Dining and sightseeing

Dining

The University District on the west side of campus, in particular University Way (known as "The Ave"), features a large number of restaurants and cafes, mostly inexpensive to moderate in price.

The University Village Shopping Center has great food and anything you may have forgotten at home. Walk, drive or bus eastward on 45th Street NE down the long, viaduct. The Village is on the left.

Sightseeing

The best things to see in Seattle, according to a linguist trying to sound like a travel writer:

Pike Place Market. Built 1907-1914, this labyrinthine market was almost torn down in the 1960s. Finally saved by vigorous activism in 1971, the Pike Place Market is probably the most popular tourist attraction in the city, but is heavily frequented by Seattlites as well. Be sure to Ïget below the surfaceÓ and explore the four vertical stories of the market. The fish shop that throws their fish around for the amusement of the tourists is only slightly overrated. Drive or bus 71,72,73, or 74 from 15th Ave. towards downtown, get off at Westlake Station in the bus tunnel, walk south along 4th Ave. one block to Pike Street, and walk west about 4 blocks.

Pioneer Square. Seattle's original business district, with many of the brick buildings built just after the 1889 fire that destroyed most of downtown. Pioneer Square has taken a beating in recent months: the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in two years ago damaged several buildings, and the historic pergola (is the recently rebuilt pergola still historic? hmmm.), once (and again) a centerpiece of the district, was run down by an out-of-control truck. But you can still go on the Seattle Underground Tour, eat lunch in the Elliot Bay Bookstore Cafe, and take the elevator to the top of the Smith Tower, the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was built in 1914. Drive or take bus 71,72,73, or 74 running south along 15th Ave. towards downtown, get off at Pioneer Square Station in the bus tunnel, and walk west about 2 blocks.

Museum of Flight. 9404 E Marginal Way S. Perhaps Seattle's most well respected museum (it's still to early to know what to make of the high-tech, high-priced Experience Music Project), the Museum of Flight offers interactive exhibits as well as the more traditional kind, the latter including the first Air Force One, an Apollo space capsule, and the once super-secret, still super-fast Lockheed A-12 Blackbird. Because of its location ten miles south of Seattle, driving is the only convenient way to get there.

Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. 3015 NW 54th St. These locks, finished in 1936, are part of the canal that joins Lake Washington, which forms Seattle's eastern edge, with Puget Sound, the city's western boundary. Underrated by most guide books, these locks are bordered by very nice gardens, and feature a fish ladder with viewing windows. Drive, or catch the 44 bus heading west along 45th St. NE and take it to the end of the line, getting off at 30th Ave. and 54th St. NW. The locks are due south.

Washington Park Arboretum. The Arboretum is a spectacular urban green space on the shores of Lake Washington just east of downtown Seattle and south of the University of Washington. Its 230 acres comprise a dynamic, living museum with collections of oaks, conifers, camellias, Japanese maples and hollies that are known internationally as our country's largest. The University of Washington manages the Arboretum and its plant collections through the Center for Urban Horticulture. Drive or bus: 11, 43, and 48.

Agua Verde. 1303 NE Boat Street (206)-545-8570. Paddle sea kayaks (very stable) past eclectic floating homes and yachts of the rich and famous, with vistas of the Seattle skyline in the background or meander through the natural waterways of the Arboretum in Union Bay and afterwards enjoy creative Mexican food and a margarita or limonada while you watch the boats come and go below. Walk or drive.

Seattle Harbor Cruises. Peir 55, Seattle Waterfront - Since 1949, millions of locals and visitors have enjoyed this unique cruise which departs Seattle's historic waterfront. Learn about Seattle's history and facts of the area while viewing the colorful waterfront, spectacular city skyline, one of the world's largest shipping terminals and the majestic Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges during this 1-hour live narrated cruise of Elliott Bay and the Seattle Harbor. (accessible from Pike Place Market by walking down a long series of stairs) or bus 71,72,73, or 74 on 15th Avenue.

Bruce Lee & Brandon Lee Gravesite. 1247 15th Ave. E - drive

For more recommendations, see the NW Source Seattle City Guide Top 25, CitySearch's Guide to Seattle, the Downtown Seattle Guide or the Seattle Times.