Seattle, Washington
The rainy corner that built the modern world's plumbing
Seattle is a port city on Puget Sound that gave the world Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks and grunge, roughly in that order. It is green, wet, prosperous and quietly anxious about all three.
The Denny Party landed at Alki Point in 1851 and moved to the better harbour on Elliott Bay the next year, naming the town after the Duwamish and Suquamish leader Chief Seattle, whose people had been there for millennia. It was a lumber and shipping town, burned to the ground in 1889 and was rebuilt in brick a storey higher, then boomed as the outfitting port for the Klondike gold rush in 1897. Boeing arrived in 1916 and for most of the century Seattle was a company town — the 1971 bust produced the famous billboard asking the last person leaving to turn out the lights. Microsoft settled across the lake in 1979, grunge came out of the clubs in the late 1980s, Amazon set up in 1994, and the city has been growing, and arguing about growing, ever since.
It sits on a strip of hills between Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east, with Lake Union and the ship canal cutting through the middle. Downtown and Pike Place Market face the Sound; Belltown and South Lake Union, where Amazon built its campus, are just north; Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District are the old town to the south, beside the stadiums. Capitol Hill, up the slope, is the nightlife and the historic gay neighbourhood; Fremont, Wallingford and Ballard are the neighbourhoods north of the canal, Ballard with its Scandinavian past and its locks. Across the water, Bellevue and Redmond are the Eastside, Microsoft's country; West Seattle looks back at the skyline over the bay. Mount Rainier, on a clear day, dominates the lot.
The stereotype — flannel, coffee, rain, a certain passive-aggression — is broadly accurate. It is an outdoor city that spends the winter waiting for July: hiking in the Cascades, kayaking on Lake Union, the ferries to Bainbridge and the San Juans. The Seahawks' crowd noise is a matter of record, the Mariners have suffered longer than anyone in baseball, the Kraken arrived in hockey in 2021, and the Sounders and the Storm draw better than most cities' major sides. The music runs from Hendrix through Nirvana and Pearl Jam to Macklemore, and KEXP's studio is open to visitors. The food is seafood, Asian and Pacific Northwest — salmon, oysters, pho in the International District, teriyaki everywhere — and the coffee is taken more seriously than anywhere else in the country.
The hard parts are the grey, the cost and the homelessness. From November to April the sky is low and it drizzles most days; the light, not the rain, is what defeats newcomers. Tech salaries have pushed housing to something approaching San Francisco levels, and the tents in the city centre and along the freeways are the visible result of a housing shortage and a fentanyl crisis the city has not solved. Transit is improving fast — the light rail now runs from Lynnwood to the airport and out to the Eastside — but the freeway traffic is dreadful. What it offers is a prosperous, progressive, well-educated city surrounded by water and mountains, with wilderness an hour away and a summer, when it finally arrives, that is the finest in America.
Where People Live
Downtown & Pike Place
The market, the original Starbucks queue, the waterfront rebuilt since the viaduct came down, the Seattle Art Museum and the shops; the hills up from the water are steep enough to notice.
Pioneer Square & the International District
The brick old town of 1889 with its galleries, the underground tour and the Klondike museum, then the Chinatown-International District's dim sum, pho and Uwajimaya, beside the two stadiums.
Capitol Hill
The nightlife, the music venues, Pike/Pine's bars and restaurants, the rainbow crossings, Volunteer Park and the light-rail station that made it the most convenient neighbourhood in the city.
South Lake Union & Queen Anne
Amazon's campus, the Spheres and the biotech offices around the lake, the Museum of History and Industry on the water, and Seattle Center — the Space Needle, the arena, the Chihuly glass — under Queen Anne hill.
Fremont, Wallingford & Ballard
North of the canal: Fremont's troll and Sunday market, Wallingford's family streets, and Ballard's breweries, Nordic Museum, locks and Sunday farmers' market. Where thirty-somethings settle.
The University District
The University of Washington's cherry-tree quad and the Ave's cheap eats, with the Burke Museum and the Henry gallery; light rail links it to downtown in ten minutes.
