Plus appréciés Attractions à Seattle

Seattle's premier venue for trade shows and conventions serves as a hub of Northwest and Pacific Rim business activity. Almost any day of any week, you'll find a hive of information booths, product demonstrations, and services from the industry of the moment. The center features 236,700 square feet of exhibit space that are equipped with advanced support for the technology. For Seattle and Puget Sound-area information, stop by the visitor info booth.

One of Seattle's most famous landmarks, Pike Place Market is the oldest continuously working public market in the United States and one of the world's top 50 most visited attractions. Pike Place opened in 1907 as the city's first public market, expanding to keep up with its growing popularity as a convenient option for both shoppers and merchants. The market remains a veritable cornucopia of culinary and artisanal options, its crowded aisles and bustling halls thronged with customers jostled between vendors of fresh produce and gourmet eats, alongside fishmongers and craftsmen. The street level is dominated by the food and produce stalls, while the lower levels house a fantastic variety of shops including antique dealers, head shops, florists, and local artisans. A whirlwind of sights, sounds and aromas, Pike Place Market is nothing short of paradise for foodies and connoisseurs of unique wares.

With numerous fun-but-tacky tourist shops and the Alaskan Way Viaduct thundering overhead, the Seattle Waterfront should instead be visited for the spectacular views. Also bringing people here is the Bainbridge Island ferry that leaves from Colman Dock, and the popular Summer Nights at the Pier concerts play at sublime Pier 62/63. The Seattle Aquarium and the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center are also here. The old streetcar clangs along the length of the waterfront, and the green spaces of Myrtle Edwards Park take over from the concrete mayhem at the northern end.

Here, where the streets of downtown's business district angle down around Elliott Bay to the south, are the flatlands where Seattle was first built. Nightclubs, art galleries, tourist shops, design firms and restaurants dominate Pioneer Square. The area's First Thursday art walk draws huge crowds to the studios, galleries and street performers, and the nightclubs keep the neighbourhood buzzing with activity till wee hours of the morn'. The kitschy Underground Tour explaining Seattle's early history is a perennial tourist favorite, as is the more sober Klondike Gold Rush Museum, which details the Yukon gold fever that made Seattle richer. Yesler Way, which slices the neighbourhood in half, has a footnote in history as the original "skid row". There are also several small parks in the area, including the quiet Waterfall Park, the shady cobblestones of Occidental Park, and the totem-pole decorated triangle at First and Yesler, Pioneer Place Park. The neighbourhood also marks the popular shopping destination of the city, famous for all kinds of knickknacks such as tapestries, rare artworks, books and what-nots!

Want the best view of Seattle's colourful and glittering skyline? Then take a ride on the Seattle Great Wheel, which is situated on the pier off Alaskan Way. The 15-minute ride inside its climate-controlled gondolas will take you to a maximum height of 175 feet (53 meters), where you can capture splendid views of downtown and the picture-perfect moments with your family on a camera. Each gondola has a maximum capacity for eight people, and the wheel is open for tourists 365 days of the year. Considered to be one of the tallest ferries wheels on the West Coast, the Seattle Great Wheel makes for a perfect family joy ride.

Seattle's most famous landmark, the Space Needle's futuristic design rises over 600 feet (182.88 meters) tall. The tower was originally built for the 1962 World Expo in Seattle, and was designed with cutting-edge know how by award-winning engineer John K. Minasian, known for his work at Cape Canaveral, home of the U.S. Space Program. From the top, the Space Needle provides 360-degree views of downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier, Elliott Bay, and the Cascade and Olympic mountains. Besides the Skydeck restaurant, the Space Needle also features a gift shop and observation deck.