Seattle has been the star of movies, subject of songs and setting of books.

While it’s the biggest city in the Pacific Northwest, it’s really a lovely harbour town with steep hills and savvy inhabitants.

Seattle is the fifth most visited city in the United States, logging approximately 42 million visitors, pre-COVID. However, being popular can be a burden and the locals decided to enforce one day a year when it’s just them roaming the streets, thus “Stay Away From Seattle Day” was born on the 16th of September.

I was first/last here ten years ago during The USA 50/50 Challenge and I had been wanting to return ever since.

Seattle was originally built on the tidal flats and was between 3 metres (10 feet) and 10.5 metres (35 feet) lower than it is now. However, in 1889, a fire destroyed twenty-five downtown blocks and, wanting to avoid the regular flooding, they elevated the city by building on top of the rubble. This explains the extreme level shift between the downtown and the waterfront, with many staircases bridging the gap; some that zig and zag to provide rest stops and some that just go straight up. The latter are the one’s those crazy runners do in competitions!

“There’s a lot of great architecture here, from Art Deco to Mid-Century Modern to the Amazon Spheres. You’ll be craning your neck all day to catch them all and I encourage you to walk around town, without an agenda, and just appreciate this beautiful city.”

However, the most overarching thing I discovered was that Seattle cares, about small things and large, people and causes. They’re not showy about it, but the community feeling is strong in this town.

This is best illustrated by the Pike Place Market Foundation. As the website says,” Beyond the fish and flowers, Pike Place Market is a village of farmers, artists, residents and neighbors. With senior housing above the Market’s storefronts and a network of social services woven throughout the historic district, the Pike Place Market Foundation welcomes and supports a diverse community in the heart of downtown Seattle.” (I learned all about it on the Eat Seattle Tour, see below.)

Experience

Further afield

Consume

Rest

This guide details all of the things The Packed Bag experienced. Please see Visit Seattle for more.