Visiting Seattle, United States: Top Sights on Foot
Things to Do in Seattle: What to See in the Emerald City
Looking for things to do in Seattle? The city brings together historic neighborhoods, maritime landmarks, museums, bridges, gardens, and distinctive architecture, with places to explore from Pioneer Square to Lake Union and the University District. Neywo’s free Seattle audio guide covers 194 narrated places, helping you discover the city as you walk.
Seattle is part of Washington, in the United States, and its sights reveal a city shaped by industry, public transport, water, culture, and changing ideas about urban life.
What to See in Seattle
Georgetown Steam Plant
In Georgetown, the Georgetown Steam Plant recalls the infrastructure that helped bring electricity to Seattle. The historic power plant was constructed in 1906 for the Seattle Electric Company, with streetcars among the important users of the power it supplied.
Pacific Tower
Pacific Tower rises above Beacon Hill as a 16-story Art Deco landmark. Completed in 1932 and opened the following year as a U.S. Public Health Service facility, it later served as Amazon’s headquarters from 1999 until 2010. Today, its lower floors remain a medical center, while Seattle Central College uses six floors for healthcare training.
The tower was designed by Carl Frelinghuysen Gould of Bebb and Gould, with help from John Graham & Company. Its hilltop position gives it a prominent silhouette, while a retrofit in the 1990s improved its resistance to earthquakes.
Pioneer Square and the Pioneer Building
Pioneer Square is one of the most important places to visit for an introduction to Seattle’s early urban history. The Pioneer Building, at First Avenue and James Street, was completed in 1892 after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. Architect Elmer Fisher designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, using a stone façade, red brick, terra cotta details, and cast iron elements.
Nearby, the Pioneer Square pergola stands in the park at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Yesler Way. Built in 1909 as a waiting shelter for cable-car passengers, it is made of cast iron and glass. The structure was restored in 1972, rebuilt after being destroyed by a semi-truck in 2001, and reinforced in its current form.
A short distance away, the Pioneer Square totem pole is a Tlingit monument connected with both cultural heritage and controversy. Together, these landmarks make Pioneer Square a rewarding stop on a Seattle self-guided walking tour.
Museum of History & Industry
The former Naval Reserve Armory at the south end of Lake Union is a landmark of Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Built by the Works Progress Administration from 1941 to 1942, the concrete building reflects Moderne and Art Deco influences.
Its main interior feature is a drill hall measuring 133 by 100 feet. During World War II, the U.S. Naval Reserve used the space to train thousands of recruits. The building connects Depression-era public works with the city’s wartime history.
Lake Union’s historic vessels
Lake Union Park is home to several pieces of Seattle’s maritime heritage. Swiftsure (LV-83), launched in 1904, is the oldest surviving lightship in the United States and the only one still fitted with its original steam engine. It is also the last lightship with wooden decks.
The steamship Virginia V is the last operational example of a Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet steamer. It once carried passengers and freight between islands and ports, and today operates from Heritage Wharf at Lake Union Park.
The Arthur Foss is a historic wooden tugboat built in 1889 in Portland, Oregon. Originally named Wallowa, it worked on the Columbia River bar, carried gold shipments during the Klondike Gold Rush, and later supported the U.S. Navy. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, it now serves as a floating museum.
Museum of Pop Culture
At Seattle Center, the Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP, stands out for its bold and colorful architecture. Founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project, the nonprofit museum explores music, rock ’n’ roll, science fiction, and other aspects of popular culture through interactive exhibitions.
Its earlier names included the EMP Museum, the Experience Music Project, and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. Since 2007, MoPOP has also honored recording artists through its Founders Award.
Space Needle
The Space Needle is Seattle’s best-known landmark and one of the clearest answers to what to see in Seattle. Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the tower was designated a historic landmark by Seattle’s Landmarks Preservation Board in 1999.
Its observation deck is 520 feet above the ground and offers panoramic views of downtown Seattle, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and the islands of Puget Sound. The flying-saucer-shaped top has made the tower instantly recognizable.
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens
At the west end of Salmon Bay, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks—better known as the Ballard Locks—connect the waterways of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The complex includes a fish ladder and the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens.
The gardens cover seven acres and provide a quieter way to experience the locks. The construction of the canal changed Seattle’s landscape significantly: Lake Washington and Lake Union were lowered by 8.8 feet, new waterfront land appeared, and the flow of rivers was reversed.
George Washington Memorial Bridge
The George Washington Memorial Bridge crosses the western end of Lake Union near Aurora Avenue North. Its steel arches and trusses form a cantilever and truss structure nearly 3,000 feet long and about 167 feet above the water.
The bridge opened to traffic on February 22, 1932, the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Montlake Cut
Montlake Cut is the easternmost section of Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound. Opened in 1916 after more than half a century of planning and construction, it is both an important navigation route and a scenic National Recreation Trail.
The path along the water was designated Montlake Cut National Waterside in 1971. The Montlake Bridge spans the cut, allowing road and marine traffic to share the crossing.
Henry Art Gallery
In the University District, the Henry Art Gallery is the University of Washington’s contemporary art museum. Founded in February 1927, it was the first public art museum in Washington. The original building was designed by Bebb and Gould, and a 1997 expansion brought the gallery to 40,000 square feet and added a 154-seat auditorium.
Explore Seattle with Neywo
Neywo offers 7 walking tours, 1 bus route, and 1 bike route in Seattle. The walks range from 0.66 to 3.5 km and from 43 to 112 minutes, while the bus route covers 7 km in 30 minutes and the bike route covers 3.3 km in 16 minutes. Together, the tours include 76 narrated stops, and the app offers narration in 11 languages.
