What To Do With Seattle's CityPass

For first time visitors to Seattle the CityPass is a great way to see some of Seattle's hottest attractions without paying top dollar. One adult pass costs $74 and gives you access to the: 

• Space Needle

• Seattle Aquarium

• Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour

• Museum of Pop Culture   OR   Woodland Park Zoo

• Chihuly Garden and Glass   OR   Pacific Science Center 

If you were to go to five of those places (on adult tickets) you would pay around $140. Unlike some cities, the places on CityPass in Seattle are actually awesome places to visit so with the savings and the locations we definitely recommend it. You can visit them in whatever order you would like and it is valid for 9 days from the first time you use it. 

Now depending on how long you are in Seattle you might be able to do it all, but even if you only have time to visit three or four of the places you might still save money. Here is the order and places we would choose if we were doing the CityPass ourselves:

Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour 

• Argosy gets you out on the water, which is worth the ticket price by itself in our opinion. You get to see the city from the Puget Sound and learn a ton about the history and culture of Seattle. They have indoor and outdoor seating so it's fun rain or shine. Also, there is a bar on the boat. 

Chihuly Garden and Glass

• Chihuly Garden and Glass is completely unique to Seattle. This museum brings to life the beauty of local artist Dale Chihuly and his glass blowing techniques. It is truly a spectacular place to visit.

MoPOP

• The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) is that museum for people who don't normally like museums. It is full of rock memorabilia, props from famous sci-fi movies, and an entire room devoted to the Seahawks Super Bowl win! 

Space Needle

• This one doesn't need much of an explanation. It's one of Seattle's more noteworthy landmarks and the most visited place in the city. Head up to the observation deck to take in the city, mountains, and Puget Sound below.

Seattle Aquarium

• The aquarium is right on the waterfront and is a cool building full of local and not so local fishes and marine life. There is a ton to do around it on the waterfront, so try to plan some extra time while you are visiting to check out the Seattle Great Wheel and maybe take a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island.

If you are cramped for time to go to all the places, we would recommend skipping the aquarium, especially if you have been to one of the more famous ones like Atlanta, Vancouver, or Monterey because Seattle just won't compare. If you have time though, of course go, you can see otters and that is never a bad thing!

Another thing to note is if you have small children, the Woodland Park Zoo and Pacific Science Center would be better options than MoPOP and Chihuly, which are better for ages 13+. 

You might like these other blog posts about sightseeing in Seattle: 

• What To Do in Seattle Center
• Top 20 Places to Visit at Seattle's Waterfront
• The Best View in Seattle: Kerry Park

The Tallest Drinks in Seattle

The Smith Tower's Temperance

The Smith Tower got a facelift this year! For those of you who haven't been to the new and improved Observation Deck yet, we highly recommend it. Along with the all-time favorites like the lever-operated elevator, The Wishing Chair, and the incredible views at the top, the experience now includes a much higher amount of educational content and a speakeasy style bar! Seems so obvious now that the space was always missing a bar, how did we not figure this out sooner?!

The staff was incredibly friendly and helped us land on a delicious cocktail named Serenity for our drinking pleasure. In true speakeasy fashion it was strong, but good. And you can sip it in comfy chairs as the sun sets on Seattle. It really is a beautiful space with a wonderful view.

The Smith Tower is 35 stories tall (462 ft.), placing it in 3rd place on the list. It might not be the tallest, but something about standing amid all the buildings that have sprung up since 1914 is pretty magical. 

Space Needle's SkyCity

SkyCity is the high-end, rotating restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. The restaurant is the shape of a donut, wrapped around the Space Needle right beneath the observation deck. When you exit the elevator you are led to a table along the outer edge; definitely try to get a table against the window -- watching the city circle below you is a ton of fun! When you eat/drink at SkyCity you also get complimentary access to the Space Needle's observation deck, so make sure to factor in time to head up before or after dining.

At over 500 ft. tall, SkyCity sits in second place on our list of tallest drinks in Seattle! 

Insider Tip: Going to SkyCity does comes with a food and beverage minimum. Dinner is a tad pricey at $35/person, but they have a promotion right now for Sunset Hour with a lower minumum of $25. For comparison a ticket to just the observation deck is $22, so we think this is the way to visit the Space Needle! From 2:30 - 5:30, Monday - Friday, you can go to the top, have a drink while the sun goes down over the city, and visit the observation deck. It ends December 16, 2016 though so hurry on over! 

Columbia Center's Sky View Observatory

Columbia Tower is the tallest building in our skyline and also has the highest observation deck in Seattle (we covered it here). Your ears will pop as you ride the elevator up to the 73rd floor. When you arrive, you will be granted beautiful 360-degree views of the entire area and this is the only observation deck that includes unobstructed views of the Space Needle and the floating 520 bridge. On clear days you can see as far as Mount Hood in Oregon. 

Their cafe/bar is a bit lacking compared to the other places on this list. It's the Panera Bread to the Space Needle's McCormick and Schmick's. But, they have local beer and wine and happy hour, which is exactly what we were looking for when we visited after work at 5:00 PM. We sipped on a Naughty Nellie from Pike Brewing Company and a red blend from Chateau Ste. Michelle.

At 900 ft. this is the tallest you can be in the city while sipping on an adult beverage! 

The Tallest Geographic Point- 35th and Myrtle

Well what do you know? The tallest geographic point in the city is not in Queen Anne, it is in West Seattle in the Delrigde neighborhood at 35th and Myrtle St. We wouldn't recommend drinking here though (do as we say not as we do), as the city frowns upon opening beers on street corners, but we found a really great bar, The Westy, nearby where you can enjoy a nice taplist along with wine and cocktails.

This one is obviously a bit off trend from our previous three, but we thought it would be a fun one to include-- now you know a little piece of Seattle trivia! 

Standing at the tallest geographical point in Seattle!

Alright folks. That concludes our drinking in tall places post. it was random. It was fun. We raise our glass to you for reading Rain or Shine's recommendations! 

Cheers!