West Seattle
Alki Beach, the skyline view across Elliott Bay and a small-town main street on California Avenue; the bridge closure of 2020–22 taught it how separate it can feel.
Bellevue & the Eastside
Across Lake Washington: Bellevue's glass downtown and Asian food, Redmond's Microsoft campus, Kirkland's waterfront, and the suburbs where the tech money lives. Now on the light rail.
Must-see attractions
Washington National Golf Club
14330 SE Husky Way, Auburn, WA 98092
Pike Place Market
86 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101
Restaurants & places to go
Athletic Form
fitness gyms, fitness clubs, athletic clubs, athletic gyms · athleticform.us
Golfinch Tavern at Four Seasons, Seattle
bars, taverns, Four Seasons restaurants, luxury restaurants · goldfinchtavern.com
Harbor Square
fitness gyms, fitness clubs, athletic clubs, athletic gyms · harborsquare.com
Lamborghini Seattle
Lamborghini Bellevue Washington · lamborghiniofbellevue.com
Q Nightclub
1426 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122 · qnightclub.com
Airports
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) 11 mi to the centre
17801 International Blvd, Seattle, WA 98158 — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 33 airlines (Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines…) · direct flights to 90 destinations incl. London, Atlanta, Denver, Beijing, Honolulu… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 33 airlines, 90 direct destinations
- Alaska Airlines AS (737-800, Dash 8-400, 73J, 737-700, 737-900, 734…) · 69 routes: Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Bellingham*, Billings*, Boise*, Boston, Bozeman*, Burbank, Calgary*, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Edmonton*, Eugene*, Fairbanks, Fort Lauderdale, Fresno, Great Falls*, Honolulu, Houston, Juneau, Kahului, Kalispell*, Kansas City, Kelowna*, Ketchikan, Kona, Las Vegas, Lewiston*, Lihue, Long Beach*, Los Angeles, Medford*, Minneapolis, Missoula*, New York*, Newark, Oakland … +29 more
- American Airlines AA (737, A320, A321, 737-800, 757, A319…) · 27 routes: Beijing*, Boston*, Burbank*, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver*, Kansas City*, Ketchikan*, London, Long Beach*, Los Angeles*, Miami, New York, Newark*, Oakland*, Ontario*, Orlando*, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento*, San Diego*, San Francisco*, San Jose*, Santa Ana*, St. Louis*, Vancouver*
- Delta Air Lines DL (757, 76W, 737-800, 737-900, 757-300, 73J…) · 21 routes: Amsterdam, Anchorage*, Atlanta, Beijing, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston*, Las Vegas*, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Paris, Salt Lake City, San Diego*, San Francisco*, Seoul*, Shanghai, Tokyo, Tokyo, Vancouver*
- United Airlines UA (737-900, A320, 737-800, A319, 757-200, A330-300…) · 13 routes: Anchorage, Chicago, Denver, Frankfurt*, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, Portland*, San Francisco, Seoul*, Tokyo*, Vancouver*, Washington
- Southwest Airlines WN (737-700, 73C, 737-300, 737-800) · 12 routes: Albuquerque, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Oakland, Phoenix, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Jose
- AirTran Airways FL (737-700, 73C, 737-800) · 10 routes: Baltimore*, Chicago*, Denver*, Las Vegas*, Milwaukee*, Oakland*, Phoenix*, Sacramento*, Salt Lake City*, San Diego*
- US Airways US (A320, A321, 737-800, 757, A319, 747-400) · 8 routes: Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Taipei
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (76W, 330, 737, 757-300, 767-300) · 5 routes: Amsterdam*, Atlanta*, Honolulu*, Ketchikan*, London*
- Air France AF (76W, A330-200, 737-900, 757-300, 757) · 4 routes: Atlanta*, Honolulu*, London, Paris*
- JetBlue Airways B6 (A320, 777-300ER) · 4 routes: Boston, Dubai, Long Beach, New York
- Air Canada AC (Embraer 190, Dash 8-300) · 2 routes: Toronto, Vancouver*
- Alitalia AZ (A330-200, 737-900, 757, 76W) · 2 routes: Atlanta*, Paris*
- China Eastern Airlines MU (A330-200, 76W) · 2 routes: Beijing*, Shanghai
