
After returning our beloved motorhome to Cruise America, we moved into a very cozy Airbnb apartment just outside Seattle. However, we didn't want to miss out on a trip to the famous city on the west coast. Seattle actually surprised us in a very positive way.
With a population of around 750,000, Seattle is the largest city in the north-west of the USA. It is located in King County in the state of Washington, not far from the Canadian border, and is considered the scientific, economic and cultural center of the Pacific Northwest region. In and around the urban area, Seattle also boasts large forests and magnificent nature. The city is not nicknamed the “Emerald City” for nothing, although locals often refer to it as the “Rain City” due to the many cloudy and rainy days (funnily enough, there are several US cities where it rains more).
Random Google Ad
Seattle: almost an insider tip
The city on the west coast is not one of the 10 most visited cities in the USA, so from our point of view it is still something of an insider tip. Seattle is definitely worth a visit, especially on the way from San Diego or Los Angeles to Vancouver. The nice thing is: Seattle is not huge, but it has everything you would expect from a city in the United States.
We never had Seattle on our radar before our six-month trip and originally wanted to borrow and return our motorhome in Los Angeles and fly from there to Vancouver. In the end, we changed our booking and chose Seattle as our return destination - we were even able to save ourselves some money and a flight. We ended up taking the train (Amtrak) from Seattle to Vancouver. However, that will be a sweaty story in its own right.
The city of grunge
For us, Seattle was always just the capital of grunge. The so-called “Seattle Sound” developed from a subculture into a global success story in the 90s and Nirvana in particular became the figurehead of this catchy mix of punk rock, garage and hard rock. The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop and the region's underground music scene, putting social criticism and world-weariness on a pedestal in their lyrics and hard, heavy guitar riffs.
Alongside Nirvana, it was bands like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and others that globalized grunge. Unfortunately, Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) and Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) took their lives and other musicians in the grunge scene lost their battle with drugs. Weltschmerz was the order of the day, so to speak.
However, anyone looking for the grave of grunge legend Kurt Cobain in Seattle will be disappointed. Cobain was cremated and the Seattle authorities refused to erect an official burial site. They wanted to prevent an onslaught of admirers, like at the Paris grave of Doors singer Jim Morrison. However, the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park has been established in his birthplace of Aberdeen in the US state of Washington.
“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
Kurt Cobain, April 1994, last words in his farewell letter

Kurt Cobain is still omnipresent in Seattle. There is countless Nirvana and Cobain graffiti and nowhere else can you see so many people walking around wearing the grunge band's T-shirts. Nevertheless, Seattle has more to offer than just music history and nostalgia.
Our apartment outside Seattle
We turned to Airbnb again in our search for accommodation. Especially in expensive US cities, the online portal usually offers cheap alternatives to expensive city hotels - especially if you don't necessarily want to stay in the tourist center. With this in mind, we chose the accommodation “The Terrace Lake Forest Park” in the Seattle suburb of the same name.
Random Google Ad
The small town of Lake Forest Park has around 14,000 inhabitants, is located on the picturesque shores of Lake Washington and is a so-called “bedroom community”, i.e. most of the people who live here commute to Seattle. There are no stores here apart from the small but nice shopping center with a well-stocked supermarket. We also tested the public transport connections to Seattle and took the bus and train to the city center, which worked perfectly and took around an hour.
Please note: If you want to travel by public transport in the greater Seattle area, you have to download and register an app beforehand in order to be able to buy tickets. So you need an internet connection.
Here is the link:
The decision to book outside Seattle was spot on, as the tranquil Lake Forest Park is home to parks and nature reserves, convenient access to the Burke-Gilman Trail and other walking trails. We went for several walks, visited Lake Washington (Lyon Creek Waterfront Preserve), strolled through the very well-kept residential areas and hiked quite far in the beautiful Grace Cole Nature Park. The apartment we stayed in for a week was also amazing. We immediately felt at home.
You can easily last a week in Seattle!
In Lake Forest Park we were able to relax very well after 7 weeks in the motorhome.
The guest apartment was in the immediate vicinity of a school in a very quiet area - only the sounds of the pickleball courts could be heard late into the night, but that didn't bother us at all. The walk to the shopping center required a bit of stamina, but we were already used to longer walks with luggage. The whole apartment was very homely, everything was clean and the beds were really comfortable. The kitchen and bathroom were exceptionally well equipped and there was a wonderful fireplace that provided warmth at the touch of a button. Communication with the landlady was also excellent - she responded quickly and kindly to all inquiries.
The link to the very appealing guest suite “The Terrace at Lake Forest Park”:
Location, location, location (of Seattle)
Seattle is almost completely surrounded by water and lies between Puget Sound, Lake Union and the expansive Lake Washington. Here you can enjoy wonderful fresh fish and seafood. The city is very hilly and is almost reminiscent of San Francisco in this respect - most of the inclines are in the old town. In the “Seattle Underground” there is also an extensive network of cellars and underground passages from days gone by.

