What to Do in Seattle Center (that park where the Space Needle is)

Seattle Center is the most popular park in Seattle for obvious reasons. There is a lot to do and see so let us give you our tips on what check out. 

Space Needle 

This one doesn't need much introduction. The Space Needle is the most visited place in Seattle and it's a tad bit noticeable as a 605 foot tall Jetson-esque shaped tower. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle.

Insider tip: Adult tickets are $22 to visit the Observation Deck or you can take a trip up to SkyCity, the rotating restaurant at the top, and for a $35 food/drink minimum get access to the observation deck and delicious food! 

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Chihuly Garden & Glass

We did an entire post on Chihuly Garden & Glass because it is AMAZING! Dale Chihuly is a pretttyy famous glassblower from Tacoma, WA (Washington is full of the most talented people). This museum in Seattle Center is a tribute to his beautiful work. Even if you aren't a "museum person" give this one a shot, we think you'll be impressed...like super duper impressed. 

Insider tip: Save big bucks and get a dual access ticket for $36 to visit Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Space Needle.

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MoPOP!

Museum of Pop Culture - MoPOP

MoPOP (previously EMP) is made for the cool pop culture fans out there. They basically cover everything that is awesome about pop culture and nothing else. Exhibits highlight Horror and Science Fiction films, the Grunge Era, and obviously, the Seahawks epic Super Bowl win. And don't get too excited, but they have a David Bowie exhibit coming in 2017. We think this goes without saying, but no Kardashians allowed. 

Insider tip: Check out Campout Cinema. Their movie screen is MASSIVE and their movie nights are so cool! Camp out in a huge room with LED stars above you and watch cool movies. 

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Pacific Science Center 

The science center is an interactive museum for people of all ages. Seriously, even the exhibits you can tell they made for kids, we love. The have a butterfly house and exhibits that teach you about dinosaurs, medical science, and earth's atmosphere. Best yet, the IMAX theater is located here and it plays all the best movies that will blow your mind because... IMAX.

Insider tip: There are some giant flowers outside the Pacific Science Center. They are more than flowers, it's an art exhibit called Sonic Boom. When it's sunny hang out beneath them and wait for them to soak up enough solar power to start playing their echo-y songs! 

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Key Arena 

This is where Beyonce comes when she visits Seattle. I think that sells itself.

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Teatro Zinzanni

The dinner show of all dinner shows. Teatro Zinzanni never disappoints. It has everything...comedy, acrobats, singing, dancing, cabaret, audience participation, and magic. Your ticket includes a 5-course meal, a three hour show, and a whole bunch of entertainment (even the servers get in on the dancing). The show rotates constantly, so you can keep go back and experiencing new performances. It is expensive (tickets range from $89 - $173 depending on your seat in relation to the stage), but we definitely recommend checking it out at least once.

Insider tip: Your ticket does not include any alcohol or gratuity, and they automatically add $6 per person to your bill for gratuity. You can bring you own wine to the show (if it's not on their menu) for a $20 corkage fee.

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The Bill and Melinda Gates Visitor Center

Across the street from the EMP are the offices of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For those of you not aware, Bill Gates started this small company, Microsoft, and then made like 1 gillion dollars and now puts a lot of that money toward helping others. This visitor center is free and showcases all of the cool stuff they are doing. Think inventing new ways to teach children to ensure they never fall behind in school and eradicating diseases worldwide. They are awesome, go get inspired.

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Seattle Repertory Theater 

This is a small theater that creates a incredible lineup of shows every year. It has two stages, and since it is smaller in size every seat is a good one! We have seen several shows here and they have all been phenomenal. 

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Pacific Northwest Ballet 

It's a ballet. We aren't ballet experts, but we think this one is pretty up to standard. Beautiful dancers, beautiful costumes, beautiful stories. Oh, and The Nutcracker starts this week so if you haven't been now is a good time to start! 

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Seattle Monorail 

To be honest, the monorail doesn't have much of a purpose for locals, but it is a cool thing to ride as a visitor. This was built with the Space Needle for the 1962 Worlds Fair and you can ride from Seattle Center to Westlake. You get great views of the Space Needle and get this, it goes THROUGH MoPOP, which is really cool. Also, Frasier and Niles rode it in a special anniversary episode of Frasier. 

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The Armory 

The Seattle Center Armory is where you go when you are hungry after all your sightseeing. It houses over 15 restaurants ranging from Mexican, to Japanese, to American, to Starbucks (yes that is a category of food here). It has also public restrooms. Take note. 

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Seattle Vacation in 48 Hours

We would like to start this post by saying you cannot do Seattle in 48 hours, you can barely do one neighborhood in that time, but realistically not everyone has time to spend months here exploring every nook and cranny. This post is for people who are coming to Seattle for a weekend and need to hit up only the best of the best. 

Friday

You will probably be arriving in Seattle in the late afternoon. We are going to immediately throw you a curve ball and send you up to Capitol Hill. This is one of the best neighborhoods in Seattle for a number of reasons, and you can't miss it. First check out Melrose Market, maybe have a few oysters at Taylor Shellfish Company to keep you until dinner. Then head over to Elliott Bay Book Company, the #1 bookstore in Seattle, to browse their amazing selection with awesome staff to help you find your next favorite book.

