Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront
A cavalcade of noise, smells, personalities, banter and urban theater sprinkled liberally around a spatially challenged waterside strip, Pike Place Market…
Must-see attractions in Washington
Belltown & Seattle Center
The Museum of Pop Culture (formerly EMP, the "Experience Music Project") is an inspired marriage between super-modern architecture and legendary rock-and…
Seattle
Even people with absolutely no interest in aviation have been known to blink in astonishment at Seattle's Museum of Flight, which takes visitors on a…
Ballard & Discovery Park
Hard to beat on a sunny spring day, this former military installation has been transformed into a wild coastal park, laced with walking trails and…
Belltown & Seattle Center
This ingenious feat of urban planning is an offshoot of the Seattle Art Museum and it bears the same strong eye for design and curation. There are dozens…
Belltown & Seattle Center
Opened in 2012 and reinforcing Seattle’s position as a leading city of the arts, this exquisite exposition of the life and work of dynamic local sculptor…
Belltown & Seattle Center
This streamlined, modern-before-its-time tower built for the 1962 World’s Fair has been the city’s defining symbol for more than 50 years. The needle…
Ballard & Discovery Park
Seattle shimmers like an impressionist painting on sunny days at the Hiram M Chittenden Locks. Here, the fresh waters of Lake Washington and Lake Union…
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo
Eloquently run by the US National Park Service, this wonderful museum has exhibits, photos and news clippings from the 1897 Klondike gold rush, when a…
Olympic Peninsula
The dramatic promontory known as Cape Flattery is the most northwesterly point in the lower 48 states. From the four observation points atop the wild,…
Seattle
A favorite hunting ground for runners, personal trainers and artistically tattooed sunbathers, scenic Green Lake Park surrounds a small natural lake…
Queen Anne & Lake Union
Almost everything you need to know about erstwhile Seattle is crammed into the refurbished Museum of History & Industry, the centerpiece of Lake Union…
Seattle
In Woodland Park, up the hill from Green Lake Park, the Woodland Park Zoo is one of Seattle’s most popular tourist attractions. Consistently rated as one…
Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront
While not comparable with the big guns in New York and Chicago, Seattle Art Museum is no slouch. Always re-curating its art collection with new…
Seattle
You don't need to pay museum entrance fees to see some of the best and most iconic art in the city. Fremont is an art gallery in and of itself, with…
Ballard & Discovery Park
Reason alone to come to Ballard – if the culinary scene and waterside parks weren’t enough – is this delightful surprise of a museum dedicated to Nordic…
Vancouver National Historic Reserve
Washington Coast
Situated within easy walking distance of the city center is Vancouver's most important historical monument, and also one of the most important statewide…
Central Washington
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a spectacular 614-sq-mile protected area of rough, crenellated mountains, glacier-gouged valleys, and – as the name implies…
Washington Cascades
Home to numerous trailheads and the starting point for most summit hikes, Paradise also holds the iconic Paradise Inn (built in 1916) and the massive,…
Washington Cascades
Ape Cave is a 2-mile-long lava tube formed 2000 years ago by a lava flow that followed a deep watercourse. It's the longest lava tube in the western…
Olympic Peninsula
Hosted by the Makah Indian Reservation, this museum displays artifacts from one of North America's most significant archaeological finds and is reason…
Around Seattle
Whether or not you recognize this wide and powerful waterfall from the opening credits of Twin Peaks, it's more than worth it to pull over and take in…
North Cascades
The Bald Eagle area is essentially the 10-mile stretch of the Skagit River between Rockport and Marblemount. After salmon spawn, their spent carcasses…
Washington Cascades
The USA's fifth-highest peak outside Alaska, majestic Mt Rainier is also one of the country's most beguiling mountains. Part of a 368-sq-mile national…
Northeastern Washington
The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center details the history of the dam and surrounding area with movies, photos and interactive exhibits. Free guided tours of…
Queen Anne & Lake Union
Unifying Seattle’s various bodies of water, freshwater Lake Union was carved by glacial erosion 12,000 years ago. Native American Duwamish tribes once…
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
Spokane
In a striking state-of-the-art building in the beautiful Browne's Addition neighborhood, this museum is well worth a visit. It has one of the finest…
San Juan Islands
Spencer Spit State Park is one of only four state parks on the San Juan archipelago. Two sand spits have formed a marshy lagoon that is a prime spot for…
Pioneer Square Historical District
Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo
Many important architectural heirlooms are concentrated in Pioneer Square, the district that sprang up in the wake of the 1889 Great Fire. Instantly…
Washington Coast
At this reconstructed fort, park rangers and actors in period costume skillfully summon the era from 1825 to 1845, when it served as headquarters of the…
Central Washington
This highly educational and entertaining museum is one of the state's best. It tells the story of the region from a geographic and historical viewpoint,…
Cape Disappointment State Park
Washington Coast
Cape Disappointment State Park (2 miles southwest of Ilwaco) is home to wild beaches, sea-smashed cliffs, the remains of Fort Canby and 8 miles of…
Northwestern Washington & the San Juan Islands
Halfway between La Conner and Mt Vernon, this renowned bulb producer has color-drenched fields of blooms as well as a truly spectacular display garden…
Washington Coast
This small but thorough museum draws kids and adults alike into hands-on displays about local animals and ecosystems, industries, cultures and treasures…
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center
The CD, Madrona & Madison Park
This Byzantium Revival building began life in 1915 as a synagogue for a congregation of Orthodox Jews. By 1969 the demographics of the neighborhood had…
Seattle
Founded in 1861, Seattle's university is almost as old as the city itself and is highly ranked worldwide (the prestigious Times Higher Education magazine…
San Juan Islands
In 1911 Robert Moran donated 7 sq miles of his property to create this park on the eastern saddlebag of Orcas Island. The park is dominated by 2409ft Mt…
The CD, Madrona & Madison Park
This wild and lovely park stretching from Madison Valley up to Union Bay offers a wide variety of gardens, a wetlands nature trail and 200 acres of mature…
North Cascades
Just south of Ross Lake, Diablo Lake is held back by the 389ft Diablo Dam. A pullout off Hwy 20 known as the Diablo Dam Overlook provides incredible views…
Olympic Peninsula & Washington Coast
Olympia's capitol complex is set in a 30-acre park overlooking Capitol Lake with the Olympic Mountains glistening in the background. The campus' crowning…
