Seattle

BossArky

I will be in Seattle soon for 6 weeks with work. Any suggestions on things to check out / avoid?

What about day trips to Canada / other cities?

What are the top 5 things I should see in Seattle?

Thanks.

lost_for_words

I've been to Seattle a few times while living in Vancouver and to be honest I was never that impressed with it.
I would however reccommend going to the Public Market (try to avoid busy Saturday mornings) and also the Experience Music Project (fantastic interactive museum). The EPM is right beside the Space Needle which I personally prefer at night time. Seattle is very walkable and nice enough to browse around but I found outside the city to be far nicer.

Make the trip up to Vancouver it will only take around 3 hours and border control going into Canada isn't much of an ordeal. You can rent a car easily enough and there are also regular buses. There is only one train connecting the two cities which is AMTRAK and I believe leaves Seattle around 7am and returns from Vancouver about 6pm, it's cheaper if you buy tickets in advance but I'd reccommend staying overnight in Vancouver.

You can also get the ferry from Seattle to Vancouver Island which would be worth it for the views.

If you want to get info on the Candian side let me know, I was working in tourism while there so know lots of things you can do.

BossArky

Hi lost_for_words, thanks for the great info below!

Yes, please give me some tips for the Canadian side. I am hoping to get in some snowboarding, visit a few cities in both Canada and the US (Seattle, Vancouver and where else ??? - is Salt Lake City too far??)

Also I was thinking about tracking down the Kurt Cobain memorial / his house for his 14th anniversary on April 5th.

Any info you can provide on anything (not just the above) is appreciated.

lost_for_words

BossArky wrote: »

Hi lost_for_words, thanks for the great info below!

Yes, please give me some tips for the Canadian side. I am hoping to get in some snowboarding, visit a few cities in both Canada and the US (Seattle, Vancouver and where else ??? - is Salt Lake City too far??)

Also I was thinking about tracking down the Kurt Cobain memorial / his house for his 14th anniversary on April 5th.

Any info you can provide on anything (not just the above) is appreciated.

Ok here goes.....

Kurt Cobain's house is on Lake Washington Blvd. East but is easily missed. The new owners have gone to great lengths to make sure it isn't treated like a shrine, so all you will see is a giant gate and a glimpse of the house beyond. There is a little green area beside the house with a bench that fans have engraved messages on to. Aside from that it is just a really pretty suburban area.
Try to avoid being downtown at night on your own, the last time I was there, there was a shooting about blocks behind me as I was walking down the street. There tends to be a lot dodgy people just hanging around.

If you fancied it you could probably get an easy enough flight to San Francisco, I know Alaska Airlines fly frequently and you can get a good deal easily enough, the flight is only about an hour. Other cities you can access in the States without too much effort are Portland, Oregon (there is supposed to be a fantastic massive book store there, although I never made it) and you could probably fly to Vegas easily too. Aside from that there are fairly long distances to cover before you'd get to a city of interest, Salt Lake City would be at least a 12 hour drive so you'd really have to fly.

As for snowboarding there would be a lot of opportunity within Washington State, there's the Cascade Mountains and Olympic National Park but somebody local would be better to ask about that.

As for Canada......(I'm secretly Canadian at heart)

Please make the trip to Vancouver it's fantastic, even if the weather at this time of year isn't so good.

Things to do
Walk/Run/Cycle/Rollerblade around Stanley Park on the Seawall
Go to the Aquarium
Get a coffee in Delany's on Denman St and sit on a bench in English Bay (people watching there is like a local pastime, great at the weekends)
Go to Stepho's on Davie St. for delicious Greek food
Take one of the little ferries across false creek
Go to Granville Island, the market is fantastic and there is also the Granville Island Brewery (excellent beer).
Art Museum
Browse along Robson St.
Music scene is along Granville St
Oh..go for breakfast at the Elbow Room Cafe on Davie St.
Walk down along the Waterfront for views of the harbour and Canada Place (Tourism office is also down there)
Go to Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classic chinese gardens
Museum of Anthropology out in UBC

For the snowboarding you can go to Grouse Mountain which basically is the city's back garden, you can see it from everywhere and at this time of year the snow is great and the views are amazing. Even if you don't snowboard there, go anyway just to have a coffee and look out over the city and the coastline. You can cross country ski, snowboard, downhill ski, ice skate, snowshoeing or just have lunch it'll be good either way.
For serious snowboarding you may as well make the trip to Whistler, it's hosting the 2010 Olympics so there is a brilliant buzz about the place. The drive up there along the coastline is pretty spectacular too as long as it's not misty out.

Depending on your budget if you stay in a hostel in Vancouver, I'd reccommend the HI Central (on Granville) it's right in the middle of things and caters for all ages really. They will be running all sorts of trips to Whistler and of course the infamous hockey nights, if you get to see the Canucks play you should definitely go, Canadians take their hockey very seriously, and their beer too
All the clubs and pubs are along there too, you can cross the road to the Samesun hostel for their pub, which is decent and friendly without overpriced drinks.
This crowd are a very good travel company and might be a good option if you are on your own and want to meet up with other people who want to go skiing/snowoarding

This post has taken on a life of it's own, but if I think of anything else I'll let you know or just pm me if you have any questions about transport etc.

BossArky

Excellent, thank you!

I arrive in Seattle next Monday, March 3rd. Once I'm settled in I will print off this info and check it out. If any questions pop up I will get back to you.

Thanks again!

JæKæ

The music scene is excellent in Seattle, not the greatest city though. Check the listings when you get there. The experience music project is worth a look for the interactive instrument section.
Green Tortoise is a nice hostel, across from the Public Market.
If you have time, pop down to Portland, 3-4 hours drive away. I love that place.