Must-see entertainment in Seattle

  • Crocodile

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    Nearly old enough to be called a Seattle institution, the Crocodile is a clamorous 560-capacity music venue that first opened in 1991, just in time to…

  • Grand Illusion Cinema

    Seattle

    Totally unique! Far from being a reincarnated Gilded Age movie house, the Grand Illusion sits in an old dentist's office. Run by volunteers and…

  • A Contemporary Theatre

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    One of the three big theater companies in the city, the ACT fills its $30 million home at Kreielsheimer Pl with performances by Seattle's best thespians…

  • Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    Hidden in an unlikely spot behind a boring-looking office building is Seattle’s most sophisticated and prestigious jazz club. Dimitriou’s hosts the best…

  • McCaw Hall

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    Home of the Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet, this magnificent structure in the Seattle Center was given a massive overhaul in 2003.

  • Theater in Seattle,US.

    Benaroya Concert Hall

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    With a bill of almost $120 million in construction costs, it’s no wonder the Benaroya Concert Hall, the primary venue of the Seattle Symphony, oozes…

  • SEATTLE, WA - JULY 20:  P Smoov and Rik Rude of the hip hop band Fresh Espresso perform in front of a packed Neumos during the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle, WA on July 20, 2012; Shutterstock ID 108380618; Your name (First / Last): Alexander Howard; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Western USA neighborhood POI highlights

    Neumos

    Seattle

    This punk, hip-hop and alternative-music joint is, along with the Crocodile in Belltown, one of Seattle's most revered small music venues. Its storied…

  • SEATTLE - JULY 5: CenturyLink Field, Seattle in July 5, 2012. It was originally called Seahawks Stadium but was renamed Qwest Field on June 23, 2004; Shutterstock ID 205880179; Your name (First / Last): Alexander Howard; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Western USA neighborhood POI highlights

    CenturyLink Field

    Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo

    The late, mostly unlamented Kingdome, long Seattle’s biggest eyesore, was once the home field for the city’s professional baseball and football franchises…

  • Seattle Sounders

    Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo

    Far and away the best-supported soccer team in North America with average gates of over 40,000, the Sounders joined the MLS (Major League Soccer) in 2009…

  • Triple Door

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    This club downstairs from the Wild Ginger restaurant is a Seattle mainstay with a liberal booking policy that includes country and rock as well as jazz,…

  • Seattle Opera

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    Seattle Opera is distinguished and diverse. Based at the McCaw Hall, it has hosted everything from Verdi's La Traviata to Pete Townshend's Tommy. It's…

  • Seattle Seahawks

    Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo

    The Seahawks play at CenturyLink Field and have the loudest supporters in the NFL. Honors remained elusive until the mid-2010s when they won the Super…

  • Pacific Northwest Ballet

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    The foremost dance company in the Northwest and one of the most popular in the US puts on more than 100 shows a season from September through June at…

  • Seattle Symphony

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    A major regional ensemble, the Seattle Symphony orchestra plays at the Benaroya Concert Hall, which you'll find downtown at 2nd Ave and University St.

  • KEXP

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    The new KEXP radio headquarters opened in the Seattle Center in December 2015 and provides a central gathering space for live music and parties, a see…

  • Paramount Theater

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    Saved from demolition and listed as a historic monument in the mid-1970s, the Paramount Theater dates back to 1928 and was restored to its Jazz Age finery…

  • El Corazon

    Queen Anne & Lake Union

    Formerly the Off-Ramp, then Graceland, El Corazon has lots of history echoing around its walls – and lots of sweaty, beer-drenched bodies bouncing off…

  • Nordo's Culinarium

    Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo

    A theatrical group with culinary inclinations, Cafe Nordo marries two themes in one – food and theater – putting on inspired plays-cum-dinner shows where…

  • Neptune Theater

    Seattle

    Providing an ideal pulpit for young indie bands and smirking comedians sharpening their teeth on the university-gig circuit, the Neptune, a historic…

