Category: Seattle

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Visit Seattle guide | Amazing ideas for a great day trip

visit seattle: space needle

Find out how to visit Seattle with this helpful guide full of information and insights!

Radical Storage is always ready to offer you valuable tips to make you enjoy your leisure or business trips.

If you have no idea what to do in the city or want to know the main attractions to visit in Seattle, this is just the guide for you!

Let’s look at some essential information about the city before getting into the details.

Seattle at a glance

  • Airport – Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (IATA: SEA, ICAO: KSEA).
  • Distance of the airport from Downtown Seattle – The airport is located in the municipality of SeaTac, about 23 km south of downtown Seattle.
  • How to get Downtown from the airport – You can use the Link Light Rail.
  • Currency – US dollar USD ($).
  • Time zone – USA (GMT-8). Check Seattle weather.
  • Climate -Seattle has a temperate and oceanic climate with cool, wet winters and relatively dry summers.
  • Best time to visit Seattle – We recommend visiting Seattle is in the summer, especially July and August, as they are the mildest, driest and sunniest months of the year. Spring is also an excellent time to travel to the city.
  • Information office address and phone – Seattle visitor information Center: 701 Pike St. Ste 800. Seattle, WA 98101. (206) 461-5840 | (866) 732-2695.
  • Three must-see attractions – Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and Museum of Pop Culture.

Visit Seattle guide | Make your Seattle vacation a fantastic memory

Seattle is the capital of culture and a world-class city located in the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks to its incredible atmosphere and attractions, the city has become a premier destination for all kinds of people.

So, today, whether you’re looking for an urban exploration or outdoor adventure, Seattle combines it all into a unique visiting experience.

Seattle is for family fun opportunities, young people who want to discover the history of grunge music, and those who love food tours. Don’t forget to try the distilleries food tours!

Anyway, you should also peel Seattle back beyond the main tourist sights as the city has so much more to offer.

Visit Seattle guide |How to get around Seattle

A good travel guide cannot explain how to get around the city.

So, before we talk about Seattle art museums or Chihuly Garden, let us tell you the most convenient options to get around the city and comfortably reach your desired destinations.

Let us tell you right now that this city is straightforward to navigate and has many options that allow you to move from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Option 1 – Link Light Rail

Seattle Link light rail runs from Angle Lake Station to the University of Washington through downtown Seattle reaching 14 stations, including downtown Seattle and SEA Airport.

Trains depart every 6 to 15 minutes, depending on the time of day, taking about 40 minutes to travel between Westlake Station and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

With ORCA cards, an adult ticket costs from $2.25 to-3.25.

Schedule:

  • Monday: 5 am to 1 am (last train from the airport at 12:04 am).
  • Tuesday: 5 am to 1 am (last train from the airport at 12:04 am).
  • Wednesday: 5 am to 1 am (last train from the airport at 12:04 am).
  • Thursday: 5 am to 1 am (last train from the airport at 12:04 am).
  • Friday: 5 am to 1 am (last train from the airport at 12:04 am).
  • Saturday: 5 am to 1 am (last train from the airport at 12:04 am).
  • Sunday: 6 am to 12 pm (last airport train at 11:19 pm).

Option 2 – King County Metro Transit

Named for Martin Luther King Jr, King County Metro Transit provides buses in downtown Seattle and King County neighborhoods.

You can find all timetables and route maps on the King County Metro Transit website or the Transit Information Center in the tunnel under Westlake Center at 4th Avenue & Pine Street.

Fares: $2:75–3.25 (with ORCA cards).

Plus, you can download the mobile app for on-the-go information.

Option 3 – Seattle Streetcars

Seattle Streetcars have two lines: South Lake Union and First Hill.

South Lake Union connects the South Lake Union neighborhood to the heart of the Downtown. 

Schedule

  • Monday: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Tuesday: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Thursday: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Friday: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Saturday: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
  • Sunday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The First Hill line connects Link light rail at the Capitol Hill and International District and Metro Transit buses.

Schedule:

  • Monday: 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
  • Tuesday: 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
  • Wednesday: 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
  • Thursday: 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
  • Friday: 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
  • Saturday: 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
  • Sunday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fares: Adult ticket $2.25 (coins, credit, ORCA cards) and $4.50 (all-day pass).

Option 4 – Seattle Center Monorail

Seattle Center Monorail provides a convenient link between Downtown and Seattle Center, where you’ll find the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, the Pacific Science Center, and The Children’s Museum.

Trains depart every 10 minutes from Westlake Center Station and Westlake Center Station. 

