Seattle is not only beautiful, it has character in its several interesting neighborhoods along with a great food and music scene. The Emerald City also has an intriguing history.
My Posts on Seattle
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Introduction to Seattle
Seattle was originally inhabited by Native Americans at least 4,000 years before the first European settlers arrived. The first European to visit the area was George Vancouver (1757-1798), who arrived in May 1792 during his expedition for the British Royal Navy. American pioneers didn’t establish a settlement until November 13, 1851. Doc Maynard (1808-1873), one of the city’s founders, suggested naming the town after Chief Seattle (c. 1780-1866) of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes.
Seattle was incorporated as a town on January 14, 1865, and as a city on December 2, 1869. The lumber industry drove the economy until the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 destroyed the central business district, but the city recovered rapidly and even expanded. The Panic of 1893, however, stalled growth.
Seattle experienced another boom when it became a starting point to the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. It lasted into the early 20th century and gave rise to retailers such as Nordstrom and Eddie Bauer. Following the Gold Rush, the next boom was in shipbuilding, which lasted until the Great Depression.
Prosperity came again after World War II with the dominance of Boeing in the commercial airliner market, but suffered from an economic downturn in the late 1960s and 1970s. Success returned with the rise of technology companies moving into the city and suburbs, beginning with Microsoft in 1979. Amazon, Nintendo of America, and T-Mobile followed. The city’s real estate became some of the most expensive in the country in the 1990s.
Today, Seattle remains a fascinating city with plenty of activities and attractions for everyone. It’s also within a short drive of some incredible national parks such as Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades.
Getting to Seattle
Seattle is easily accessible from the rest of the United States.
Airports
Seattle is served by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), also known as Sea-Tac. It serves several domestic and international destinations and is a hub for Alaska Airlines. To get to the city from there, you can use the Link light rail.
Another option is Paine Field (PAE), which is a small airport serving a handful of domestic destinations. The commercial terminal opened in March 2019. It’s located in nearby Everett.
Amtrak
Seattle is an important hub for Amtrak. You can head down the west coast to cities like Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight or east on the Empire Builder to Chicago. We took the latter on our way out of town. Trains leave from King Street Station.
Getting Around Seattle
Getting around town is fairly easy with Sound Transit. Much of the downtown area is walkable, and the Link can help get to areas further away. There’s also a decent bus system. You can buy an ORCA card for US$3 (as of January 2025) and fill it up with what you need to get around.
To get from downtown to Seattle Center, you can ride the monorail. One-way fares are US$4 for adults, US$2 for seniors 65+ and kids age 6-18, and free for kids under 6 (as of January 2025). There are only two stations – Seattle Center and Westlake Center – and it only takes about two minutes to ride between them. Monorails leave every 10 minutes. You can check the official website for operation times.
Where to Stay in Seattle
The reason for my visit was to visit my friend Tim, who had invited us to stay for a week and visit the city and nearby national parks. We stayed at his apartment in Lower Queen Anne, therefore I have no hotel advice for you. Sorry! The neighborhood is full of restaurants and close to Seattle Center and the monorail, which makes it easy to get into the downtown area.
Where to Eat in Seattle
We had no problem finding good restaurants in Seattle. Most of them were near our friend Tim’s apartment, but we ventured a bit further out for a couple of them.
Phở Than Brothers
Our first meal was a lunch at Phở Than Brothers in their Lower Queen Anne location. It was our first experience with Vietnamese food, and was recommended by my friend Tim. Marisol and I shared pho ga, a large noodle bowl with chicken, which we enjoyed very much. We finished the meal with an excellent coffee. (Note: this location has permanently closed, but you’ll find others in the Seattle area.)
Golden Olive
Nearby, we ate Middle Eastern food at Golden Olive. We shared a lamb kebab plate that came with rice, a salad, pita, and hummus. The meal was delicious and the service was friendly.
Annapurna Cafe
If you’re looking for Indian, Nepali, or Tibetan food, look no further than Annapurna Cafe in Capitol Hill. This restaurant was recommended by Tim and it was one of our favorite meals during our trip. It was difficult to choose of the menu because everything sounded appetizing.
We started with the maharaja samosas, which are pastries filled with potatoes, peas, and cilantro and served with mint and tamarind chutneys. For the main course, Marisol had the Goa curry and I tried the Himalayan curry. Both of us were completely satisfied. Service was excellent, and it was nice to see that service was included when we got the bill.
Plaka Estiatorio (Permanently Closed)
We stopped into Plaka to have dinner with our friend Andrew, who lives in Seattle, and Manoli, who coincidentally was visiting at the same time, on a Saturday night. This Greek restaurant is located in Ballard, and is open Wednesday through Sunday. Marisol and I shared a Greek salad, octopus, and halloumi cheese. It was some of the best octopus I’ve ever had. The salad was refreshing and the cheese was a nice complement.
Adey Abeba
Tim suggested we try Ethiopian food one night, and we found Adey Abeba. The small friendly restaurant was a great choice. The three of us shared the adey meat combo with doro wat (chicken in red pepper sauce), which came with injera (spongy Ethiopian flat bread). Not only was it delicious, but it was fun to eat. We finished it off with an Ethiopian coffee.
Pung Kang Noodle Palace (Permanently Closed)
Tim warned us about the spice level at Pung Kang Noodle Palace in Lower Queen Anne. He said it was much spicier than most Thai restaurants, and he was right. I usually get level four out of five and sometimes it’s not spicy enough. At Pung Kang, I got pad thai at level four and it was almost inedible. I thought I had a high tolerance for spice but I guess I was wrong! Marisol had the garlic pepper broccoli with no spice. The meal was reasonably priced for the two of us, and from what I could actually taste it was great.
Yummy Teriyaki
For our final lunch in Seattle, we ate at Yummy Teriyaki in Lower Queen Anne. It was cheap, but neither yummy nor very inspiring. I had the chicken and egg roll teriyaki and Marisol had the shrimp teriyaki. You can find much better.
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Stay Dry!
Be prepared for rain. It wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be, but it was wet and gloomy during most of my trip to the city. The rain that falls is more gentle and misty than big storms.
Sports in Seattle
Seattle is a great sports city. You can find the Seahawks (NFL football) and Sounders (MLS soccer) at Lumen Field, and the Mariners (MLB baseball) at T-Mobile Park. At Seattle Center, Climate Pledge Arena (formerly Key Arena) hosts the WNBA’s Storm and NHL’s Kraken. You’ll also find concerts and other events at these stadiums.
The Huskies of the University of Washington play several different sports. Husky Stadium hosts college football, and you can watch men’s and women’s basketball at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.