  • Moore Theatre

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    Attached to a stately old hotel, the Moore is the city's oldest surviving theater (from 1907) and a piece of Seattle history. Its 1800-seater auditorium…

  • T-Mobile Park

    Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo

    Home of Seattle's pro baseball team, the Mariners, the $517 million T-Mobile Park (originally Safeco Field) opened in July 1999. With its retractable roof…

  • 5th Avenue Theater

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    Built in 1926 with an opulent Asian motif, the 5th Avenue opened as a vaudeville house; it was later turned into a movie theater and then closed in 1979…

  • Seattle Repertory Theatre

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    The Seattle Repertory Theatre (the Rep) won a Tony Award in 1990 for Outstanding Regional Theater. The largest non-profit resident theater outfit in the…

  • Husky Stadium

    Seattle

    With room for 70,000, the Husky is a scenic giant with splendid water and mountain views. Once Seattle's largest sports stadium, it has undergone four…

  • Sunset Tavern

    Ballard & Discovery Park

    One of the two pillars of Ballard's thriving live-music scene along with the Tractor, the Sunset has been spruced up since its grungy heyday and sports a…

  • Comedy Underground

    Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo

    The best comedy club in Seattle has shows most nights, with a second show common on Friday and Saturday. Talent is mainly local and there's a full bar,…

  • Atlas Theater

    Seattle

    Spend more than five minutes in Fremont and you'll quickly glean that it's got a healthy sense of humor. So it'll come as no bombshell to discover this…

  • Central Cinema

    The CD, Madrona & Madison Park

    Welcome to a bona fide dine-in cinema. What might be par for the course in Portland, OR, is a rare sight in Seattle, which makes this small neighborhood…

  • Showbox

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    This cavernous 1137-capacity showroom – which hosts mostly national touring acts, ranging from indie rock to hip-hop – reinvents itself every few years…

  • Market Theater

    Downtown, Pike Place & Waterfront

    The Market Theater is Seattle's bona fide improv comedy theater with shows staged by Unexpected Productions. It was patrons queuing for this theater who…

  • Chop Suey

    Seattle

    Chop Suey is a small, dark space with high ceilings and a ramshackle faux-Chinese motif. Reborn under new ownership in 2015, it now serves burger-biased…

  • Big Picture

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    It's easy to miss Big Picture when exploring Seattle's Belltown neighborhood. For those in the know, it's an 'underground' cinema experience with…

  • Seattle Mariners

    Pioneer Square, International District & SoDo

    Seattle's battling baseball team might not have enjoyed the recent success of the Seahawks (NFL) and the Sounders (MLS), but they're vociferously…

  • Tractor Tavern

    Ballard & Discovery Park

    One of Seattle's premier venues for folk and acoustic music, the Tractor books local songwriters and regional bands, plus quality touring acts. Music runs…

  • Tula’s Jazz

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    Tula’s is an intimate jazz club with live music seven nights a week, from big bands and Latin jazz to up-and-coming names on tour. It focuses mainly on…

  • Nectar Lounge

    Seattle

    This small and comfortable live-music venue in Fremont outgrew its humble beginnings to become a well-established club that includes a covered patio with…

  • Jewel Box Theater

    Belltown & Seattle Center

    The restored Jewel Box Theater, tucked away behind the sleek Rendezvous cocktail bar, has live music and independent theater events including burlesque…

  • LANGSTON

    The CD, Madrona & Madison Park

    LANGSTON is a new non-profit arts organization in the CD dedicated to 'cultivating black excellence.' It hosts programs at the Langston Hughes Performing…

  • Northwest Film Forum

    Seattle

    A film arts organization whose two-screen cinema offers impeccable programming, from restored classics to cutting-edge independent and international films…

  • On the Boards

    Queen Anne & Lake Union

    The place for avant-garde performance art, the non-profit On the Boards makes its home at the intimate Behnke Center for Contemporary Performance and…

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