Choose a walk through Seattle Center, Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market and the waterfront, Fremont, the Chinatown-International District, the University of Washington, or Lake Union Park. You can also follow the bus route from downtown to the Fremont Troll or cycle from Westlake to the waterfront.
Download Neywo and explore Seattle at your own pace: the app tells the story of each place as you reach it, with no group and no schedule.
Places with an audio guide in Seattle
8 places in Seattle with a Neywo audio guide. Each one starts telling its story as you reach it.
Self-guided tours in Seattle
9 tours in Seattle, free in the Neywo app. Each stop tells its story as you reach it.
- Bike ride
Downtown Seattle by Bike: Westlake to the Waterfront
Ride the protected cycle lane through the heart of downtown, from the Cinerama movie theatre in Belltown past Westlake Park, the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle's Central Library and the Columbia Center, then reach Pioneer Square and head south to the Coast Guard Museum on Elliott Bay.
SIFF Cinema Downtown · John Harte McGraw · Westlake Park · 5th Avenue Theatre · Seattle Central Library · Columbia Center …
Open this tour: Downtown Seattle by Bike: Westlake to the Waterfront - Bus ride
Route 5: Downtown to the Fremont Troll
A frequent King County Metro bus from King Street Station through Pioneer Square and past Benaroya Hall, then up Aurora Avenue over the George Washington Memorial Bridge to Fremont. Get off at the Troll.
King Street Station · Pioneer Square · Grand Opera House · Benaroya Hall · George Washington Memorial Bridge · Fremont Troll
Open this tour: Route 5: Downtown to the Fremont Troll - Walk
Seattle Center: Space Needle, Glass and Pop Culture
Explore the grounds of the 1962 World's Fair: a Japanese friendship bell, the dancing International Fountain, the glass gardens of Chihuly beneath the Space Needle and the swooping Museum of Pop Culture. A compact loop packed with Seattle's best-known icons.
Gates Foundation · Chris Cornell memorial statue · Museum of Pop Culture · Space Needle · Chihuly Garden and Glass · Pacific Science Center …
Open this tour: Seattle Center: Space Needle, Glass and Pop Culture - Walk
Pioneer Square: Where Seattle Began
Walk the brick streets of Seattle's oldest neighbourhood, from the grand King Street Station to the iron pergola, the totem pole and the Pioneer Building that rose after the Great Fire of 1889. Pass the shell of a vanished opera house, then climb the grid to the state's tallest tower, the glass-and-steel Central Library and the Paramount Theatre.
King Street Station · Occidental Park · Pioneer Building · Pioneer Square pergola · Pioneer Square · Prefontaine Fountain …
Open this tour: Pioneer Square: Where Seattle Began - Walk
Pike Place Market and the Waterfront
Start at the Seattle Art Museum and dive into the market: the famous gum wall, Rachel the bronze piggy bank and the stalls of Pike Place. Finish on the Elliott Bay waterfront at the aquarium and the Great Wheel.
Seattle Art Museum · The Triple Door · Showbox · Hahn Building · Gum Wall · Rachel …
Open this tour: Pike Place Market and the Waterfront - Walk
Fremont: The Troll, Lenin and the Center of the Universe
Walk Seattle's most eccentric neighbourhood. Meet the concrete troll clutching a real VW Beetle under the Aurora Bridge, six commuters and a dog waiting for a tram, a Cold War rocket and a bronze Lenin, then finish at the busiest drawbridge in the country.
George Washington Memorial Bridge · Fremont Troll · Waiting for the Interurban · Fremont Rocket · Statue of Lenin, Seattle · Fremont Bridge
Open this tour: Fremont: The Troll, Lenin and the Center of the Universe - Walk
Chinatown-International District: Gates, Hotels and Museums
Pass under the Historic Chinatown Gate and walk the streets where Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Vietnamese communities built the International District. Stop at the Nippon Kan Theatre, the Panama Hotel and the Wing Luke Museum, then follow the neighbourhood east to a Chinese Baptist church, a Buddhist temple and the Art Deco Pacific Tower.
Historic Chinatown Gate (Seattle) · Nippon Kan Theatre · Panama Hotel · Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience · Chinese Baptist Church · Victorian Apartments …
Open this tour: Chinatown-International District: Gates, Hotels and Museums - Walk
University of Washington: Red Square to the Montlake Cut
Start at the Burke Museum, cross the campus past the Henry Art Gallery, Nine Spaces Nine Trees and Red Square, and pause at the bust of Grieg. Continue past Husky Stadium to the Montlake Cut, where the ship canal links Lake Washington to Puget Sound, and finish at the Montlake Bridge and the museum building beside it.
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture · Henry Art Gallery · Nine Spaces Nine Trees · Red Square · University of Washington · Bust of Edvard Grieg …
Open this tour: University of Washington: Red Square to the Montlake Cut - Walk
Lake Union Park: Tugboats, Lightships and Wooden Boats
A short stroll around the south shore of Lake Union: the Naval Reserve Armory, the oldest wooden tugboat still afloat, the last lightship with wooden decks and the boats of the Center for Wooden Boats and the Northwest Seaport.
Naval Reserve Armory · Northwest Seaport · Swiftsure (LV-83) · Arthur Foss · Center for Wooden Boats
Open this tour: Lake Union Park: Tugboats, Lightships and Wooden Boats
Walk Seattle with Neywo
Neywo turns Seattle into a self-guided audio tour. Stories arrive as you reach the place they belong to, and the route reshapes when you wander off it.
