Seattle Travel Guide for Independent Travelers

Seattle is located on the west coast of the United States. It is a city with great honor and symbolic significance, where various entertainment programs and e-sports competitions are held. It is a paradise for young people. Below, we share with you a travel guide for independent travel in Seattle.

This is where Tom Hanks met Meg Ryan and where Tang Wei met Wu Xiubo. However, what really made me long for this place was this photo:

On the skyline of a bustling city, there is a perfectly shaped snow-capped mountain, like something out of a science fiction novel. Why do I feel this way?

Perpetual snow-capped mountains are either at high latitudes or high altitudes, usually not habitable places.

And such a perfectly shaped triangle can only be a volcano. So how did Seattle do it? Look at the map, look at the map.

Seattle is located in the northwesternmost part of the continental United States, at about the same latitude as Harbin. A 4392-meter-high volcano squatting here is no surprise that it is covered in snow all year round.

The strange thing is how Seattle can be spring-like all year round with winter rarely dropping below 0 degrees.

It turns out that Seattle is not only by the Pacific Ocean, but also embraces the Pacific Ocean with all its heart.

The Pacific Ocean sends the “Alaska Current” to bring warmth to Seattle, as well as white clouds, gray clouds, light rain, moderate rain, and heavy rain.

226 days of overcast or rainy weather per year is the price of spring-like weather. However, this does not mean that we have to walk around Seattle with umbrellas and raincoats.

226 days of overcast and rainy weather means that there are 139 days of sunshine. Thankfully, these 139 days are mostly concentrated in summer. I don’t need to say more, do I?

Alright, I’ve gone on and on about astronomy and geography. What is there to do in Seattle?

If you want me to list landmarks like the Arc de Triomphe or the Louvre, there aren’t many in Seattle. However, Seattle can subvert this way of playing tourist attractions.

In other words, there aren’t many places in Seattle that are specifically for tourists. The right way to play is to blend in with the locals.

For example, there is a place called “Olympic Sculpture Park”. Such a fancy name, it sounds like the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube. However, this place has this kind of style:

What the heck is this? But, but, take a look at the guy sitting under the statue.

This is the right way to explore Seattle.

For example, take a walk along the beach in the cool evening breeze, walk your dog or your kids with the locals.

226 days of overcast weather makes the air here particularly fresh, and even the busiest corners are spotless.

Occasionally see some strange statues, guess together what the meaning is?

This pile of tables and chairs is called “Love & Loss”. Look around a little more?

You might say, well, that’s nice, but it’s not worth flying all the way here, is it?

However, when you turn the corner and see this big-headed brother gazing into the distance, you can’t help but wonder what he’s looking at.

Following his line of sight…

After all, it is Seattle. Even an ugly crane can form a perfect composition with the snow-capped mountain. This photo should have a name, right? After racking my brains for all kinds of poetic names, I decided to name it: “Four Triangles”.

There are many more such leisurely places, such as Waterfront Park and Pike Place Market.

It looks a bit like a tourist attraction, but blowing the sea breeze and listening to the music from the pub in Waterfront Park, there aren’t many tourists taking pictures around; Pike Place Market is not an ancient Yiwu Commodity Street either, it is lively and bustling, but the majority here are locals. The following two photos are from the internet, you see that I am so immersed in the local culture that I forgot to take tourist photos.

If you say, well, these are all good, but I just want to go to famous attractions, take the most classic tourist photos, what should I do?

Then the answer must be the skyline photo at the beginning of the article. This classic photo spot is called Kerry Park, a very small park located in a wealthy residential area on a hillside.

Originally, this was also a leisurely community park, but now it is crowded with photographers from all over. I arrived in the twilight, and it did not disappoint me. The snow-capped mountains looming in the distance give Seattle a different kind of magic.

In the crimson sky, between the urban forest, suddenly appeared a…sun or moon?

I stayed until the night fell completely, the moonlight in the city illuminated my dreams, and finally I took a photo of “Sleepless in Seattle”.

In this skyline, apart from the ethereal snow-capped mountain, the most eye-catching is undoubtedly the dazzling white tower. The magic of this tower is that it concentrates all the tourists who are diluted in the crowd of Seattle. Well, they are all tourists.

This tower is called “Space Needle”, a very cool name.

Unlike the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which have their own uses, the Space Needle is neither a television tower nor an office building. It is simply for sightseeing, built for the 1962 World’s Fair. Oh, there is also a ridiculous restaurant on top.

However, as a sightseeing lookout tower, it is only 184 meters high (Oriental Pearl Tower 468 meters, Burj Khalifa 828 meters).