Photo source

After this you can go check out the Jimmy Hendrix statue (air guitar is encouraged). Now you've earned dinner! Here are three options you can pick from depending on what floats your boat: Stateside,  Trove, or Tavolata. Finish the night off with a drink at Unicorn, the wackiest bar in Capitol Hill. 

The Unicorn's decorations are only outshone by their crazy cocktails.

Friday's hotspots

Saturday

Rise and shine and put your walking shoes on! Get to world-famous Pike Place Market at 9:00 AM before it gets swamped. Grab a crumpet at The Crumpet Shop and then start exploring. Check out Pike Place Fish (hint: when someone buys a fish they do the famous fish toss), the gorgeous flowers stalls, and grab free samples from many of the shops, including our favorites Ellenos Yogurt and Britt's Pickles. If you grab any food (hint: Piroshky Piroshky or Pike Place Chowder) and want a quiet place to enjoy it we recommend the Urban Garden. It's a bit tricky to find (located down the hallway to the left of Don and Joe's Meats), but a great secret of the market. 

Cute pig welcomes you to the Urban Garden in Pike Place Market

After you have thoroughly explored the market take the short walk down to Seattle's waterfront. The best stretch is between the Seattle Aquarium and Ivar's Acres of Clams. You can take in all the street artists, beautiful views of the Puget Sound, ride the Seattle Wheel, and get some food if you are hungry again. We have details all the best waterfront spots in this post. 

Miner's Landing and the Seattle Wheel 

Once you have worked up an appetite grab the water taxi located at Pier 50 ($4.50 one way) and take a short 5 minute boat ride across Puget Sound to get to our favorite seafood restaurant, Salty's, for your quintessential PNW dinner. This place has a fun atmosphere and killer views of the city skyline. Plus the food will make your life complete. 

Saturday's route

Sunday

Sleep in a little today and then grab a coffee at one of Seattle's MANY coffee shops. Once you have caffeine in hand head over to the Olympic Sculpture Park. This is an extension of the Seattle Art Museum and is a beautiful place to spend the morning. Start at the top (entrance at the corner of Broad St. and Western Ave.) and then wind your way down the main path to the waterfront where you will find the park's newest sculpture (and our personal favorite), Echo. 

Sculptures that double as benches in the Olympic Sculpture Park

From here you can make your way over to Seattle Center, which is a short walk. This park is the most popular in Seattle because of that giant needle people come to see. We recommend getting the joint ticket deal to visit the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit because Chihuly is a mad genius (we did an entire post on this place here). Or if you are here around lunch you can get a free ticket to the Space Needle viewing deck if you eat at SkyCity, the rotating restaurant at the top of the Needle (spend a minimum of $25/guest).

One of the many spectacular Chihuly pieces in Seattle Center

We also love the EMP in Seattle Center. The EMP's exhibits pay tribute to all types of entertainment (think Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix, horror and fantasy films, and the Seahawks) and is well worth the $22 ticket price. 

If you haven't already, grab a quick lunch. Seattle Center's Armory building has lots of options so everyone in the group should be happy. Sometimes there are some pretty delicious food carts hanging out in the area too. You can then take your food and enjoy it by the International Fountain and listen to the music. 

From here head up Queen Anne hill to Kerry Park (you can walk, but be warned, the hill is gnarly). This park has arguably the best views of Seattle and the Space Needle. There also happens to be a delicious ice cream at Molly Moon's just up the street from it, so if you want to make a pit stop on your way we support that decision. 

The views from Kerry Park are phenomenal.

Take your photos, eat your ice cream. That's a wrap. Your 48 hours in Seattle is complete and you hit up all the best things! 

Sunday's route 

Chihuly Garden and Glass

Visitors flock to Seattle Center to see Seattle's number one attraction: The Space Needle. Upon arrival most people also notice the beautiful glass sculptures right next door. We want to let you know that this attraction is not to be missed! Dale Chihuly is one of the Pacific Northwest's most famous artists and there is an obvious reason. Simply put, his glassblowing sculptures will stun the pants off of you.

The Garden and Glass exhibition in the Seattle Center is a beautiful combination of new and old and a clear testament to the Pacific Northwest's culture of art and innovation. 

Chihuly, born south of Seattle in Tacoma, WA, creates an amazing variety of large glass sculptures. Many of his creations are hundreds of small pieces placed together to create one large piece. These pieces have to be taken apart to clean one at a time (no bulls are allowed to work in this china shop). He purposefully does not give any sort of map on how to put it back together so that each time the gallery cleans a piece it then takes on a new shape depending on how they piece it back together.

The exhibition is separated into three parts:  the indoor galleries, the Glasshouse, and the Garden. The indoor galleries are incredible. Each room is filled with awe-inspiring exhibits and knowledgeable staff to give you background about each piece. The Glasshouse, our personal favorite, is a large glass building toward the end of the exhibit with a giant statement piece that dwarfs you as you walk in and it hangs over your head. Last, you are released into the Garden to explore the glass sculptures mixed in with the plants and flowers (with the Space Needle looming overhead). 

On a bright day, Chihuly's work adds a spectacular pop of color to Seattle Center and on a rainy day it will brighten even the darkest clouds. It is a don't miss in the city and since it is a stone's throw away from a place everyone usually visits it is an easy addition to the sightseeing tour! The gift shop is also a fantastic place to get great Seattle gifts that are a bit better than your average Sleepless in Seattle t-shirt or Space Needle Snow Globe.

Check out additional details here to learn more about the artist, exhibit hours, and how to buy tickets.