The Best Seattle Walking Tour

Seattle is a gorgeous city surrounded by so many beautiful natural wonders. We found ourselves here on a day while prepping for our trip to North Cascades National Park. Of course we were drawn to the city known for coffee and having a general outdoorsy culture. Here are the things that we did during our day in Seattle that are totally worth the hype.

In total, this walking tour is around 3 miles, of course depending on how much you explore each destination 🙂  Most of these locations are pretty close together so you can choose to go in a different direction or start at a different point depending on where you are staying.

Pikes Place Market

Pikes Place Market is one of the main highlights of the city and trust me when I say, you definitely want to stop by here. Dedicate a bit of time here. We spent around an hour here, but you could spend all day here without trying. There are several floors of vendors ranging from local fishermen and farmers to vintage bookstores, and watercolor artists. Many floral shops sell gorgeous flower bouquets for cheap prices.

There were so many unique items to buy everywhere. We bought some fresh Washington cherries for $4 that were some of the best cherries we’ve ever had. We meandered throughout the market munching on cherries and looking at all the beautiful goods. One of my favorites shops was of a local artist that sold his watercolor artworks of mountains.

Gum Wall

Another thing at Pike Place you must see is Gum Wall. This alley is covered in hundreds of thousands pieces of gum. It even smells a little bit like minty and fruity gum. It’s a good place for a picture. A bit strange, and a bit unique, but worth seeing while you’re in the area.

Olympic Sculpture Park

Olympic Sculpture Park is located near the waterfront just west of the Space Needle. This is a unique park with large metal and stone sculptures throughout. The park is free and associated with the Seattle Museum of Art. There are several seating areas in the park and also beautiful waterfront views.

Pocket Beach

Pocket Beach is located within the Olympic Sculpture Park and is down on the Puget Sound. It is a tiny little beach, hence the name “pocket beach.” It’s rocky and has many large logs for sitting and enjoying the sound of the water washing up on the shore. It is peaceful despite being within the city. We enjoyed sitting here and exploring the small plants and animals living among the rocks at the shore.

Space Needle Complex

The Space Needle is located in the Queen Anne neighborhood which is north of Belltown and Downtown. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World Fair and is a distinctive feature of Seattle. Surrounding the Space Needle is the Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle Center, International Fountain, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and the Seattle Children’s Museum. We walked around the area and even though we didn’t go up the Space Needle, we were able to spend some time walking around the area and seeing many of the unique buildings in the area. If you choose to go up the Space Needle, it is currently $35 for adults. Current information can be found here.

Amazon Spheres

The Amazon Spheres were completed at the end of 2016 and are located in downtown Seattle. These spheres are made completely of glass panels and take up a city block. They are owned by Amazon. Inside is a massive garden of over 40,000 plants. Being made of glass, you are able to see many plants and workspaces from outside. Access to the spheres is mainly for Amazon employees, but members of the public can visit on the first and third Saturdays of each month.

Seattle Public Library

The Seattle Public Library-Central Library has a beautiful exterior that we wanted to see. The inside of the library is also supposed to be nice, but we were unable to see the inside while we were there. Being within downtown, it is worth walking by to see the unique arrangement of glass panels.

Ivar’s Fish Bar

Ivar’s was one of my highlights of our day in Seattle! Ivar’s Fish Bar is a Seattle-based seafood chain. The location we went to was a takeaway counter near Pier 54 in downtown Seattle.   Legend has it that Ivar was a sailor that was known to care for the seagulls and feed them French fries. Since this is part of their legend, there are picnic tables along the entire pier to sit where you can feed the seagulls French fries if you wish.

We got their signature fish and ships and sat with the seagulls. The seagulls are a little shy and will keep at a distance if you choose not to feed them. However, if you decide to feed them, they will be very happy 🙂  If you throw a fry in the air, they will catch it. They were really cute. It was a nice dining experience with the seagulls and the sound of the water and totally something worth doing.

Bainbridge Island

We loved visiting Bainbridge Island and were surprised at how quiet and serene it was. The ferry ride itself was worth the gorgeous views of the city. Our separate post on Bainbridge Island can be found here.

Blog Post: 5 Things You Must Do on Bainbridge Island

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Overall, these are the things that you should not miss while in Seattle! There are so many beautiful things in the Seattle and many that we have not been to yet, but these should definitely be on your list for your next visit. Any other places in Seattle you recommend visiting? Let me know down in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

-Liz