Planning a trip to Seattle? Here are some tips on how to get around and see the sights!

Getting around

Link Light Rail by SoundTransit

If you’re flying into Sea-Tac airport, getting into downtown Seattle couldn’t be easier! Simply take the Link heading north and get off at Westlake/Seattle station (about a 40-minute ride).

To ride Link, you can either buy a paper ticket or buy a reloadable ORCA card ($5 for card, and then add cash value in increments of $10). The card also works on other transit systems, like ferries and buses.

Starting September 2019, you can also use the ORCA card to ride the Monorail. In the meantime, you’ll need to buy a paper ticket to ride.

Riding the Seattle Center Monorail is a fun and quick way to travel between two points: Seattle Center (Space Needle; MoPOP, and more) and Westlake Center (Downtown).

Westlake Center station
going through MoPOP
Seattle Center station

Seeing the sights

Gum Wall in Post Alley

photo by Jennifer

This is disgusting! But I love offbeat and random stuff, so I just had to take part:

leaving my mark in the world with a chewed up piece of Hubba Bubba

Flowers from Pike Place Market

From Pike Place Market, you can get large bouquets of fresh, colorful flowers for as little as $5! They’re perfect for brightening up your hotel room. Or, if you’re a guest at someone’s home, they make a lovely gift for your host. These beautiful irises were 12 for $10 – a bargain!

The Seattle Great Wheel

view from the Great Wheel

Opened in 2012 at Pier 57, the Seattle Great Wheel takes riders almost 200 feet in the air at its highest point. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of Elliott Bay and the Seattle skyline as it rotates three times >>

Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66

Weekly cruises leave for Alaska from Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66. From the waterfront, you can take the stairs (or elevator) up to an observation deck that makes you feel like you’re on a ship! It’s another place to soak in views of the bay and skyline. And it’s free >>

And last, but not least:

Seattle’s iconic Space Needle!

Standing 605 feet tall, the Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. It has since become an icon of Seattle!

🎡

If you enjoyed this post, you may be interested in other posts from my Visiting Seattle series, including:

  • Visiting Seattle: Glossier Pop-Up💄(closed July 7, 2019)
  • Visiting Seattle: Original Starbucks ☕️🍵
  • Visiting Seattle: Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) 🎸
  • Visiting Seattle: Ferry to Bainbridge Island ⛴
  • Visiting Seattle: Where to Eat 🍽

    • Spotted in Seattle…a little bit of Paris:

    J’aime Les Crêpes | Bainbridge Island

    This post is #6 of 6 in my Visiting Seattle series. Thanks for reading!