STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

ladysi78250 · Dooney & Bourke

Interested in going to Seattle

Hermes

I think three days is plenty of time to spend in Seattle. August weather should be warm, but take an umbrella, because it tends to be rainy.

My husband and I were there over a weekend (I've also been there on business), and we rented a car to go to Mt. Rainier, which I highly recommend. The drive through the mountains is beautiful, and there is a path you can take as far up the mountain as you want to go. If you're into snow boarding you can do that in August too if you want to climb to the snow cap. On the way you can also stop at Snoqualmie Falls.

Things to do in Seattle are:
~ go to the top of the Space Needle
~ visit Pike Place Market
~ take a cruise of the harbor
~ go shopping along the harbor and have a salmon dinner in one of the restaurants overlooking the water
~ shopping and dining in the Capitol Hill area

A boat to Alaska would probably take several days, so I don't think that would work for a weekend trip smile

Elle · Hermes

We were just in Seattle for a few days last summer, so here's my take:

Pike's place market was awesome! There are lots of places to eat inside and outside just along the waterfront, and lots of good people watching.

I'd recommend a place called Pier 66 for your waterfront dinner - it's expensive but has great food, lovely drinks, and a upscale but still quirky atmosphere. We sat out on the veranda and watched the sun set and the boats come in for the evening, and drank the best mojito I've ever had.

There's also an aquarium near the ferry dock that's fun to go through if you happen to be walking by.

We didn't actually go to the space needle this time - the food was unremarkable and overpriced when we were there before, and it's not in the main walkable downtown area. The view from the top is great though.

There are these things called Duck Tours (actual open duck-shaped tourist buses) that go around and show you some of the sites. It might be fun to do one of those right off the bat, and then be able to go back on your own time to the places you'd like to see more of.

If you're staying downtown I don't think you need to rent a car, unless there's something specific outside the downtown area that you're already planning on seeing. Traffic is a bitch there on the freeways, nearly all the time. Most of the downtown hotels offer shuttle service for free in the downtown area, which would get you around to places that are a little too far to walk (we stayed at the Hyatt, which was really nice).

-- Edited by Elle at 11:23, 2009-02-02