- Hawaiian Airlines HA (A330-200) · 2 routes: Honolulu, Kahului
- Virgin America VX (A319, A320) · 2 routes: Los Angeles, San Francisco
- AeroMéxico AM (737-900, 757, 76W) · 1 route: Atlanta*
- All Nippon Airways NH (787-8) · 1 route: Tokyo
- Asiana Airlines OZ (A330-300) · 1 route: Seoul
- British Airways BA (747-400, 777) · 1 route: London
- China Southern Airlines CZ (76W) · 1 route: Beijing*
- Condor Flugdienst DE (767) · 1 route: Frankfurt
- Copa Airlines CM (A320) · 1 route: Houston*
- Emirates EK (777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai
- EVA Air BR (747-400) · 1 route: Taipei
- Finnair AY (747-400, 777) · 1 route: London
- Frontier Airlines F9 (A319, A320) · 1 route: Denver
- Hainan Airlines HU (787) · 1 route: Beijing
- Iberia Airlines IB (747-400) · 1 route: London*
- Icelandair FI (75W) · 1 route: Keflavik
- Korean Air KE (777-200, 777-300ER) · 1 route: Seoul
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A330-300, A340-300) · 1 route: Frankfurt
- Sun Country Airlines SY (737-800, 737-700) · 1 route: Minneapolis
- Virgin Atlantic Airways VS (76W) · 1 route: London
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
King County International Airport - Boeing Field (BFI) 5.7 mi to the centre
Seattle, WA, US — Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day. ✈ 1 airline (Kenmore Air) · direct flights to 2 destinations incl. Eastsound, Port Angeles (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 1 airline, 2 direct destinations
- Kenmore Air M5 (CNC) · 2 routes: Eastsound, Port Angeles
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Paine Field (PAE) 21 mi to the centre
3220 100th St SW, Everett, WA 98204 — Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day.
Bremerton National Airport (PWT) 22 mi to the centre
Bremerton, WA, US — Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day.
Renton Municipal Airport (RNT) 9.4 mi to the centre
Renton, WA, US — Indoor waiting area, but you walk out to the aircraft to board — bring an umbrella or a coat if the forecast is poor.
Vashon Municipal Airport 12 mi to the centre
Vashon, WA, US
Getting there by ferry
Seattle
Ferry terminal · 0.5 mi from the centre · Washington State Ferries
Seattle Waterfront
Ferry terminal · 0.5 mi from the centre · Argosy Cruises
Washington State Ferries Terminal
Ferry terminal · 0.5 mi from the centre · Washington State Ferries
West Seattle, Vashon Island Water Taxi
Ferry terminal · 0.6 mi from the centre · King County Ferry District
West Seattle Water Taxi & Colman Dock
Ferry terminal · 0.6 mi from the centre · King County Metro
Vashon Island Water Taxi & Colman Dock
Ferry terminal · 0.6 mi from the centre · King County Metro
West Seattle Water Taxi
Ferry route · King County Metro
West Seattle Water Taxi: West Seattle
Ferry route · King County Metro
West Seattle Water Taxi: Downtown Seattle
Ferry route · King County Metro
Seattle–Bainbridge Ferry
Ferry route · Washington State Ferries
Seattle–Bainbridge
Ferry route · Washington State Ferries
Bainbridge–Seattle
Ferry route · Washington State Ferries
Vashon Island Water Taxi
Ferry route · King County Ferry District
WA 339
Ferry route · King County Ferry District
Local transit
King County Metro
Bus, streetcar · Seattle-area buses and streetcars; Sound Transit runs Link light rail. · Fares: ORCA card · Airport: Link light rail from SeaTac to downtown in 40 min
Sound Transit
Light rail, commuter rail · Link light rail, Sounder trains and express buses. · Fares: ORCA card · Airport: 1 Line from SeaTac Airport station
Community Transit (CT)
Bus · Washington · Schedules & GTFS data
Pierce Transit
Bus · Washington · Schedules & GTFS data
Washington State Ferries
Ferry · Washington · Schedules & GTFS data (official feed)
Trains & rail
Coaches & shuttles
FlixBus ← Vancouver, BC
Cross-border coach Vancouver–Seattle, about four hours including the border. · Vancouver, BC guide →
Seattle Children's Hospital Shuttle
Coach / shuttle operator
Greyhound
Intercity coach
Jefferson Lines
Intercity coach
MegaBus
Intercity coach
Trailways
Intercity coach
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.
