72 Hours in Downtown Seattle

This Seattle City Guide details the 72 hours I spent in downtown Seattle, Washington this November. I was travelling solo so I spent time doing all of “Emily’s favorite things”: museums, coffee shops, flower markets, and bookstores!

I stayed centrally-located (tucked in between I-5, the Space Needle, north of Century Field) but if you go to Seattle for a quick work trip or conference, my guess is you will stay near where I did and can put these tips to use!

Museums to Visit:

I went to four museums in three days in Seattle: Chihuly Garden and Glass, the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), and the Museum of Flight. I would highly recommend visiting Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Seattle Art Museum while on your quick Seattle trip. These two museums are just 15 minutes walking distance from each other.

Chihuly Garden and Glass showcases the stunning, sculptural glass works of the world-renowned Seattle native, Dale Chihuly. His glass design makes you think of the most beautiful bounties of flowers, and it fits perfectly with botanical gardens where this collection is permanently exhibited.

A Quick Bite to Eat:

I ate lunch in the museum cafe– Collections Cafe. It houses many of Dale Chihuly’s eclectic collections (accordions, ceramics, miniatures, etc). I love museum cafes; they usually have delicious salads and small plates with fresh ingredients. I had a fresh shrimp gambas on some toasty bread with arugula. I recommend giving museum cafes a shot when you travel. They often have amazing chefs and bites to eat of all different sizes.

The Collections Cafe is located right at the base of the Space Needle. Pro-tip, if you’d like to go up the Space Needle, too, you can buy a ticket bundle at Chihuly Garden and Glass.

Must See Sights:

No trip to Seattle is complete without a visit to the Pike Place Public Market, which overlooks Elliot Bay. This farmers market and small business center has been continuously operating since 1907. It has stalls in just about every category: bakeries, breweries, fish markets, produce, homemade goods, candles, flowers, plus tons of restaurant options. And the market is almost always open, with some kind of activity going on 6am-1:30am every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Plus, the area all around the market is full of fun shopping and eating, too. Places like The Crumpet Shop — which has been serving up organic, freshly made crumpets since 1976 — and my next recommendation….

Where to Drink Coffee:

If you’re headed to Seattle, do me a favor and skip to original Starbucks and instead pay a visit to my two favorite Seattle coffee places: Seattle Coffee Works and Stumptown Coffee.

Seattle Coffee Works is located right by Pike Place Market and it is constantly bustling — for good reason. They have an espresso bar, and a “slow-bar” so you can choose from a selection of coffee and several brewing processes (aeropress, Chemex, Hario, Kalita Wave, vacuum pot, etc.). I decided to try something fun and new, so I went with the aeropress coffee — highly recommend!

And one of my tried and true favorites, a holdover from when I lived in New York City, is my beloved Stumptown Coffee. Just the smell of Stumptown Coffee alone blows me away. There is a Stumptown Coffee in the hip Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Book Tourism:

Also in the Pike Place Market area you’ll find Left Bank Books, which sells both new and used books in almost every genre. Left Bank Books has an attitude — when I was there they were blasting what I’d categorize as Irish punk rock. They specialize in what they call “anti-authoritarian, anarchist, and radical” publications. They also publish some small-press books, poetry, and zines.

And more books…

And over closer to Stumptown Coffee, I discovered Elliot Bay Book Company. This book store is huge — it has every genre, multiple levels of stacks, and even it’s own small cafe. This is one of those bookstores where you know they’re going to have every selection you’re looking for. I immediately pulled up my bookstore wishlist from my phone (who else has one?) and started shopping for obscure titles, coffee table books, non-fiction — the things outside my usual literary fiction realm that can be hard to find in smaller stores. I definitely left Elliot Bay Book Company with my backpack heavier than it was when I arrived in Seattle.

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide to Seattle! Let me know your favorite places to go for next time! Peace & love, Em