In addition to its past as the grunge capital, Seattle also has a lot to offer culturally in other areas, which makes for a longer stay. Seattle is home to the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Opera and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. The annual three-week Earshot Jazz Festival in the fall is one of the region's best-known music events. Some representatives of avant-garde jazz, hip-hop and the heavy metal scene also come from Seattle.
The following museums are located in Seattle:
Consolidated Works,
the Frye Art Museum,
the Henry Art Gallery,
the Seattle Art Museum,
the Seattle Asian Art Museum,,
the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture,
the Museum of Flight,
the Museum of History and Industry
Seattle Children Museum
Museum of Pop Culture
Visiting Seattle on foot
The nice thing about Seattle, we found, is that with a little perseverance you can visit the individual parts of the city on foot. On our first trip to the city, we took the bus and metro to Union Station for about an hour and walked around a lot from there. This was no problem even with the children (although our kids have very good stamina when it comes to walking, they have no other choice). From Union Station we walked straight to the China Town district.

Here we have summarized our Seattle highlights:
Seattle's city center: Our first day in Seattle
China Town: small area with the typical China Town flair and the restaurants and junk stores to match. Located right next to Union Station and easily accessible by public transportation.

King Street Station: Trains to the south and Canada depart from this beautiful station.

Walk towards Smith Tower: past Occidental Square and Waterfall Garden

Walking along 1st Avenue: A walk along 1st Avenue takes you past the tourist attraction “Beneath the Street” - where you can take a guided tour through the city's underground. The street also leads past the Art Museum to what we consider to be the tourist center of the city (next to the World's Fair Park).
Ad: Affiliate Link


Pike Brewing Company: if you don't want to drink coffee, make a detour to this quaint beer pub. Shortly afterwards, turn left into Pike Street if you don't want to miss anything.

Fish Market: The fish market, or Pike Place Market, is a must-see in Seattle. Here, one fish stall follows the next - you might have to hold your nose as you walk through.
There are always lots of tourists around the famous Fish Market.
Gum Wall: a somewhat dubious and disgusting highlight in Seattle; also in this corner. The famous Gum Wall is located in Post Alley. The wall, which belongs to a theater, is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Seattle. The wall has been covered with thousands upon thousands of pieces of chewing gum over the years and has its own “charm”.

First Starbucks branch: Founded in 1971, the Starbucks coffee shop at 1912 Pike Place has largely retained its original appearance and truly transports you back in time - and you need enough of it, because there are usually a lot of people queuing outside the store. We ended up drinking our coffee elsewhere. Incidentally, the Pike Street Hill Climb next to the market entrance takes you down one level and in just a few minutes you are at the Seattle Waterfront with all its sights.
Seattle's Waterfront: Our second day in Seattle
If you cross Elliot Way at the bottom, you will pass what is probably the largest construction site in the city. The “New Waterfront”, a small new district, is currently (2024) being built here and the construction work already gives you an idea: It's going to be impressive. However, we started our walk along the waterfront on the other side: on the corner of Broad Street and Western Avenue.

Paccar Pavilion and Olympic Sculpture Park: The approximately 36-hectare sculpture park is an offshoot of the Seattle Art Museum and can be visited free of charge. From here it is only a few meters over a bridge to the Eliott Bay Trail and the piers.
Some sculptures of the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle.
Alaskan Way: On the subsequent walk, you pass the Port of Seattle and the other piers and always have a good view of Puget Sound.
Olympic Ballroom: If you want to get married in Seattle, you can do so in the Olympic Ballroom on the waterfront - but we'd rather not know the prices. The Edgewater Hotel is located right next door.
Cruise Terminals of America: The smaller ferries depart from Pier 66, and there is also an international conference center here.
Pier 62: You can take a short break here, there is even a small street soccer pitch.
Seattle Aquarium: The Seattle Aquarium is well worth a visit, especially on rainy days.
Waterfront Park: This is not really a park in the traditional sense, but just a paved part of the waterfront.
Pier 57: There are several seafood restaurants and a Ferris wheel here.

