Some things to do in and around Seattle

Everything listed here is in Seattle unless otherwise noted; distances to other locations are approximate driving distances, starting from the UW Seattle campus.

Please send suggestions or corrections to Jack Lee.

Sightseeing

• Take a walk around the UW campus and visit the amazing Suzzallo Reading Room, the Drumheller Fountain with its view of Mount Rainier, and (for a couple of glorious weeks in March and April) the Yoshino cherry blossoms in the Quad
• Explore the trails and beaches at Discovery Park, Magnuson Park, Golden Gardens, Carkeek Park, or Lincoln Park
• Take a nature walk through the Union Bay Natural Area or the Arboretum
• Take a meditative walk through the Seattle Japanese Garden (inexpensive) or Kubota Garden (free)
• Take a walk around Green Lake (about 3 miles around)
• Go to Kerry Park and see the best views of downtown Seattle, the Space Needle, Elliot Bay, and Mount Rainier
• Go to the Ballard Locks and watch the boats go up & down and the salmon climb the fish ladder
• Visit Fremont ("the center of the universe"), and see the statue of Lenin, the Fremont Troll, and many funky shops
• See the colorful Black Lives Matter Street Mural, created in the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) zone during the summer 2020 George Floyd protests
• Shop or browse the Pike Place Market and visit the original Starbucks store, DeLaurenti's Italian grocery, and the Gum Wall (which everyone should see at least once, but maybe only once!)
• Walk around Pioneer Square, visit the art galleries, and take the Seattle Underground Tour
• Visit Seattle's Chinatown-International District
• Wander through the beautiful downtown Seattle Public Library
• Stroll through the free outdoor Olympic Sculpture Park
• Take the monorail from downtown to Seattle Center (site of the 1962 World's Fair) and go to the top of the Space Needle
• Go for a ride on the Seattle Great Wheel for spectacular views of the city and its surrounding scenery
• If you have a car, take a drive along Lake Washington Boulevard
• Watch Duck Dodge, a silly sailboat race on Lake Union at 7:00pm Tuesdays over the summer. Don't blink, it can be over in 10 minutes if it's windy. Free to watch!  Bring a picnic dinner to Gas Works Park and a blanket to sit on, or ride along with the Washington Yacht Club people. They dress the boat up with a different theme each week.
• Take a boat cruise
• Visit Snoqualmie Falls (29 miles east)
• Take a ferry from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island (35 minutes each way)
• Take a day trip to beautiful Whidbey Island (27 miles north with a 20-minute ferry ride)
• Take a day trip to Paradise, the most easily accessible spot in Mount Rainier National Park (112 miles southeast)

Physical Activities and Sports

• Rent a bicycle for a day and ride around Green Lake (3 miles), or follow the Burke-Gilman trail west to the Ballard locks (6 miles), or northeast to the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville (17 miles)
• The Cascade Bicycle Club organizes free group rides
• Go skiing or snowboarding at Snoqualmie Summit (54 miles east), Stevens Pass (80 miles northeast), or Crystal Mountain (87 miles southeast)
• Go cross-country skiing or snowshoeing at Snoqualmie Summit
• Go hiking in the mountains (unless it's summertime, stick with low altitudes). Here's a list of nearby hikes (roughly 20-50 miles east or northeast)
• Rent a kayak or paddle board at Agua Verde Paddle Club
• Rent a canoe or kayak at the UW Waterfront Activities Center
• Rent a sailboat at the Center for Wooden Boats (free on Sundays!)
• Take sailing lessons at the Washington Yacht Club (a UW sailing club run by students and crusty old sailors who believe all of the world should know how to sail and tie a bowline)
• Sky dive in a vertical wind tunnel at iFly Seattle (in Tukwila, 17 miles south)
• Go bowling or play pool or ping pong or video games in the UW HUB
• Go ice skating at the Kraken Community Iceplex
• Go rock climbing indoors (REI, Vertical World, Edgeworks, Stone Gardens, or UW's Crags Climbing Center for UW students only), or on the outdoor climbing walls at UW or Marymoor Park (12 miles east)
• Play handball, racquetball, pickleball, wallyball, squash, volleyball, or tennis at the UW Intramural Activities Center (guests may be admitted with a UW host)
• Go swimming at the UW IMA pool (with a UW host), Evans Pool at Green Lake, or Colman Pool in Lincoln Park. In late summer, you can swim in Lake Washington, for example at Magnuson Beach or Matthews Beach
• Go dancing: swing, ballroom, tango, or folk
• Catch a Husky sports event -- most sports are free for students to watch and they get the best seats!  Faculty can sneak in with a Husky Card too!
• Attend a professional sports event: the OL Reign, the Storm, the Sounders FC, the Seahawks, the Mariners, or the Kraken

Museums and Exhibits

• Asian Art Museum
• Boeing airplane factory tour in Everett (22 miles north)
• Boeing Museum of Flight
• Burke Museum (natural history and culture museum on the UW Seattle campus)
• Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center
• Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Discovery Park
• Frye Art Museum (free)
• Henry Gallery (contemporary art and photography on the UW Seattle campus)
• Museum of Glass in Tacoma (37 miles south)
• Museum of History and Industry
• Museum of Pop Culture at Seattle Center
• Northwest African American Museum
• Olympic Sculpture Park (free)
• Pacific Science Center at Seattle Center
• Puget Sound Navy Museum in Bremerton (1 hour ferry ride from downtown Seattle)
• Seattle Aquarium
• Seattle Art Museum
• Woodland Park Zoo

