yes, i searched already. the only other threads i could find were 2-3 years old so i decided not to bttt, but i did read them.

i'm gonna be in seattle june 11-17th for a conference and am looking for stuff to do. i've gotten some info from other threads and other sites, but wanted the wolfpack alum viewpoint. i fly in early saturday morning (10ish) so i have most of saturday, all day sunday, and mon-fri nights. i'll be staying in the university district, pretty close to i-5, probably without a car.

i'm looking for some local bars/restaurants, specifically good breweries/brewpubs/local booze serving establishments, places with live music, and cool sights that i wouldn't find on the usual touristy lists, though i probably will do the needle/pike place market and maybe the underground tour. i saw lists of breweries on other threads, but have any closed since 08-09? Any good new ones open up? Are any of the museums worth a couple hours?

i'd definitely be interested in mt rainier or olympic np, but as i said, prob no car. i'd gladly fork over some cash for gas is any locals want to make a day trip on sat/sun.

also, what time does the sun rise/set in mid june? i'm trying to see what i can squeeze in on the weeknights and what i should push to sat/sun.

thanks for the help!!

5/6/2011 1:56:21 PM

im from there. i want to go back

5/6/2011 1:58:48 PM

that was incredibly useful. thank you.

5/6/2011 2:14:06 PM

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=234&month=6&year=2011&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1

5/6/2011 2:18:16 PM

Experience Music Project

Mariners game if they're home

Duck tour (one of those things that can go on land and sea)

Ferry to some of the islands in the sound




Also, contrary to popular belief, it actually rains very little there in the summers, so you shouldn't have bad weather more than 1 or days

5/6/2011 2:21:42 PM

Pike Place Market is also neat to go to

5/6/2011 2:24:51 PM

Pike place market is primo.

Also, eat at microbreweries. 95% of them have good beer and great food. Their waiters can be snotty though.

There used to be that baller gaming place down town too, but I can't remember it's name. They had the full size indycar mockups and stuff.

And whatever they say it's probably going to rain like 2-3x per day. Their weather is worse than Florida in terms of switching on a dime.

If you get some free time I recommend Mt.Rainier or eating in the space needle.

[Edited on May 6, 2011 at 2:40 PM. Reason : GAMEWORKS - that's their stupid name. It's like dave & busters on 'roids.]

5/6/2011 2:37:54 PM

oh yeah, i didn't even think about the Mariners.

any thoughts as to what the best couple microbreweries are? it looks like there are/were a bunch and I'd probably only have time to hit up a few, depending on their locations/hours.

5/6/2011 3:59:25 PM

i remember the keg being pretty good, but i think its a local chain

5/6/2011 11:17:32 PM

*added thread to my topics*

I'll be in Seattle July 11-18...Probably going to rent a car and drive to Portland for a few of those days.

5/11/2011 1:48:17 PM

^^^^ That gaming place is Gameworks. The Sounders games are also a blast to go to.

5/11/2011 7:21:44 PM

eat salmon

5/11/2011 7:25:28 PM

I used to date a girl who was in grad school at UW, and I spent a good deal of time in the city, especially the U-district. I think there's a decent bar scene near the university, but the mass transit is also good so you can get around.

Don't do Experience Music Project, I heard it's overpriced and not that cool from the locals. That said, if the weather is clear, and it should be in June, the space needle has really amazing views - see both their mountain ranges and the whole sound. Get to Pike Place, check out the brewery there. Good food and good beer IMO.

Quote :

"any thoughts as to what the best couple microbreweries are? it looks like there are/were a bunch and I'd probably only have time to hit up a few, depending on their locations/hours."

My fave is the Elyssian in Capitol Hill. I was at a conference in Seattle last year, and the conference center is near Capitol Hill I think. This place has great food and some really nice beers too.


[Edited on May 11, 2011 at 7:53 PM. Reason : Elyssian.]

5/11/2011 7:52:16 PM

I've seen a couple pictures of the Space Needle with Mt Rainier in the background, slightly to the right of the Needle. Seems to be a fairly famous shot. Anyone know where that was taken?

5/13/2011 5:03:06 PM

Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project

This place is AWESOME.

