Recently our family spent a few days in Seattle, Washington. We can’t believe that after ten years of living in Northern California, we just made our way up to Emerald City. Seattle is famously known as the birthplace of Starbucks and grunge music, and it’s a major technology hub with the headquarters of Amazon and Microsoft. It’s located in the Northwest part of the U.S. and is beautifully surrounded by mountains, evergreen forests, and water.
We only had three days to explore the city, yet tried to squeeze in as many popular tourist attractions as possible (and did a pretty good job, I must say). So let’s take a look at some family-friendly activities in Seattle!
1. Spin on the revolving glass floor at Space Needle
Everyone is probably familiar with the famous Space Needle observation tower, an iconic attraction that has been drawing millions of visitors since 1962. Standing at a height of 605 ft (184 m), the tower has a 360-degree observation deck that offers breathtaking views of Downtown Seattle, the surrounding mountains, and nearby islands.
So our very first morning in Seattle, we started by walking to this famous Space Needle. We did a lot of exploring on foot during our Seattle trip and were happy with our hotel choice right in the city’s heart.
Starting your Space Needle visit journey with a glass-wall elevator ride, you enter the outdoor observation deck with floor-to-ceiling windows and glass benches. This definitely gives your experience a special touch or makes you more scared if you, as I am, are afraid of heights 😅.
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The most impressive part of visiting Space Needle was the Loupe (apparently, it has a name) – the world’s first and only rotating glass floor!
💡 Good to Know
Some things to consider while visiting Space Needle:
- You can buy tickets to Space Needle either beforehand online or at the kiosk at the entrance right before going in.
- If you get a package admission adding the Chihuly Garden and Glass visit, you can save $9.
- Kids under 5 get free admission.
- While you purchase a dated ticket, you must also select the entrance time (with a 15-minute window).
- Even with a specific entrance time, it took us approximately 20 minutes to get to the elevator.
- You get a complimentary digital photo with some different Seattle attractions backgrounds.
2. Watch the glass-blowing demo at Chihuly Garden
Chihuly Garden and Glass is an incredible exhibition that has found its long-term home on the doorsteps of Space Needle, Seattle. It was truly hard to believe that these showpieces were made of glass! Dale Chihuly has produced various series of artwork that have been featured in over 200 museum collections across the globe!
Watching the glass-blowing demo was a surprising bonus to visiting the Glass Garden and admiring the glass exhibition.
Expect to spend 45-60 minutes exploring the garden and add some time of you are staying to watch a live glass blowing demo.
You could also grab a bite on the garden’s outdoor patio, as they serve pizza and some beverages.
3. Take a ferry ride
As mentioned above, Seattle is surrounded by water, so it only made sense to take a ferry ride to one of the nearby destinations. You can choose between a short Seattle Harbor Cruise, a ride to one of the islands, or even a full-day Cruise to Victoria, Canada.
We opted for the 30-minute-long Ferry ride to Bainbridge Island and decided to take our vehicle with us to explore the area. The Seattle to Bainbridge Island Ferry has multiple departure times daily; getting your tickets beforehand and arriving at least 20 minutes before your departure time is recommended.
The girls were really excited to “take a boat ride” and enjoyed looking out the windows while comfortably sitting inside the ferry. As you can see in the picture above, it gets pretty windy and chilly when you step outside, so don’t leave your jackets at the hotel like we did 🫢.
4. Watch the Flying Fish at Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is Seattle’s original Farmers Market and has operated since 1907 (it is also one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers’ markets in the U.S.). Here you can find local fresh produce, crafts, and seasonal flower stands (we were right at the peonies bloom season).
One of the main attractions at Pike Place Market is watching a “Flying Fish” at Pike Place Fish Market. When a customer buys a fish, the fishmongers throw each other the fish while chanting in unison. Allegedly, the fish-throwing practice started as a prank, but these days it definitely became Pike Place Fish Market’s tradition and is very much enjoyed by customers and bystanders 🫢.
