Seattle - A Walking Tour of Downtown

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Starting Place: Seattle Center at Fifth Avenue and Mercer Street.

Our journey begins at the Seattle Center, built in 1962 as part of the Century 21 Exposition. Seattle Center houses numerous tourist attractions including the Pacific Science Center, Paul Allen's Experience Music Project and Key Arena, home of the Seattle Supersonics. Most visitors come to the Center for Seattle's most famous and most visible landmark, the Space Needle, and all will enjoy the ride on its glass elevators and the panoramic views from the observation deck.

Seattle Center is also at one end of the Monorail (also built for the 1962 World's Fair). Our tour continues with the 90-second 1.3-mile ride from the Seattle Center to the Westlake Center (Fourth Avenue and Pine Street), a new and popular arcade for shoppers and strollers who can shop in the mall, visit the nearby department stores or sit outside and watch people amid Robert Maki's granite sculptures and waterfalls. When you've had your fill, head south on Pine Street to First Avenue to Seattle's historic multi-level Pike Place Market. Founded in 1907, it's the city's most popular destination with its famous fish merchants, farmer's market and seemingly endless abundance of shops and restaurants.

Heading east on First Avenue, down the hill, stop by the Seattle Art Museum (First Avenue and University Street) with its aesthetically controversial Hammering Man sculpture outside. Just a few blocks on, you'll enter Pioneer Square (First Avenue and Jackson Street). The square was once a Native American village and with the white settlers it became a Wild West Main Street lined with brothels. It was also the center of a busy logging industry until the city was demolished in the Great Fire of 1889. The city was rebuilt on the ruins. The square has since survived lean financial times and is now very healthy economically and culturally, hosting an eclectic mix of businesses and art galleries. If you're with children, or have a taste for kitsch, cap off your walk with the 1.5-hour Underground Tour, which gives a sense of what Seattle life was like before the fire and provides details of the reconstruction process.







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Experience Music Project (EMP)


Interactive music museum
 325 5th Ave N
(Seattle Center)
Seattle, WA 98109
+1 206 367 5483 / +1 877 367 5483
http://www.emplive.org
Experience Music Project (EMP)
Underground Tour


Offbeat look at old Seattle
 608 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
+1 206 682 4646
http://www.undergroundtour.com
Underground Tour
Pacific Science Center


Family fun and learning
 200 2nd Ave N
Seattle Center
Seattle, WA 98109
+1 206 443 2001
http://www.pacsci.org
Pacific Science Center
Space Needle


Seattle's famous landmark
 400 Broad St
(Seattle Center)
Seattle, WA 98109
+1 206 905 2100
http://www.spaceneedle.com
Space Needle
Seattle Art Museum


Internationally recognized museum
 100 University Street
Seattle, WA 98101
+1 206 654 3100
http://www.seattleartmuseum.org
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Center Monorail


Seattle Center Monorail
 400 Pine St, 3rd Floor (Westlake Terminal)
Seattle Center, adjacent to the Space Needle and EMP/SFM (Seattle Center Terminal)
Seattle, WA 98101
+1 206 905 2620
http://www.seattlemonorail.com
Seattle Center Monorail
Pike Place Market


Famous produce and seafood market
 85 Pike Street
(at First Avenue)
Seattle, WA 98101
+1 206 682 7453
http://www.pikeplacemarket.org
Pike Place Market
Seattle Center
Seattle
Seattle Center
Pioneer Square
Seattle
Pioneer Square
Westlake Center


Rainy day shopping
 400 Pine St
Seattle, WA 98101
+1 206 467 1600
http://www.westlakecenter.com
Westlake Center
Seattle Center


Gathering place
 305 Harrison Street
Seattle, WA 98109
+1 206 684 7200
http://www.seattlecenter.com
Seattle Center
Seattle - Top Attractions
Seattle - Top Events
Seattle - Top Hotels
Seattle - Top Nightlife
Seattle - Top Restaurants
Seattle - Seattle's Thriving Arts Scene
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