Originally Posted by redney

Hi, you will be near Belltown (cute boutiques, restaurants, bars) and Pike Place Market. You are also near the flagship Nordstrom. There have been a bunch of threads on Seattle both here in the travel subforum and in the general shopping subforum. Here are a few to get you started: Going to SEATTLE - Help me Plan my Trip!!! Seattle/Portland/Vancouver Pacific NW Shopping: Vancouver, Seattle, Portland Seattle Shopping? Seattle Shopping Have fun!

Thanks Redney!

Hi, I will be in Seattle for the first time this summer. I don't know much about it or have any friends there so i would love some help. I would like shopping suggestions ( clothing and furniture/decor) restaurant and bar suggestions, and suggestions for what to do, particularly pertaining to museums, art and architecture.

Also, what to wear? What should i wear during the day and at night (nice dinners) in June/July? Thanks!

Where are you staying? If you're in Downtown then you'll have plenty of options to choose from.

A few things to check out in downtown are the Seattle Art Museum, Pike Place Market, Columbia Tower, the Original Starbucks (which is in the Pike Place Market), and Pioneer Square. You can hop on the monorail from Westlake Center to go to the Space Needle. While there you can also check out the EMP Museum, Seattle Center, and Pacific Science Center.

Plenty of places to shop downtown as well. The Nordstrom Flagship store is in the block of 5TH/6TH and between Olive and Pine. There's also thePacific Place mall which has Barney's, Michael Kors, Coach amongst other things. Macy's is just down the street, there's also Mario's, H&M, Forever 21, Niketown, LV, Gucci, Sephora, and Nordstrom Rack (now across from Nordstrom). These are all within walking distance.

Places to eat? Well, kinda depends on what you like but definitely go to Belltown (a few blocks away from downtown); lots of options there. You can also hop on the bus and go to Chinatown/International District. Uwajimaya is also there. Of course Pike Place Market also has some restaurants in it.

If you have a car, drive over to the east side and check out Bellevue Square and the Bravern (Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Ferragamo, and NM are some of the stores there). They're a few blocks from each other.

Further north are a few more malls, Northgate (they have Macy's and Nordies tho it's not as exciting), Alderwood (there's a Nordies here but they don't carry the premium designer brands), and 1/2 hr further north is the Seattle Premium Outlet. If you go south, there's Southcenter Mall which has just been expanded.

You can also check out the Museum of Flight (you'll need a car). It's south of downtown. Safeco Park is in the SoHo district and you can take the bus there and watch the M's.

What to wear? Well, in June it's still kinda cloudy here. July's a little better, we've hit the 80s in the past in the beginning of July but better weather is usually middle of July and Aug. This is about when I break out the shorts and sandals. At night I'd bring along a light jacket/sweater. Also, the Bite of Seattle is in July and it's held at the Seattle Center. You can taste all kinds of foods for $5. We also have Seafair at the end of July (sailors come in, woohoo! ), the Hydroplane race happens and Blue Angels have a show.

Oh, and definitely check out the troll under the Fremont Bridge! He's quite a sight! Again you'll need a car to get there.

What kind of furniture are you looking for? We got an IKEA in the south end (Renton) so you'll need a car.

Hope this helps.

Love2Shop has great advice. Have you also searched on Seattle in this travel subforum & in the general shopping subforum? I know there are lots of threads on Seattle here. I'm on my phone & can't link.

Have a fun trip!

Thanks for all of the information! I will do a search too. I don't know where I am staying yet (someone else is arranging that.) so I'm not sure about locations.
For restaurants, I am looking for the top restaurants in Seattle, and anything regional or unique.

For furniture and decor I am looking for local shops that are interesting or high end, both modern and antique.

Be sure to check out the gum wall!!!

Consider a ferry ride to Victoria Island and check out Buchart gardens. Boeing factory tour is also a must see.

The public library (I think on 4th st) for GREAT architecture and it's free.

Canlis Restaurant.. it's pricey.. but 7 star dining experience!!

and Theatro ZinZanni is a LOT of fun!!!

