Boeings and drones aren’t the only things that fly in tech capital – even the local fish are in on the act.
I discovered this when a 7lb salmon was thrown at my face. This wasn’t an anti-tourist protest, but a charming tradition at the historic Pike Place Market. Unlike some holidaymakers’ fishy tales, I have the video to prove my ‘catch’.
The ‘mongers’ at Pike Place Fish have been slinging fish to each other across the market as they sing shanties for decades. Not only is it the quickest way to unpack fish, it draws a crowd throughout the day. Ask nicely and they’ll lend you an orange apron and let you have a go.
Luckily I held onto my fish, though I was told Guns N’ Roses star Axl Rose slipped and hit his head on the till when he attempted it. The market – while being one of the city’s busiest attractions – is an utterly authentic slice of Seattle life.
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More than 500 pensioners live in an infamous converted former hotel and bordello above the market; scores of children attend nursery there, and numerous initiatives to help feed the needy are run by the market’s traders.
Above all though it is simply a great place to eat, drink and browse its labyrinth of stalls. It is home to the world’s first Starbucks branch – the queues will tell you exactly where it is. Despite being tiny and not serving food, it is one of the global coffee giant’s top-five grossing stores. Talking of gross, the market also hosts the Gum Wall ‘attraction’.
Yes, influencers flock to have their photo taken next to a stretch of wall covered in millions of pieces of chewing gum. One foolish bar owner didn’t take Seattle’s rebellious streak into account when he posted a sign urging customers not to stick gum on his wall. The rest is history and the city is, er, stuck with it.
After all that food it is time for a spot of fresh air and the viewing deck of a ferry crossing the Puget Sound is a top place to catch some. Fans of Frasier or Grey’s Anatomy will be familiar with the green and white ferries cruising in the harbour with the majestic 14,000ft volcanic Mount Rainier in the background.
Seattle really is a stunner and a harbour tour or commuter ferry to nearby Bainbridge Island offers awesome views not only of Rainier, but the city’s skyline and the Olympic Mountains. I was lucky that I experienced wall-to-wall sunshine in Seattle, a (Pacific) North West city surpassing even Manchester when it comes to rainfall.
If you have time while in town, then a day trip to Mount Rainier National Park is an outstanding excursion. Only the most serious of mountaineers scale it, but the hiking on the trails lower down is as good as it gets. I went with Customized Tours and was picked up from my hotel before breakfast for a full day in the breathtakingly beautiful national park.
Most of the city’s big ticket visitor attractions are located conveniently together at the Seattle Center – just north of downtown. The elevated monorail from Westlake Shopping Center is the quickest way to whizz there. The Space Needle is the most famous sight and the 360-degree views are jaw-dropping. There is a revolving glass floor nearly 600ft above the ground that those with a head for heights can stand on.
Glass is also the star attraction at the neighbouring Chihuly Garden and Glass, where renowned Tacoma-based artist Dale Chihuly’s spectacular works are displayed. Seattle’s music scene exploded in the 1990s with the birth of grunge and the story of this time is told at the Museum of Pop Culture (Mopop).
To coincide with the recent 30th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death there was a fascinating exhibition about Nirvana, and the work of Jimi Hendrix, another Seattle-raised music icon, is also celebrated at the museum.
One top tip if you’re planning on hitting the big attractions is to get a Seattle CityPASS, which offers 48% savings on the Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium and any three of Chihuly, Argosy Cruises Harbour Tour, Mopop, Woodland Park Zoo and Pacific Science Center.
In common with many American cities, eating and drinking in Seattle can be expensive, particularly in venues popular with the moneyed tech crowd. But bargains can be found, particularly for those who venture out of downtown to neighbourhoods such as Belltown, Capitol Hill and Ballard.
The legendary 24-hour dive bar The 5 Point Cafe serves gigantic portions of diner food around the clock. I thought the menu tag-line of ‘Alcoholics serving alcoholics since 1929’ was mostly in jest – up until the offer of a breakfast side of vodka jello shots. When in Rome… Mercifully the huevos rancheros was epic and the staff were totally charming, as was the case at standout breakfast joint Biscuit Bitch. Other good spots for cheap eats include the Chinatown-International District, where I had a top Vietnamese pho at Pho Bac and on 2nd Avenue in Belltown, where the Wagyu Kung Pao beef at ChiHo Bistro was out of this world.
They take wine seriously in Washington state and nowhere more so than Canlis. This celebrated restaurant is renowned in the wine world for having one of the best cellars on the planet and the wealthy clientele able to enjoy it.
Located in an enviable position above Lake Union, the family-owned restaurant has been considered Seattle’s finest pretty much since it opened in 1950. An understated waiter whispered he’d recently served a moderately successful bookseller and entrepreneur I may have heard of.
It might be an affordable neighbourhood restaurant for Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, but at $180 for dinner (before wine and tips) it is firmly in the very special occasion category for most of us.
The annual Taste Washington festival was in full swing when I visited. The state is the second biggest producer in the US and the canny Washingtonians don’t export much, seemingly keeping most to themselves. The Grand Tasting, held next to the Seattle Seahawks stadium, sees more than 200 wineries bring their best vintages and 75 restaurants providing genuinely superb food to soak up the wine.
The Fairmont Olympic is the grand dame of Seattle’s hotels and marks its 100th anniversary in 2024. Centrally located, the rooms seamlessly mix traditional elegance with modern luxury. It is the public areas of the Fairmont though that take it to another level and the beautiful Olympic Bar is a truly great bar.
Just off the lobby there is a stylish speakeasy – entry via a door hidden in a bookcase – called Founders’ Club, which specialises in rare spirits. I also stayed at the nearby State Hotel, a two-minute walk from Pike Place Market. Recently renovated, it is full of quirky and artistic touches.
The lively Ben Paris bar and restaurant on the ground floor buzzed with energy and offers creative cocktails as well as an excellent menu that is reasonably priced by Seattle standards.
The growth of Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks and Expedia have given Seattle a boomtown air. But the beauty of the city is it hasn’t forgotten its previous gold rushes – literally in the case of its rapid rise in the 1880s as a key staging post to the Klondike.
Those tech titans co-exist with lumberjacks, longshoremen, musicians and the blue-collar Boeing assembly line workers in a way not many cities manage. It gives Seattle a vibrant energy and who knows how it will reinvent itself next, but I can’t wait to find out. Like that fish thrown at me in the market, you don’t want to let Seattle be the one to get away. It had me hook, line and sinker right from the start.
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