
One Day In Seattle – First US Stop on West Coast Trip
Arriving by Amtrak from Vancouver, we were only doing a one day in Seattle before getting back on the train to Portland.  For our thoughts on the Amtrak Cascades train, see the separate Amtrak post.
Hotel – Belltown Inn
Things To Do For One Day in Seattle
No trip to Seattle can miss the Pike Place market. It covers multiple blocks, having grown organically into several markets. It is a broad mix of food stalls with crafts and other wares – marked with bright neon signs or quirky displays. The fish is fresh and plentiful and if you wait long enough you will see flying fish. This tourist attraction halts traffic when a selected fish is thrown up to other staff for packaging. The fruit selection is great, with organic options as well. Samples of in season produce are offered to tempt you. There are lots of options to grab a snack or lunch – sweet and savoury.
When you are at Pike Place you will likely find yourself by the very first Starbucks – obvious by the number of people snapping photos. If you miss that one, it will not be hard to find the next one. Most of the coffee we had in Seattle was really good – showing competition can be good.
Standing at the lookout spots in the Pike Place market you would mistakenly think that there was no waterfront. All you see from the market is the highway with the Ferris wheel in the distance. Â But if you keep walking down the hill toward the water you come to a lively waterfront. The Ferris wheel is at Pier 57 and on the quay beside this is the Seattle Aquarium. Interesting art pieces provide something to see, even when the aquarium is closed. Â If you keep walking along the waterfront you hit a small marina and several raised pedestrian bridges to get back up the hill to the city.
The Seattle Needle is visible pretty much anywhere you are – but coming from Toronto and the CN Tower, it was less tempting. We wandered in that direction but never quite made it.
A short stop at the Seattle Glass Blowing Studio (5th at Bell) turned into a wonderful immersion in a vast assortment of art glass, much of which rivaled what we had seen in Murano outside Venice. Â I couldn’t wait to start designing my glass plate wall.
Places To Eat For One Day in Seattle
Crab Pot (Pier 57):
CJs (1st and Cedar):
Ever since grunge came up and I’ve learned that there is a Seattle, I wanted to visit. Not particularly because of grunge but since I think that there is a whole different culture from what I’ve experienced in the US so far. The fact that you got there by train adds to the fun – since I’m not driving, I’m always looking for places where taking public transportation is not the biggest adventure of them all 😉
We like to visit Seattle when we can on our west coast trips. It was indeed fun to visit by train. One trip we did to Vancouver by bus. So lots of options to cross the border without taking a car. And lots to see in Seattle.