While we’ve been told that the best time to visit Pike Place Fish Market to see the “Flying Fish” is in the morning, we were lucky to witness this act in the afternoon at around 4 pm.
5. Walk to Pioneer Square
Pioneer Square is the oldest neighborhood in Seattle and was once considered to be the heart of the city. This historic area looks completely different from a busy Downtown with glass skyscrapers and is filled with art galleries (the biggest concentration in Seattle), boutiques, and coffee shops. This neighborhood is also known for holding various festivals and events.
While exploring Pioneer Square, we stumbled upon a secret Waterfall Garden Park, which is considered to be the birthplace of the famous parcel delivery company – UPS, founded in Seattle in 1907.
6. Visit Bainbridge Island
We also decided to explore the nearby Seattle areas and visited Bainbridge Island. This island city is only a 30-minute ferry ride from Seattle and is a great place to spend a relaxed day in a small town. Bainbridge Island offers various dining options, shopping, outdoors, and so much more.
Read more about Bainbridge Island in our post about day trips from Seattle, Washington.
7. Shop at Uwajimaya Asian Market
Explore the streets of Chinatown-International District and the adjoining Japantown-Nihonmachi District. This vibrant neighborhood is filled with restaurants, shops, and markets.
Our oldest daughter is obsessed with dragons, so she made sure we would capture all the giant dragons in the area 😅.
Don’t skip shopping at Uwajimaya Asian Market! Founded in 1928, Uwajimaya Asian Market is a supermarket with a great selection of imported or not items, to-go lunches, Asian snacks (we are big fans of Japanese snacks and everything with green tea or matcha flavor).
Don’t miss the chance to indulge in Royce, the luxurious Japanese chocolate brand renowned for its smooth texture and rich flavors. Royce boutique chocolate shop can be found right inside Uwajimaya Asian Market.
8. Enjoy fine dining
Seattle is a great city for fine dining, with a great seafood selection. As seafood lovers ourselves, we were happy with our pescatarian diet for a few days, trying oysters, sushi, and fish and chips! If you are in the mood for something fancy, please don’t forget to make your reservations in advance. Here in the picture below, we are enjoying our dinner at the waterfront restaurant AQUA by El Gaucho!
We also highly recommend a little Georgian cuisine cafe, Skalka, where you can savor freshly baked khachapuri, delicious boat-shaped cheese bread.
If you love coffee, Seattle is the place to be! It’s known as the coffee capital of the U.S. and for a good reason. We were happy to discover that every coffee shop we went to had amazing coffee. If you’re a coffee enthusiast, you are in for a treat!
9. Visit Poulsbo
We combined our Bainbridge visit with the trip to the little town of Poulsbo, just within a 20-minute drive from Bainbridge Island.
This Scandinavian-themed town was once inhabited by Norwegian immigrants; hence these days, it is called Little Norway of Washington. You’ll love to stroll down Main Street with colorful buildings, grab a bite at one of the cafes or spend some time at the Poulsbo Waterfront.
Read more about Poulsbo in our post about day trips from Seattle, Washington.
10. Visit Snoqualmie Falls
While we know that Seattle is surrounded by three National Parks, on this visit, we only wanted to mainly explore the city itself. But as nature lovers, we could not miss the opportunity to visit at least some of the local hikes. So we decided to check out the gorgeous Snoqualmie Falls, a 268-foot (82 m) waterfall located only within a 30-minute drive from Seattle. Absolutely is worth the visit!
Read more about Snoqualmie Falls in our post about day trips from Seattle, Washington.
Bottom line
If you’re planning a trip to Seattle, you won’t run out of things to do. From stunning views at the Space Needle to the bustling Pike Place Market, there’s something for everyone. Don’t miss the ferry ride to Bainbridge Island or the incredible Snoqualmie Falls. Despite a tight three-day schedule, we managed to soak up a fair share of what this dynamic city has to offer.