Arts and Entertainment

• Go out to a live music club -- check The Stranger's EverOut Listings
• See an improv comedy show: Jet City Improv near the University, Unexpected Productions at Pike Place Market
• See a play. Seattle has two major professional theater companies (ACT, Seattle Rep) and lots of excellent smaller theaters. See the The Stranger's EverOut Listings to find out what's playing. Also check out the UW School of Drama offerings
• See a touring Broadway musical at the 5th Avenue Theatre
• See a touring concert performance, dance performance, or play hosted by the Seattle Theater Group
• Catch a rock concert at Climate Pledge Arena (at Seattle Center), Marymoor Park (in Redmond, 14 miles east), Chateau Ste. Michelle (in Woodinville, 14 miles NE), or the Tacoma Dome (in Tacoma, 37 miles south)
• Seattle Center Festál presents free weekend multicultural festivals at Seattle Center, February through November
• See the Seattle Opera or the Pacific Northwest Ballet
• See a concert or dance performance at Meany Center for the Performing Arts
• Check out the free concerts at the UW School of Music
• Enjoy world-class jazz performances in intimate settings at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, The Royal Room, or Seattle Jazz Fellowship
• Go to the free First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square, first Thursday evening of every month
• See contemporary art by local professional women painters at Women Painters of Washington
• Attend an orchestra concert by the Seattle Symphony, the Northwest Symphony, Harmonia Orchestra & Chorus, the Puget Sound Symphony, the Seattle Philharmonic, or one of many other local ensembles
• Attend a choral concert by Seattle Pro Musica, the Seattle Men's Chorus, the Seattle Women's Chorus, or one of many other local choirs
• Go to a public lecture at UW, the University Bookstore, or Town Hall Seattle
• SIFF Cinema, an offshoot of the Seattle International Film Festival, shows new indie and foreign films year-round
• See a movie on a huge screen at the IMAX Theater at Seattle Center
• Check out Scarecrow Video, the largest video rental store in the country, just a few blocks from UW

Seasonal Fairs and Festivals

• Seattle Chamber Music Winter Festival in January & February
• Northwest Flower & Garden Show, February at the Seattle Convention Center
• Lunar New Year Festival in Feburary, Chinatown-International District
• Seattle International Film Festival, one of the top indie film festivals in North America, every spring
• Emerald City Comic Con in March
• University District Street Fair in May, right next to the UW Seattle campus
• Northwest Folklife Festival in May, multicultural arts and crafts festival at Seattle Center
• Fremont Fair in June, famous for the Solstice Parade with its body-painted naked bicyclists
• Seattle Pride Festival, in June
• Edmonds Arts Festival, June in Edmonds (14 miles north)
• Seafair Summer Fourth, July 4 on Lake Union, with fireworks and a drone show
• Bite of Seattle in July, food festival at Seattle Center
• King County Fair, July in Enumclaw (46 miles southeast)
• Indian Days Powwow, July at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
• Seattle Chamber Music Summer Festival in July
• Seattle Art Fair in July
• Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair, July in Bellevue (10 miles east)
• Seafair in July & August, with hydroplane races and the Blue Angels
• Bumbershoot over Labor Day weekend, a multi-disciplinary arts festival at Seattle Center
• Washington State Fair, September in Puyallup (43 miles south)

Food and Drink

• Go out to dinner at a restaurant near UW or one of Seattle's superb Black-owned restaurants
• Visit one of Seattle's excellent farmers markets operated once a week in various locations by Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets or the Seattle Farmers Market Association
• Have a picnic or barbecue at Gas Works Park or Ravenna Park
• Visit a microbrewery
• Visit a local distillery and taste some amazing craft spirits
• Tour the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville (14 miles NE)
• Shop at Uwajimaya Asian supermarket in the International District
• For Italian groceries, try DeLaurenti in Pike Place Market or Big John's PFI in the Central District (which some say is the best cheese shop in town)

About Transportation

You can get to most places in Seattle and surrounding areas by bus or light rail—Metro bus for Seattle and its immediate environs, Sound Transit for light rail and more distant bus destinations. The buses and trains are safe, clean, friendly, and usually on time. There's an online Trip Planner for Metro Transit and one for Sound Transit, and Google Maps usually gives excellent transit directions. If you rent a bicycle or sign up for the Lime bike sharing service, you'll find that Seattle is one of the best cities in the US for getting around by bike.

If you want to go to any of the islands in Puget Sound, the Washington State Ferries are fun and inexpensive for walk-on passengers.

For transportation to and from the airport, the cheapest method is Link Light Rail. For door-to-door service, try Shuttle Express, Lyft, or Uber.

There are still some places that are hard to get to without a car. If public transportation doesn't go where you want to go and you don't have a car available, you can always try Lyft or Uber.

Be sure to sort out your transportation needs before deciding where to go!