So, the feeling of “being in the clouds” at the Burj Khalifa is out of the question, but this height actually brings it closer to the surrounding buildings, turning “bird’s eye view” into “integration”. This is what you see from the Space Needle:

“Bird’s eye view” or “integration”, everyone has their own preference. However, the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum at the foot of the Space Needle, which looks like a common “forced consumption attraction”, is actually worth a visit.

Here are displayed a large number of glass artworks by one-eyed artist Dale Chihuly, very dazzling and imaginative. It turns out that glass can be sculpted like this.

As I said at the beginning, Seattle is a city worth experiencing. It shows a completely different side to people with different interests. We have already seen its appeal to casual walkers, photography enthusiasts, landmark checkers, and art lovers.

Now, let’s look back, how did Seattle become so prosperous? In the early years, it was the gold rush, and there is indeed a gold rush museum (Klondike Gold Rush – Seattle Unit National Historical Park, you can get a stamp for your National Park passport!), but the point I want to make is that after World War II, many of our lives have been closely connected with Seattle. Guess which company in Seattle?

You can visit a real Boeing aircraft production line. You can see every step from a pile of iron to the final installation of the seats. But there is one thing to note, the production line is not allowed to be photographed. So, this picture is from the internet.

The production line is not allowed to be photographed, but there is a museum at the Boeing factory where you can experience and take photos freely.

It’s not big, but the kids are having a lot of fun.

There is also a replica of a section of the International Space Station. Yes, Boeing also manufactures this.

Maybe you, with your petit bourgeoisie tastes, are not interested in this kind of heavy industry stuff. Then Seattle will not be unfamiliar to you, because here is also her hometown.

The world’s first Starbucks is located in Pike Place Market, which I mentioned earlier. In addition to visiting the first Starbucks, Seattle has also opened a “Starbucks Roasting Experience Center” specifically for fans.

Here, you can see the entire coffee production line, from unpacking, mixing, roasting, packaging, to grinding, brewing, until you hold it in your hand.

Besides Boeing and Starbucks, Seattle is also the home of Microsoft and Amazon. However, as a programmer, I have no interest in visiting software companies…

I want to say that there are many more treasures hidden under this beautiful skyline in Seattle. For example, various museums and art exhibitions, wild nightclubs, serene campuses, there is always one that has a special meaning for you.

For me, Seattle has another very unique meaning, a meaning that is condensed in this inconspicuous place.

That’s me in the front, my posture is ugly, please forgive me, I’ll explain why later. This is under a viaduct in the suburbs of Seattle, a crudely made cave giant statue, named Fremont Troll. What does this statue have to do with me?

It is a witness to my dream of traveling the world.

In 2008, about to graduate from university, I hated my major and accidentally saw a video online, and my life goals were completely refreshed:

I have been watching Zheng Da Variety Show since I was a child, knowing that the world is truly wonderful, and it planted a seed in my heart; but this set of videos called “Where the hell is Matt (Where did Matt die)” is the direct motivation that prompted me to take immediate action.

Every one or two years, he releases his latest achievements, such as the 2012 video, there are fewer natural attractions and more people, but it seems even more tear-jerking:

Every time I watch it, my mouth waters, and the place where he dances also becomes my target to follow the map.

Nearly 10 years later, I can proudly announce that I have walked about half of the places where Matt died (the easier half…). It can be said that without this ugly-dancing Matt, there would be no me today who has traveled half the world.

Maybe you’re a little moved, maybe you’re a little impatient, what does this have to do with the statue? Let’s take a look at Matt’s 2006 version of the video:

The answer is at 3:18 of the 2006 version. The subtitles below show: Seattle.

And this idol who inspired me to embark on my journey around the world, his home is in Seattle.

Now you understand why I took this photo, don’t you?

I don’t intend to make a Seattle attractions guide, because the internet is already full of various guides; I can’t write a deep analysis of Seattle either, because I am only a fleeting visitor who stays for a few days. I just want to show you the charm that Seattle has released to me:

Or to make a pilgrimage to Boeing for your childhood dream of becoming a pilot, or to visit Starbucks for the coffee that accompanies you day and night, or to encounter an inconspicuous but touching sculpture on a street corner, or, like me, to have a thread of connection with your dream.

(The comments have already added many different perspectives on loving Seattle: cherry blossoms in spring, autumn leaves, wet rainy days, various national parks, beavers in the inland sea, the home of Steam, Dota 2 International Invitational, Seattle SuperSonics, Grey’s Anatomy, meeting your boyfriend here…).

She has a recognized skyline business card, and she has a different kind of magic for everyone.