Jet Linx
Jet card, management · Managed fleet across US bases · Locally based jet card and aircraft management with private terminals in ~20 US cities.
Blade
Helicopter, by-the-seat · Helicopters, seaplanes, jets via partners · By-the-seat helicopters Manhattan–JFK/Newark and the Hamptons; jet charter through partners.
Wheels Up
Membership charter · King Air 350i, Citation, Hawker, Global · US membership and on-demand charter; Delta Air Lines is a major shareholder.
Aero
Semi-private scheduled · Embraer 135 (16 seats) · First-class-only scheduled flights from Van Nuys to Aspen, Sun Valley, Cabo and Europe in summer.
Clay Lacy Aviation
Charter, management, FBO · Managed fleet, light to ultra-long-range · Charter, management and FBOs at Van Nuys and Orange County; the original Hollywood jet operator.
Tours & experiences
TOURS @ Climate Pledge Arena
Sightseeing
Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour
Sightseeing
Living Here
Getting about
- Sound Transit's Link light rail runs the 1 Line from Lynnwood through downtown to the airport and the 2 Line to Bellevue and Redmond; King County Metro runs the buses, including the RapidRide lines. An ORCA card or a contactless tap covers all of it, plus the streetcars and the water taxis.
- Sea-Tac airport is about forty minutes from downtown on the 1 Line, which is far more reliable than the freeway. Amtrak Cascades runs from King Street Station to Portland and Vancouver, and the Empire Builder to Chicago.
- Washington State Ferries sail from Colman Dock to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton, and are the best cheap thing in the city. The centre is walkable but hilly; cycling is good on the trails and better with an electric assist.
- A car is useful for the mountains and unnecessary downtown; I-5 and the 520 and I-90 bridges are choked at rush hour, and the 520 is tolled.
Health
- Harborview is the Level I trauma centre for the whole Northwest; UW Medical Center, Swedish, Virginia Mason and Seattle Children's are the other major hospitals, and Fred Hutch is a world cancer centre.
- Dial 911. Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies handle the minor things; urgent-care clinics take walk-ins. Visitors should carry travel insurance.
- Late summer now brings wildfire smoke from the Cascades and British Columbia, sometimes for a week or more; check the air quality before hiking. Winter is more about low mood than low temperature.
Work & study
- The University of Washington is the region's big research university and one of the country's best public ones, with medicine and computer science its strengths; Seattle University and Seattle Pacific are the private alternatives.
- Amazon and Microsoft, Boeing's factories in Everett and Renton, Starbucks, Costco, Nordstrom and Expedia are headquartered here or next door, with biotech, gaming, the port and aerospace suppliers around them.
- Washington has no state income tax, which is part of why the salaries go further than California's, though the housing takes back much of the difference.
Money & manners
- US dollars; cards everywhere and many places are cashless. Tip 20%. Sales tax in the city is a little over 10% and is added at the register.
- The 'Seattle Freeze' — friendly on the surface, slow to make real friends — is real enough that locals joke about it. Dress is outdoor-casual in every setting, and an umbrella marks a visitor; locals wear a hood.
- July to September is dry, sunny and glorious; November to April is grey and wet, with rare snow that paralyses the hills. Sunrise in December is close to eight and sunset before half past four.