There is a possibility I might be able to accompany my wife on a business trip to Seattle in April. I have never been to the upper NW. Any advice?
What part of town to stay/not stay?
Is downtown safe to walk?
Is Mt Ranier worth the 2.5 hour drive?
Is there actually a good chance you see whales when whale-watching?
Or anything else I don’t know to ask.
Thanks in advance.
Turns out I have wifi in flight so I can give some quick reactions.
Where to stay: I wouldn't stay downtown. I mean there's hotels and stuff but I don't think of Seattle as a "downtown" city; all the good stuff is in the surrounding neighborhoods. Additionally, I wouldn't say it's unsafe downtown but there are areas, such as nighttime near the 3rd ave corridor near the Westlake light rail station (and Pike Place Market) that many of us avoid if it's not too inconvenient. I wouldn't say you'd get mugged or anything; that's just a particularly high concentration of homeless/drugs/etc. and I wouldn't want to be near there if anything pops off. If you're looking for neighborhoods with a good combination of transportation and places to eat/drink nearby, check out Capitol Hill (gayborhood, nightlife, young people, location of the now-defunct autonomous zone), Fremont (funky/arty, food and drink, on the water), and Ballard (highest concentration of breweries).
Rainier is cool, as are all the parks and natural areas. We're blessed with a wide array of outdoors options within a short distance. There are a thousand hikes around there, as well as other areas. In April, the mountain highways should be open again (I think), so you'd have lots of options, including HW2 to Leavenworth and the Mountain Loop up near Mt. Baker. The ferries are also fun: you can get to Bainbridge quickly from downtown Seattle for shopping and eating but if you had a full day or the ability to overnight, the ferry to Friday Harbor (San Juan Island) from Anacortes is gorgeous and there's plenty of natural and historic sites on the island. Alternately, head out to the Olympic Peninsula, stop by Port Townsend on the way to Lake Crescent, the Hoh rainforest, and the picturesque rocky beaches.
As Ph mentioned, the business of the whale watchers is to watch for whales. There are no guarantees, but they track them pretty closely and last year was a great year for sightings. I haven't been but intend to go sometime.
As for things in the city, you may as well walk through the market but it's nothing earth shattering. Similarly, the Space Needle is cool but pricy. There's a bar at the top. A less touristy rooftop bar is Smith Tower (once the tallest building west of the Mississippi); something like $15/each to ride up and hang out. Would be a nice date night. M's games are terrific fun. The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) is super cool if you like music and movie memorabilia/props. Same for the Seattle Museum of Art. Lots of parks to walk through, such as the Arboretum or Gasworks. The Center for Wooden Boats used to do free public tours of Lake Union one weekend morning but it looks like that's paused for now; maybe check back later. You can also rent an electric boat or a hot tub boat for a few hours and cruise around. The Swedish Club does a swedish pancake breakfast the first Sunday of the month and it's delicious and wholesome. The Museum of Flight is dope if you're into air and space stuff. The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) has a nice permanent exhibit on the history of the city, as well as rotating special exhibits if you, like, really love museums.
If all you manage to do is go to a museum, ride a ferry, get out of town on a hike, and walk to a few breweries, you'll have had a really lovely trip to the city.
I'll drop you a PM with my contact info so don't hesitate to reach out for ideas or beer suggestions!
