The Ultimate Sports Fan’s Guide to Seattle

The Waterfront

Seattle’s waterfront is easy to get to from the light rail and is walking distance from many of the downtown hotels (you can also take a pedal cab from the stadiums south of downtown). Here you’ll find the Seattle Aquarium, the Seattle Great Wheel, and Wings Over Washington, which offers a virtual-reality aerial tour of the entire state.

Pike Place Market

A famous city landmark, the iconic market overlooks the waterfront (and frankly deserves its own entry!). If you’ve ever seen clips of fishmongers tossing salmon back and forth, this is where it happens. The market also has fresh produce and flower stalls, restaurants, specialty food shops, craftspeople, and street performers.

Seattle Center

Home to the city's most easily identifiable landmark, the Space Needle, Seattle Center is also the site of Climate Pledge Arena. It also hosts the Pacific Science Center (great for kids) and the Museum of Pop Culture (great for everyone).

Pioneer Square

Pioneer Square’s 19th-century brick buildings are full of art galleries, coffee shops, diverse bars, and a wide array of places to eat. History buffs will enjoy the underground tours and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park-Seattle Unit, which preserves Seattle’s role in the late 1890s Klondike Gold Rush.

Boeing Museum of Flight

Located at Boeing Field (not Seattle-Tacoma International Airport), the Museum of Flight is the largest private air and space museum in the world. It has more than 150 aircraft in its collection, many of which you can walk through, including the first airworthy 747 and the first jet-powered presidential jet.

Day trips

• Snoqualmie Falls: This 268-foot waterfall, one of the state’s most popular scenic attractions, is in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. Salish Lodge and Spa is right next to the falls with a restaurant, lodge, and café, and the City of Snoqualmie is a mile down the road, with more dining options, museums, and shops.

• Bainbridge Island: Walk on a ferry at Seattle’s Coleman Dock, near the city center, and in 35 minutes you can trade the city bustle for a small-town experience on Bainbridge Island and take in the best view of Seattle’s skyline. The ferry arrives at Winslow, where there are shops and restaurants to explore, as well as bike rental shops for exploring the rest of the island, such as the 150-acre Bloedel Reserve.

• Victoria, BC: It might look far on the map, but a high-speed ferry runs from downtown Seattle’s waterfront to Victoria’s Inner Harbour in about three hours. You could go there and back, spending six hours in Victoria, or do an overnight stay—of course, you might decide that Victoria deserves more than just a quick visit!

Game day

• The Boxyard: This is a complex of three venues across the street from T-Mobile Park and a block away from Lumen Field. Hatback Bar & Grille features elevated game-day favorites, Steelheads Alley has an onsite brewery with a menu of bar food and walls full of memorabilia commemorating Northwest baseball and softball, and Victory Hall hosts an all-ages indoor/outdoor beer garden during Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders home games.

• Occidental Hall: One of the newer and larger spots right across the street from Lumen Field, it has two levels of seating along with its full menu and beer/drink selection. It naturally gets pretty busy on game days, but the service is fast and friendly. The same company runs Queen Anne Beer Hall near Climate Pledge Arena.

• Flatstick Pub: If your game-day plan calls for a light rail train heading north from the stadiums, this is one of our secrets for waiting out crowded station platforms! A few blocks north of Lumen Field, Flatstick serves pizza, wings, salad, and local beers and features indoor mini golf.

• Buckley’s on Queen Anne: If you’re in Seattle for hockey or basketball, Buckley’s is just a few blocks west of Climate Pledge Arena. The menu includes elevated sandwiches, tacos, salads, and appetizers, as well as weekend brunch.

Don’t miss

• Crab Pot: For a unique, memorable Northwest seafood experience, the Crab Pot is tough to beat. The Seafeasts are heaping bowls of seafood steamed with corn on the cob and red potatoes, poured out onto butcher paper covering your table—fear not, they give you a mallet to help with the shells and a bib to keep from making too much of a mess!

• Ivar’s Acres of Clams: In addition to its chain of fast-casual seafood joints (and stadium concession stands), Ivar’s also has full-service waterfront restaurants, including Acres of Clams at its completely renovated flagship location at Pier 54. The restaurant serves wild Alaskan salmon, deep-water halibut, Alaska king and Dungeness crab, prawns, clams, scallops, and more.

• Metropolitan Grill: The Met is a classic upscale steakhouse, complete with the marble bar, velvet trimmings, and attentive, top-notch service. Yes, it serves Japanese A5 beef, but even the top sirloin is USDA Prime and prepared to perfection.

• The Athenian: Yes, part of the reason we take visitors to The Athenian is that it appears in Sleepless in Seattle, and we think that’s a fun piece of trivia. But the real reason is the excellent seafood, all-day breakfast, and its postcard-worthy views over the water from its spot in the heart of Pike Place Market.