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Someone was asking me, if you wanted to spend three days in Seattle what would you do?
Well first thing is that it is very expensive to stay in Seattle itself plus assuming that you will have a car, they charge another $20-40 for parking, so Bellevue is a good option. You need to take the I-90 to get into Seattle or pay a big toll is the only issue, but assuming you don’t leave during rush hour this should be ok.
In looking at places to stay there. Trip Advisor, The Bellevue Hyatt Regency is not a bad choice, this is great option if you like shopping because is directly connected to the Lincoln Square/Belsquare Mall mega-consumer factory. The Westin Bellevue is the same way and a bit newer. If you want a bit more room, the Hyatt House  Seattle/Bellevue is a nice suite hotel and just a short drive. The Residence inn is away from the malls and things but $152.
So what to do on the first day? Hit the Space Needle, parking is a bit tricky, but there are lots there, and make sure you check out the Armory for a snack and then go to the Childrens Museum if you have little ones or the Pacific Science center if you have medium big ones. Or go to the Chihuly exhibit if you like amazing art. Then head to the crazy looking Museum of Pop Culture. Finally when you are done, take a ride on the Monorail, to see how people in 1960 saw 2020 🙂
This will take you to the center of downtown, stroll over to the Nordstrom flagship where it all started and walk through the Pacific Center, the center of the revival of Seattle. Then go a few blocks left to Lenora and 4th and marvel at the “New York canyons” that Amazon has built and look at the Terrariums (I mean that literally).
Now head towards the water and go to Pike Place market, this is a nice stroll, from there you can walk down the Hill Climb to the the Seattle Waterfront. This is super busy with all the summer tourists, but they are there for a reason. Actually, the best time to go is in the evening because the tourists tend to clear out. The Seattle Aquarium is also down there and make sure to walk north, hit the Edgewater, it’s a nice hotel on the water and a good place for drinks and then end up at the Seattle Sculpture garden.
If you are the athletic sort, then you can all rent on of the many bike shares and work your way down waterfront park. When you are all done, just take a Lyft back to your car.
Now get in the car and go to the Hiram Chittendon Locks at Ballard, you can see the fish jumping and also the boats go up and down many feet. At that point it’s probably time for a snack, so head down to Ray’s Boathouse which is right on the water and take a look at the sound in all it’s glory. Then to finish off, head all the way down to the end of the road and enjoy the park at the very end. Watch the boats as they ply their way into Seattle harbor.
Then it will be dinner time, so head to the Magnolia, it’s a quick trip across the Ballard Bridge and get a reservation at Chinooks, the food is just OK, but the view across the harbor to Seattle is pretty incredible. By this time, the traffic should be light, so head back across the water to Bellevue.
Bellevue in the evening is a great time to visit the mall and it is huge, it goes across two streets with Lincoln Plaza on one side and Belsquare on the other. A good midnight snack option is Din Tai Feng, if you don’t have one in your city, you should definitely try it and see all the Asians in Seattle.
The next day, could be nature day. Go across to Seattle again and walk through the University of Washington Arboretum, it’s a nice walk there through many trees and the Japanese Garden is a nice spot for a rest. Now work your way down to Seward Park, a nice walk around a peninsula and with great views of Lake Washington.
With that done, you are close to West Seattle so time to head over there, this is industrial Seattle, but you will find a nice sandy beach, spend some on the beach out there. It’s a great view of the water as well. Then head over to the Boeing Museum of Flight, it’s a pretty awesome spot to see everything from a 747 to the first Boeing plane ever built in the original factory.
On your final day, assuming you are headed up to Vancouver, you should definitely go to the Boeing Factory (you have to book ahead for this, it’s pretty far north, but worth it if you like airplanes or just gigantic buildings. At one point it was the largest covered area in the world (but I think the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada is now bigger). Go to the visitors center there and make sure to go to the top floor to watch flight operations.
If you are going south towards Portland, they should stop halfway at Mt St. Helens and see an active volcano, it sounds a little strange, but is really worth it.