5/13/2011 5:03:40 PM

Im in Seattle right now. Just landed

5/13/2011 5:26:43 PM

My parents are going in July

5/13/2011 6:33:04 PM

I think my Grandpa went once in 1983

5/13/2011 6:41:38 PM

oh, i went back in 2003. and i think my grandparents went back in the early 90s too. oh my sister-in-law & her husband lived there for 2 years a few years ago.

[Edited on May 13, 2011 at 8:31 PM. Reason : MOAR!]

5/13/2011 8:30:52 PM

I've lived in Seattle for 3 years now from Raleigh. This is the info I gave a friend visiting Seattle/Vancouver on a 4 day excursion.

I am a lazy man, so I'm copying and pasting what I sent her.


"Ha, yes. I've had friends visit me all summer, so I've been tour guiding a lot.

I assume you are staying it a hotel in downtown Seattle. If so, don't take a cab. Take the light rail. It runs from 5AM to 12AM about every 10-15 minutes, depending on if its rush hour or not. It's at the very end of the airport, if you ask anyone they'll direct you. Cab = $40. Light Rail = $2 each. Take it all the way to Westlake Station, which is in the heart of Downtown Seattle.

Pike's Place Market is a must. Make sure you go to Pike's Place Chowder and Beecher's Cheese within the market.

Walk a block down to the waterfront piers. Avoid the Aquarium, it's subpar (Myrtle Beach was 10 times better than this place). If you keep walking further, you can catch a ferry to Bainbridge Island. Not much to do out there, but the ferry is a nice ride.

In the U-District there is a place called Agua Verde. It's a combination Mexican Restaurant/Kayak club. You can rent Kayaks for $15 an hour or $18 for a double and kayak the surrounding bays. You'll be able to go up close to a lot of the boat houses in the area (Sleepless in Seattle boathouse is somewhere around there) as well as the arboretum http://www.aguaverde.com/paddle_destinations.shtml has more info.

Visit Gas Works Park in Wallingford. Google it, it's worth it.

Visit Pioneer Square, but during the day. At night it becomes Meathead central. The underground tour is also there. It's a historical tour of old downtown Seattle. You would like it (she was an architect). Your Sister probably won't.

Visit the Bridge Troll in Fremont. There's also a Statue of Lenin a few blocks away from it.

Eat at Peso's in Queen Anne for Brunch. It's the best brunch in Seattle.

The Space Needle is okay. I feel like you kind of have to do it. There's a ticket that lets you go up twice, once during the day, and once at night. That may be worth it. However, do not eat at the Space Needle. The food is mediocre and overpriced.

The Experience Music Project is right next door as well (Your typical Gehry building, but with an insane amount of color).

Across the street is the Duck boat tours. I've never done it, but the tour will cover a TON of what I said in 1.5 hours.

Nightlife areas include Capitol Hill, Fremont, and Ballard. Downtown and Belltown are okay areas for Nightlife as well, but it's very clubby. The others are not so much.

With the car, you can drive about 2 hours to Mt. Ranier, Mt. St. Helens, or the Big Four Ice caves. Those are all good hikes.

Vancouver is alright. It's a Canadian Seattle. The only thing I could recommend doing is renting bikes and biking around Stanley Park. The train ride up there I heard was pretty amazing.

That's all I can think of for right now.
Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club Seattle
http://www.aguaverde.com
Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club, Seattle, Washington."

5/14/2011 3:16:24 PM

Also Crystal Mountain Ski resort is about 2hrs away. Its season ends at June 12th and possibly later. If you google Crystal Mountain shuttle, you'll probably be able to find a ride down there.

Go skiing/snowboarding in the middle of June during gorgeous spring weather. Its like giving a general 'fuck you' to everyone not being able to do that.

5/14/2011 3:22:23 PM

Also, Fhqwhgads. Don't rent a car to go to Portland. Ride the train. It's super cheap. It's also known as the Drunk train, because, well, everyone gets wasted on their way down to Portland.