If you have a car do the Boeing tour--it's pretty cool.

restaurants: i linked the website for each restaurant/sights - just click on the name. this is a mixture of new and old. the old ones were ones i frequented when i used to live there. the new ones are ones my friends told me i should try when i come back to visit.

Tilth - in the Wallingford neighborhood. organic, simple, all around tasty food. service got a little pretentious when the nytimes included it in the Top 10 restaurants in the US, but i'm sure they are over themselves now. she also opened a new one called the Golden Beetle - same link as Tilth.

Restaurant Zoe - it was in Bell Town but apparently moved to First Hill. one of the things i liked about this place is that it had plenty of non-alcoholic drink options.

Corson Building - interesting concept. pris fixe menu of local sustainable food served at communal tables. it's like having a big family dinner. you can walk around the gardens and see where they picked your baby lettuce and say hi to the chickens who laid the eggs that you will eat. can be a hit or miss proposition depending on the menu and the people you are forced to dine with, but i had the best coffee ever here.

Poppy - serves meals in thalis. some of the dishes are misses, but you'll have lots of options on your platter that you can easily ignore the bad. and they probably refined the menu since i was there last so there are less misses.

The Walrus and Carpenter - one of the newer restaurants with a lot of buzz. great oysters, apparently. and you'll love the Ballard neighborhood (my old neighborhood before moving downtown) - you should check out the Fish Ladder at the Ballard Locks during season, you can watch the salmon swim upstream and it's a beautiful park on its own. if you don't have time, i suggest skipping the international district (horrible) and coming here.

in fact, you can do an entire day in seattle neighborhoods outside downtown seattle.
- pastries at Cafe Besalu in Ballard. their hours are strange and they do run out of things so get there early. get some coffee.
- head over the Gasworks Park to check out the view of the city across Lake Union.
- if the croissant from Besalu isn't enough, there is Essential Baking 1 block north of Gasworks.
- walk around Fremont. if you're lucky, the farmers market is on.
- since you're in the area, how about hitting Theo Chocolate. you can get a factory tour and samples at the end - yum!
- as if you need more sugar and calories, but hey, you're on vacation! head over to Wallingford on N45th where you will get the strawberry balsamic ice cream at Molly Moon (this is the original location but apparently they have branched out) . since you're there, might as well get cupcakes at Trophy Cupcakes i like the s'mores and snoball.
- then hit Old Ballard for some shopping. there are little boutiques (hopefully the one that sells buttons and gorgeous delicate necklaces is still there) and (expensive) mid-century modern dealers.
- make sure to go to the Ballard Locks and the Park if it's salmon season.
- line up for oysters at the Walrus and Carpenter.

other things you shouldn't miss:
- Fran's chocolates. the coconut bar is amazing!
- Dungeness Crabs. if you're there in season, it'll be ubiquitous.
- Penn Cove mussels. outstanding. you're only a drive and ferry ride away from Whidbey Island and Penn Cove if you want to see the source.
- kayaking either the lakes or the sound (gotta burn off those calories somehow).

weather
summers in seattle is the best in the world! warm all day and into the night, low humidity, sun doesn't set until 10pm, etc... that said, check the weather forecast because spring weather is usually kinda cold and wet. hopefully you get lucky and have a nice june.

I second Canlis! It is AWESOME. They really go out of their way to make sure you're enjoying yourself. The food is pretty good but I feel like you are paying more for the ambiance and experience.

Originally Posted by cakegirl

Thanks for all of the information! I will do a search too. I don't know where I am staying yet (someone else is arranging that.) so I'm not sure about locations. For restaurants, I am looking for the top restaurants in Seattle, and anything regional or unique.

see my post above

Originally Posted by cakegirl

For furniture and decor I am looking for local shops that are interesting or high end, both modern and antique.

you don't say where you are coming from so don't know what you would consider high-end and what would be unique to seattle. not my forte, but there are several on Western Ave south of union: Roche Bobois, Ligne Rose, Thomas Moser, etc... most are available in other parts of the country but there may be local works being carried as well.

We are going to see the Blue Angels in August. Any suggestions where to stay that would have great views of the air show?