Fun Fact: Seattle’s nickname is the Emerald City due to it’s abundance of greenery all year round.

Seattle had been on my list for quite a while and as a christmas present, I got a flight to the Emerald City. I plan to tell y’all how I felt in Seattle, what I did, what I didn’t like, and of course what I did like. My first impressions of Seattle was that it reminded me a bit of Portland. Of course, being both in the Pacific North West, there were going to be SOME similarities. But, driving into the city I quickly realized Seattle was a beast of it’s own.

As a first timer in Seattle, if your budget allows you should definitely stay in the downtown area. I say this because if you’re in Seattle for the first time you will probably be doing a lot of touristy activities. As a broke bitch, I did not have the budget for a hotel in the downtown area so I stayed in the University area. By lyft, the University area is only about 10 minutes away from downtown. Other cool neighborhoods that I enjoyed were Capitol Hill and Queen Anne.

Now this next advice is important and I need you to stop multi-tasking and read this with your full attention. Seattle has HILLS. And no, I don’t mean a couple of hills but every turn you take you’re either going up or down. I thought this was only going to be the case in some parts of the city but oh no. Keep this in mind when you’re budgeting on getting around, walking, and planning out your day. If you’re in shape then you probably won’t need this advice but to everyone else, these hills are not your friend.

Once you have gotten over the initial shock of these hills – you can start exploring and seeing everything Seattle has to offer.  So let’s get to it:

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Seattle Art Museum (SAM):

One of my favorite art museums that I’ve been to. The museum is composed of contemporary and modern art. All art is sprawled out on 3 different floors (may be 2 but I can’t remember). Tickets are $20 and it’s well worth it as you will be able to spend a sizable amount of hours here.

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Pike Place Market:

Pike Place Market is a Seattle staple. Inside the market, there are a couple of stops I recommend you make. The first one is to see fish get chucked, lol. Watching fish get chucked is easier in the warmer months than colder months because I waited about 10 minutes and didn’t get lucky. The second stop you should make is to see the very first Starbucks brick and mortar. The line here is extremely long so if you want to be #basic you should bring a cup of Starbucks before hand and pose for a flick outside. The third stop and probably most disgusting is the gum wall. Although the gum wall is disgusting, it makes for the best photo op.

If you want to grab a bite to eat at the market, you will have a plethora of choices which include some waterfront spots.

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Space Needle:

Another Seattle staple that is a great first timer’s experience. This tourist attraction contains floor to ceiling glass for amazing views of the city and mountains (Mt. Rainer, hello). I opted out of this experience because 1. I was balling on a budget and 2. I think the views on a summer day would be 100x better than on a winter one.

Keep reading so you can see where I got free.99 views of the city from.

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Chihuly Gardens and Glass:

This exhibition is truly beautiful and breath taking but for a $26 ticket, I was expecting this to eat up some more of my time. You could probably see everything in this exhibition under an hour. Regardless, I think it’s something that everyone should experience at least once. If you’re trying to get a good deal you can even buy a bundle ticket package to this and the space needle for a discounted price.

Chihuly is a Washington state native and his work consists of glass artwork. After a tragic accident left him blind in his left eye, he hired others to do his work which allowed him to work and create better as he was able to see his visions from a larger angle.

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Kerry Park:

So if you want to opt out of the space needle due to budget, you can still get beautiful city AND water views at Kerry Park. The park is located in a neighborhood so you can easily walk around and get different angle views. I went during the morning time and it was really peaceful and quiet. If you get lucky and I obviously didn’t, you will get to see beautiful Mt. Rainer peaking in the background.

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Hope you guys enjoy this first timer’s list and here are a couple of other neighborhoods and sights that I feel like are worthy of mention as well:

Capitol Hill neighborhood – Jimi Hendrix statue

Fremont neighborhood – Home of the Fremont Troll

Seattle Japanese Gardens – If you’re a garden and plant lover, this place is for you

Volunteer Park – Home to the Volunteer Park Observatory and the Seattle Asian Art Museum

Seattle Public Library – Probably the coolest looking library in the nation

 

Seattle is a beautiful and diverse city. Can’t wait for round 2.

 

xoxo,

Wynee

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