Seattle – sophisticated city – Seattle & Washington State

Seattle – a sophisticated blend of art, nature, technology and culture – just like its celebrated coffee. Here are ten great unmissable City Centre sites and experiences;

Pike Place, spread across nine acres with 500 shops, restaurants and stalls, is America’s oldest continuously operating farmers market and specialises in seafood, flowers and so much more. Speciality food tours are impossible to resist. Five companies each offer a range of tours focusing on different parts of the city or themed to particular cuisines.

Seattle Great Wheel, is the largest on America’s West Coast, has an amazing waterfront location not far from Port of Seattle’s Pier 66. From 42 air-conditioned gondola cabins the views of ferry boats, cruise ships, the downtown skyline and sunsets are spectacular.

Only a mile to the north, more “must see” attractions are clustered at Seattle Center. The Space Needle, and Monorail symbolised Seattle’s 1962 commitment to become America’s city of the future, now realised with technologically driven giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, Expedia, and Boeing.
From 520 feet up, the Observation Deck and restaurant offer unique unique 360 degree views of mountains, Puget Sound and the City. And the base of the Space Needle is a cornucopia of visitor attractions including the MoPOP Museum, a tribute to music history, science fiction and pop culture housed in the liquid architecture of Frank Gehry. Click here to see the 'Rhythm of Seattle' video.

Close by, Chihuly Garden and Glass, showcases the career of glass artist Dale Chihuly with eight galleries, a lush garden and

the centrepiece of it all, the Glasshouse, demonstrating glass- blowing expertise which will blow your mind.

Wherever you are in the Seattle, the sea and its inlets are never far away, whether it’s houseboats on Seattle’s Lake
Union, where Tom Hanks was “Sleepless” or the Argosy Fleet enabling everyone to gain new perspectives on Seattle. The Emerald City is a culturally rich metropolis, vibrant, sophisticated, yet authentic, with galleries, restaurants, markets, theatres and museums, all vying to enrich the memories of British visitors. Seattle is a perfect blend of contemporary and historic, grand and intimate, quiet and active.