A tour of Seattle's main attractions will have you equally indoors and out, ideal for the very green Emerald City. Pike Place Market (www.pikeplacemarket.org), overlooking the waterfront, should be stop number one, if only for a cup of strong coffee. The vivid canvas of fruit and vegetable vendors, fishmongers, flower stalls, arts and craft shops and ethnic canteens can easily fill up a morning. Don't miss Read All About It, the city's singular international newsstand and if you've got friends to meet, be sure to do it under the Market's imposing clock, a neon orb which has been ticking since the 1920s. Further along the waterfront is Pioneer Square, a National Historic District chockablock with buildings dating to the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Relive the feverish impact the discovery of gold had on this region at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (www.nps.gov/klse).
At the opposite end of the city centre is Seattle centre (www.seattlecentre.com), a hub of arts, entertainment and leisure activities. The Space Needle, an iconic spire soaring 607 feet into the sky, provides an alfresco 360-degree view. On terra firma, the excitement is at the Centre's dazzling Experience Music Project (emplive.com), an interactive hi-tech music museum that is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's homage to rock and roll. Designed by architect Frank Gehry (he of the Guggenheim Bilbao), the building is a series of undulating multi- coloured metallic plates as impressive as the sound systems inside. Newest addition to the Centre's cultural scene is the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (quickly dubbed 'MOM Hall' as the place is a paean to telecom billionaire Craig McCaw's mom), a soaring, glass-fronted performance space that is the new home of the city's opera and ballet companies.
More fun for culture vultures can be had at the Seattle Art Museum (www.seattleartmuseum.org), best known for its collection of African, Asian and Native American art. Benaroya Hal (www.seattlesymphony.org/benaroya), the new home of Seattle's symphony orchestra, is an architectural showpiece located a block from the museum. The Museum of Flight (www.museumofflight.org), at the southern end of the city, is a top-flight air and space museum that houses a BA Concorde and an Air Force One once used by President Kennedy alongside its many vintage planes.
Back outdoors, Green Lake, in the heart of the city, is the place to bike, blade or stroll. The more adventurous, however, will want to make the 90-minute trip to Mt. Rainier National Park (nps.gov/mora), a haven for hikers in the summer and cross- country skiers during the winter months. For those who'd rather watch their sports, the Seattle Mariners (www.mariners.org) baseball club plays its games at Safeco Field, indifferent to weather thanks to its retractable roof. The Seattle Seahawks (www.seahawks.com), the city's much- improved NFL football team, is ensconced in spanking new and state-of-the-art Seahawks Stadium right down the street. Lastly, the Seattle SuperSonics (nba.com/sonics) basketball team runs the opposition ragged at Key Arena in the Seattle centre complex.