5/14/2011 3:24:56 PM

Quote :

"Duck tour (one of those things that can go on land and sea)"

I went to Seattle at the beginning of April for a 3-day weekend. Since time was limited, we did a Duck tour - it was fun and, like someone else said, it covers a ton of ground for 1.5hrs. The drivers are pretty funny and get the riders engaged. Most of the other things I did were also suggested already - but I didn't do a Mariner's game and I really wish we could have. The Sounders games are supposed to be awesome too. And, of course, the EMP!

5/14/2011 3:37:14 PM

I was going to type out a big reply but fosheezie pretty much summed up the sights.

For food, use yelp. Don't waste your time eating at the breweries, or really even going to them. Almost all the local beers are available everywhere, you don't have to go to each brew pub to get em.

Anthony's is the best place for seafood, or rays next door. Don't get suckered into the shitty seafood restaurants on the piers. Pesos already mentioned, Purple is a great wine bar and restaurant, gorditos if you want a west coast burrito to die for, the taco stand behind the shell station on 103rd near Northgate for the best Mexican in the city, duk Li for dim sum (intl district), diner at the fisherman terminal for great old school breakfast.

5/14/2011 3:45:25 PM

I would tell you to get a crumpet at The Crumpet Shop near Pike's Place, but I heard that shit was closed for a few months for renovations. The cat whisperer should be around there thoughl, take his picture and he'll get upset. There's a quaint little arcade at one of the piers with a bunch of whack-a-mole machines. I thought the Experience Music Project was sort of lame. And I could take or leave the space needle. There are good cupcakes in Ballard. The Bainbridge Island/Port Townsend area is beautiful if you have time to take a ferry over.

5/14/2011 6:27:02 PM

There is a chocolate factory in the Fremont neighborhood called Theo chocolates. You can take a tour. The Fremont area in general is pretty cool

[Edited on May 14, 2011 at 6:34 PM. Reason : re]

5/14/2011 6:33:58 PM

Guh have to go to Seattle for a wedding next year.

5/14/2011 6:35:05 PM

Hotel is booked for Seattle.

Alexis Hotel http://www.alexishotel.com/

Its a Kimpton property so I'm sure it will be very nice. Was able to get a travel agent rate of $125/night. Seems like a great location

Just need a hotel for Portland now. Any suggestions? We have a bunch of restaurants in Portland we want to check out. If anybody is familiar with Portland, I would love to hear suggestions about where to stay. I guess we want to be near downtown. I know we want to check out Pine State Biscuits, Voodoo Doughnuts, the Waffle Window and some other restaurants we saw on the Cooking Channel

I really don't know anything about Portland though. Would be open to hear about hotels near the downtown area.

5/17/2011 2:29:14 PM

i have family in Seattle and Sequim (olympic peninsula), I try and visit them every couple years

definitely go to pike place market. don't miss the fish market, watch out for flying fish

go to the experience music project if you're into that kind of thing.. it isn't for everyone, but I thought it was pretty cool.

as for seafood, 2 favorites: Ivar's (right by the bainbridge island ferry) and Salty's (on alki beach across the sound). there might be better ones, but you can't go wrong with either of those

5/17/2011 3:17:54 PM

I kept hearing about EMP in this thread but never thought to check it out til just now

Wow, I am glad I did. They are having a Nirvana exhibit at EMP. I just happen to be married to (and going to Seattle with) a diehard Nirvana fan.

I just bought 2 tickets to EMP as a surprise. He'll love it. He loves all Nirvana documentaries and he'll absolutely be in heaven

5/17/2011 3:39:24 PM

I think I've finally made up my mind about the hotel in Portland

I made reservations at the Park Lane Suites in downtown Portland.

Has good reviews online and was able to get a 1 bedroom suite for $109/night

5/23/2011 11:14:13 AM

hahah I will be there the week after!

5/23/2011 11:59:10 AM

Ace hotel in Portland is awesome.

Ivars is the mcdonalds of seafood. See my post above. Saltys in alki is actually pretty good. So is Pegasus pizza in alki beach.

