and thousands of annual visitors. Today the market hosts not only farmers and craftspeople but a wide array of collectible and antique shops, family-owned restaurants, and the oldest headshop in Seattle. 

One of Washington’s most popular natural tourist sites, Snoqualmie Falls, lays less than an hour’s drive from Seattle. Named for the Snoqualmie Tribe on whose land it sits, this 270-foot majestic waterfall is known for the spraying mist that surrounds its base, which the natives believed carried prayers to the heavens. The falls today are surrounded by a two-acre park and double-tiered viewing area to provide spectacular views and ample hiking space along the Snoqualmie River, but are still owned by the tribe and are recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Caught in the rain and looking for a good indoor attraction? It happens. Thankfully, Seattle is home to the world’s largest independent, non-profit air and space museum so you can spend a rainy day with your head in the clouds. The museum features over 175 aircrafts and spacecrafts as well as millions of historical photos and artifacts and an extensive library. Whether you’re a space enthusiast, a military history buff, or a kid who wishes they could fly there is something for everyone at this ever-expanding museum.