United States Washington Seattle Seattle Guide Things To Do Essentials Where to Stay Getaways All Seattle Seattle Tourist Attractions - On and Off the Beaten Path By Kristin Kendle Kristin Kendle Twitter Kristin Kendle is a Seattle-based freelance writer who has covered the city and Tacoma for TripSavvy since 2010. TripSavvy's editorial guidelines Updated on 05/03/19 Share Pin Email TripSavvy / Noah Kreyenhagen Seattle’s most popular tourist attractions are pretty well known—and indeed if you’re visiting the city (or even if you’ve lived here for a long time and haven’t gotten to know the sights that make the Emerald City famous), you should see the main sights. However, Seattle is more than Pike Place Market and the Space Needle. Seattle is a city with an amazing park system, a great maritime heritage and a place to find some really innovative architecture. Below you’ll find a list of the most popular tourist attractions, as well as some lesser-visited attractions where visitors will get to see not just what other visitors see—but what locals do for fun (and most of what locals do is a whole lot less crowded than what all the tourists do). 01 of 08 Checking out the Usual Offenders TripSavvy / Noah Kreyenhagen View Map Address Space Needle, 400 Broad St, Seattle, WA 98109-4607, USA Get directions Web Visit website If you haven’t done the usual round of tourist attractions before, then you should at least do a fly-by to see what the excitement is all about. The Space Needle will get you a great view of the city (but so will plenty of other viewpoints for much cheaper), but if you don't go up, it's still great for an up-close photo op. Seattle Center is home to tons of attractions, too. Visit the EMP Museum, take the kids to the Pacific Science Center, or catch a dinner show at Teatro Zinzanni. The Seattle Waterfront area is also a must-see. Pike Place Market is located close to the water so it’s a natural pairing. Grab lunch at the market and stroll among the vendors and then venture down to the water where you can stop by the Seattle Aquarium or take a ride on the Great Wheel. Many visitors also add one of Seattle’s museums into the lineup and they’re all worth a visit. See world-class art and special exhibitions at Seattle Art Museum, focus in on Asian art and history at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, or stop by the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) for a closer look at what makes Seattle unique. But once you’ve seen the usual suspect, branch out! Find out what makes Seattle such an awesome place. 02 of 08 Go See A Game TripSavvy / Noah Kreyenhagen View Map Address 1250 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134, USA Get directions Phone +1 206-346-4000 Web Visit website Depending on who you are, seeing a game may or may not be at the top of your tourist attraction list, but if it’s not, it should be. There are few other places where you’ll see exactly how enthusiastic Seattleites are about their sports teams (well, maybe a sports bar on a game day). The Seattle Mariners play baseball at Safeco Field, the Seahawks play football at CenturyLink Field, and the Seattle Sounders play soccer at CenturyLink Field as well. 03 of 08 Visit A Park TripSavvy / Noah Kreyenhagen View Map Address 3801 Discovery Park Blvd, Seattle, WA 98199, USA Get directions Phone +1 206-386-4236 Web Visit website Parks may be overlooked as tourist hotspots in the face of flashier destinations, but the Northwest is known for its nature and parks allow you to enjoy a snapshot of that. Seattle has several large parks especially suited to this purpose. Discovery Park is filled with trails winding through woodlands and along natural shorelines, as does Washington Park Arboretum. Volunteer Park is more groomed, but has the added bonus of being the location of the Seattle Asian Art Museum and a water tower you can climb and see out over Seattle for free. 04 of 08 Explore Alki Beach and West Seattle TripSavvy / Noah Kreyenhagen View Map Address 2665 Alki Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116, USA Get directions Phone +1 206-684-4075 Web Visit website The best thing about taking a jaunt over to West Seattle is that you get to take a ferry to get there. This is a cheap way to get out on the water and see a less touristy side of town. You can catch the West Seattle Water Taxi at Pier 50 along the Waterfront. You can either ride it right back to downtown Seattle, or you can wander around West Seattle. From the dock on the West Seattle side, you can either walk or catch local shuttles or buses to explore West Seattle and Alki Beach Park. Continue to 5 of 8 below. 05 of 08 See the Fish and Boats at Ballard Locks TripSavvy / Noah Kreyenhagen View Map Address 3015 NW 54th St, Seattle, WA 98107, USA Get directions Phone +1 206-780-2500 Web Visit website Located in the Ballard neighborhood (which is also a lot of fun to explore), the Ballard Locks manage boat traffic between the Ship Canal and the Puget Sound. Watching boats load into the locks can be surprisingly entertaining. You can also cross to the far side of the locks and venture underneath to watch salmon swimming up a salmon ladder during various salmon seasons, which happen on and off throughout the year. 06 of 08 Get Lost in Seattle Public Library Thom Lang/Getty Images View Map Address 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA Get directions Phone +1 206-386-4636 Web Visit website Yes, it’s a library, and yes, it is very cool. The Central Library building was designed by Rem Koolhaus and Joshua Prince-Ramos, and is known for its funky and cutting-edge design. The library is a lot of fun to explore due to boldly painted hallways and escalators, and it’s also not a bad place to catch views of the city if you go all the way to the top. For photographers, you can get a lot of interesting photos in and around this structure. 07 of 08 Wander the University of Washington Campus Chris VR / TripSavvy View Map Address Seattle, WA 98195, USA Get directions Phone +1 206-543-2100 Web Visit website Locally known as UW, this campus is a great place to explore on foot. Relatively few people venture here who aren't students or on campus for a purpose, but beautiful buildings and fountains punctuate the campus, but some highlights are seasonal. In spring, UW is one of the best places to view cherry blossoms! 08 of 08 Stroll through Capitol Hill Kristin Kendle View Map Address Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA, USA Get directions Checking out a neighborhood can be a lot of fun, and one of the best for getting a great slice of Seattle life is Capitol Hill. Volunteer Park with its many attractions and great views is a must-see. Next door to the park, you’ll find a cemetery where Bruce and Brandon Lee and buried. Wander the streets of the neighborhood and you’ll come across tasty neighborhood bakeries, cool bookstores (don’t miss The Elliott Bay Book Company), a great art supply store (Blick Art Materials), cafes galore and great nightlife if you come back once the sun goes down. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Share Pin Email Tell us why! Submit