5/23/2011 12:17:12 PM

Ok I need help w/ figuring out transporation bt. the Seattle airport and downtown Seattle (mainly Alexis Hotel)

The websites I've been looking at are telling me to take the Link Light Rail. But it also says its a 10 minute walk from the airport. Is this somewhere that is connected to the airport or do you actually have to leave the airport and walk along a street? If we have a lot of luggage, I don't want to be lugging it down a sidewalk for 10 minutes.

thx

[Edited on June 29, 2011 at 4:51 PM. Reason : g]

6/29/2011 4:50:56 PM

Last time I went to Seattle I just hopped on the bus in front of the terminal to get downtown. Super easy and minimal walking with luggage involved.

6/29/2011 5:01:31 PM

The light rail is connected to the airport its only like 5.50 to get from there to downtown seattle

6/29/2011 9:08:46 PM

Quote :

"eat salmon"

my lady (from olympia, wa) eats it like 1-2 times a week

i think it's her #1 comfort food... i guess it's her "bbq"

6/29/2011 9:12:19 PM

The light rail is connected and covered, I use it all the time. Definitely use it since your hotel is downtown. Its cheap, clean, quiet and a really enjoyable ride.

6/30/2011 1:26:50 AM

Seattle is one of my favorite places to be

6/30/2011 1:30:06 AM

Quote :

"The light rail is connected and covered"

awesome!

I have a list of restaurants to try in Portland but not that many in Seattle

My parents told me to go eat at Etta's in Seattle but so far thats the only one on our list.

I know one day we are going to try and find the "Where Ya At" food truck in Seattle. http://www.whereyaatmatt.com/

6/30/2011 10:53:47 AM

it's too bad the Lusty Lady closed

you could watch live strippers and beat off in a booth :/

we didn't know this, though, and thinking it was a regular strip club walked through the door

an overwhelming smell of semen hit us in the face upon entering and we did a 180 and left

a google search immediately confirmed our worst fears

6/30/2011 11:23:21 AM

oh, kind of like Movie Mates in Greensboro

6/30/2011 11:28:42 AM

Chiso has fabulous sushi. Jade Garden for dim sum.

6/30/2011 11:29:24 AM

Movie Mates looks like a whore house



so, no, not like Movie Mates

6/30/2011 11:57:54 AM

Oh, I guess MovieMates closed??

My husband used to deliver food there and said it was the sketchiest of the sketchy

6/30/2011 1:15:40 PM

There are lots of food recommendations a few posts up with fosheezie and my earlier posts in this thread

6/30/2011 1:26:10 PM

Noen, have you eaten at Etta's?

6/30/2011 1:36:01 PM

Leaving on Monday....SO EXCITED

The weather for Portland and Seattle looks excellent...highs in the 60s. So ready to get out of this 90 degree weather.

7/7/2011 2:09:43 PM

I'll third the light rail. First time I went out the connector wasn't built yet and I took a cab (it was night) and that was Texa$ and lame. Light rail is enjoyable and cheap.

I think the needle is worth doing once but it's overpriced. Make sure the weather's decent or you'll be in for boring times. For some reason I still haven't done it at night so I can't comment there. I suspect it would be nice.

The Nirvana exhibit is freaking awesome (I'm a Nirvana fan) and worth the tram ride over alone. I haven't seen anyone mention it but the EMP has the Sci Fi museum included, and I think that's pretty cool. Some neat props and such in there and when you hit stuff you don't care about...keep walking.

I like the atmosphere in Pike's Brewery, and their beer, for what it's worth. There's also a Mexican place (apologies, I don't recall the name) a few blocks south of Pike's that has a decent view of the bay. It's in a terraced area. I thought the food was good but I might have been was most likely drunk so...

Duck tour is indeed fun, it's like any other duck tour but in Seattle. You really do see a lot. I've been meaning to take a seaplane tour but haven't had time.

Gameworks is indeed cool, and sells beer. If you like arcades and beer you should do that one night.

Have fun!

7/7/2011 2:31:37 PM

I love arcades...will definetly check out Gameworks while I'm out there

Yeah, my husband is really excited about the Nirvana exhibit. I already bought our tickets for it a couple months ago

I'm going to have to pull out my "cold" weather clothes for this trip.

Would I be ok w/ just jeans, a short sleeve shirt and a jacket in case it got too chilly?

7/7/2011 2:38:16 PM