One-way fare: adults ticket $2.50

Operating hours change depending on the time of year. For example, May through December: Mon-Fri, 7:30 am to 11 pm; Sat-Sun, 8:30 am to 11 pm. From January to May: Mon-Thu, 7:30 am to 9 pm; Fri, 7:30 am to 11 pm: Sat, 8:30 am to 11 pm; Sun, 8:30 am to 9 pm.

Option 5 – Bike

If you want to use a greener way to get around the city, renting a bike is your best option.

There are several ways to do this, one is Uber’s app (by selecting the bike icon), and the second is Lime‘s service that allows you to unlock a vehicle for just $1!

Option 6 – Taxis or ride-sharing

As we have often told you in our articles, the most convenient and fastest way to get around in big cities is to book a taxi.

Unfortunately, it’s also the most expensive option, but if you’re traveling with a group of people, it can become a great deal!

With a taxi, you can get straight to your hotel or avoid being late for a business meeting.

If you’re at the airport, you’ll find several cabs on the third floor of the parking lot.

Instead, if you’re moving from one neighborhood to another in downtown Seattle, then you can rely on more convenient platforms like Lyft or Uber.

Visit Seattle guide | Things to do in Seattle

seattle in a day: guide

Seattle travel Restrictions – check the official state website to get real-time updates.

Before buying or searching for a Seattle sightseeing map, you should know what places are worth visiting in the city.

So, use our tips as your map guide to unique Seattle or download the Seattle city map pdf version.

Pike Place Market

The perfect Seattle travel guide can’t miss the most popular place in the city!

For more than a century, Pike Place Market has been considered by many the city’s soul.

The market lures 10 million people per year thanks to its farm-fresh produce an abundance of shops, bars, and restaurants.

Attractions Pike Place | Opening hours

Each vendor will have different hours of operation, but in general, the market is open from 9 am to 6 pm.

If you need to go to a specific vendor, we recommend seeing their website for exact opening hours.

Some of the restaurants and bars in the market are also open after 6 pm.

Pike Place Market is one of Seattle’s free attractions, and it’s located near Westlake Station.

Space Needle

The Space Needle is one of the most famous landmarks in Seattle, Washington.

Built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World’s Fair, the tower was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.

The Space Needle has an observation deck 520 feet above the ground that offers excellent views of downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and various islands in Puget Sound.

You can reach the top of the building by elevators in 41 seconds!

Getting to the Space Needle: reach the Seattle Center station (Seattle Monorail)!

Museum of Pop Culture

This nonprofit museum is dedicated to contemporary pop culture and is situated in a 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry-designed building.

Founded by Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) in 2000 as the Experience Music Project, MoPOP has prepared several exhibitions toured across the US and the globe.

Schedule: every day 10 am –5 pm (Closed Wednesdays).

Plan-ahead pricing – save money.

The museum is easily accessible from the Seattle Center station (Seattle Monorail).

Seattle Aquarium

Are you traveling with your kids, or do you love nature and animals? Then you definitely can’t forget to visit the Seattle Aquarium!

Take a photo of the most beautiful animals in the deep sea and discover all their secrets!

Seattle Aquarium is open daily, from 9:30 am to 6 pm. Last entry at 5 pm.

The café opens daily from 9:30 am to 4 pm. Rember that outside food is allowed in designated areas only.

The gift shop is open from 10 am to 6 pm.

Tickets & reservations.

How to reach this place – One of the fastest ways to get to the aquarium by public transportation is to get off at University St Station.

Pioneer Square

Regarded as the city’s “first neighborhood,” Pioneer Square is the very place where Seattle was born.

This neighborhood features lovely Renaissance architecture, many unique boutiques, and small restaurants where you can enjoy great local food.

If you love nightlife or are on vacation with your friends, this is one place you should visit!

And if you’re here on a Thursday, don’t miss the First Thursday Art Walk, the very first Art Walk in the USA!

You can reach Pioneer Square by getting off at King Street Station or walking from Downtown south to Smith Tower.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

Have you seen all of Seattle’s top attractions? Perhaps, you may have missed this museum!

The Chihuly Garden and Glass is one of the unique places in town, where you can spend a couple of hours admiring the studio glass of Dale Chihuly.

We recommend that you always check the opening hours on the official website, as occasionally the Greenhouse may be closed for private events while the rest of the Exhibition and Garden remain open.

The museum is located Downtown, very close to the Pacific Science Center and the Space Needle.

Olympic Sculpture Park

Olympic Sculpture Park is another must-see attraction if you’re visiting Seattle.

This park opened in 2007 and is operated by SAM – Seattle Art Museum.

It spans 9 acres and houses an outdoor sculpture museum, an indoor pavilion, and a lovely beach-.

It’s located in Belltown, so it is easily accessible from any city area.

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