Titanic, The Exhibition: This exhibition is more than just a museum. It tells the true story of the ship with life-size reconstructions and passenger objects.
Seattle Ferry Terminal: The large ferries depart from here.
If you continue along Alaska Way on the waterfront, you will inevitably come to the two large sports stadiums Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park. We attended our very first US sporting event at the latter: a baseball match between the local Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. The tickets for this event were surprisingly cheap at 28 dollars per person and it was a great feeling to experience the atmosphere in a US stadium for the first time. The fan culture here is very different to that in Europe and even if you don't really know much about baseball, you get carried away.
There was a great atmosphere in the T-Mobile Arena, even though we are not baseball experts.
But beware: you are not allowed to take almost anything into the stadium - either leave your bags in your car or hand them in at one of the stands outside the entrance until the end of the event (costs a few dollars). Incidentally, no cash is accepted in the T-Mobile Arena and the food and drinks are absurdly expensive (e.g. a large can of Corona with a 15 percent tip costs almost 22 dollars, a churro 7 dollars). If you don't have a credit card with you, you can, like us, buy a chip card and top up with money (be careful: be sure to spend it all, you won't get the rest back). It was still a great evening.
Space Needle and co.: Our third day in Seattle
On our third day in Seattle, we took an Uber and walked along 2nd Avenue towards the Space Needle, which took around 25 minutes. At 184 meters, the city's most famous landmark is not as tall as expected (especially compared to the CN Tower in Toronto, which we were to see four weeks later). The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair and has dominated the Seattle skyline ever since. There is a restaurant on the platform, but the ride to the top costs over 120 dollars for four people - we decided not to go, even though the view is supposed to be very nice.

The Space Needle is located on the site of the 1962 World's Fair, a kind of park where you can easily spend half a day. Here and in the immediate vicinity are the Climate Pledge Arena, the Seattle Children Museum, Chihuly Garden and Glas, the wonderful Artists at Play Playground, a great fountain to linger in, lots of green spaces, the Pacific Science Center, a food court with several restaurants, the Memorial Stadium, the iconic Museum of Pop Culture and a Chris Cornell statue in memory of the singer and guitarist from Soundgarden.
We also took the Seattle Center Monorail from here. The monorail connects the northern part of downtown Seattle with the grounds of the World's Fair.
The park of the 1962 World's Fair has a lot to offer.
Other sights and activities in and around Seattle:
City tour with the hop-on hop-off busLock boat tour through Seattle
Tour to Snoqualmie Falls and Seattle (duration approx. 4 hours)
Guided city tour
Kerry Park: offers a great view over the city
Sky View Observatory
Alki Beach
Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park
Conclusion
Yes, Seattle's reputation is no longer the best either. The number of homeless people and petty crime is said to have risen sharply in recent years. Rents and property prices have also risen. However, a similar situation can also be observed here in Europe. We felt very comfortable in Seattle and especially in the “bedroom community” of Lake Forest Park and were able to “wind down” well after seven weeks of motorhome touring. So you shouldn't let anyone talk you out of visiting the Emerald City.
Seattle is not as extensive and doesn't have the glamorous places that Los Angeles does, it's not as iconic as San Francisco and yet it has a charm that we couldn't resist. Our opinion: The grunge city on Puget Sound deserves to be visited. Be inspired by the Space Needle and enjoy a coffee in one of the countless Starbucks outlets or a fish dish straight from the ocean. Seattle, we'll see you again!
We are pleased about your visit to our rice blog and hope that we have given you a taste for it.
Kind regards Max, Steffi and Co.
Our shopping tips for a week in Seattle:
Lonely Planet's Seattleis your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Make your pilgrimage to the top of the iconic Space Needle, add your gum to the wall at Pike Place Market, and pay homage to Jimi Hendrix at the EMP Museum - all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Seattle and begin your journey now!
Inside Lonely Planet's Seattle:
NEW pull-out, passport-size 'Just Landed' card with Wi-Fi, ATM and transportation info - all you need for a smooth journey from airport to hotel
Colour maps and images throughout
Highlightsand itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests
Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots
Essential infoat your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices
Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss
Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, people, music, arts, architecture, cuisine, politics
Covers Downtown, Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, Belltown, Seattle Center, Queen Anne, Lake Union, Capitol Hill, the U District, Green Lake, Fremont, Ballard, Discovery Park
The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Seattleis our most comprehensive guide to Seattle, and is perfect for discovering both popular and off-the-beaten-path experiences.
Advertising
Product information Material composition: 100% cotton Care instructions: machine wash Closure Type: Pull-On Collar shape: round neck Soft peach fabric 100% brushed cotton.
Advertising
All our trips and excursions are self-paid - we do not give paid recommendations! Exception: Affiliate links. Most of the links in our blog are affiliate links, i.e. advertising. We try to recoup some of the costs of our blog and ask for your understanding.
Comentarios