3 Places to Visit in Seattle in a Day

Recently, we wrote a blog detailing 5 Incredible Things to do in Seattle for Families and we thought we’d follow up with three more locations in Seattle that you can visit in a day. 

Of course, Seattle is a brilliant city, full of places to see, so we don’t really recommend spending just a day here. But if you want to see as much as possible on one of your days in Emerald City, then this blog has got you covered.

If anything we say here inspires you to visit Seattle with the most passionate, well-connected tour operator in Seattle… then check out our collection of Private Seattle Tours and please get in touch if you’d like to arrange a Customized Seattle Tour instead. 

3) Visit Easy Street Records

Easy Street Records, Seattle

Seattle’s legendary Easy Street Records is a must for music lovers. You’ll find it in the heart of the Alaska Junction in West Seattle. Easy Street was opened in 1988 by owner Matt Vaughn and has had a full-service cafe since 2001, offering music-themed dishes like the “Salad of John and Yoko” and the “Let it BLT” sandwich.

In 2018, Rolling Stone Magazine named it one of the ten best record stores in America. Many great bands have actually performed in-store but Pearl Jam’s famous private performance for 200 people in 2005 will go down in history as one of the best gigs most people didn’t see!

Pearl Jam later released a recording of the show on an EP titled Live at Easy Street. Eddie Vedder even worked a shift behind the counter in 1995. To many people, this really is the best record store in the United States, making it a must-see for music aficionados.

The building it occupies is called the Hamm building; it was constructed in 1926 and has been designated a city landmark. East Street sells music in all formats including an entire floor for vinyl. One of their iconic T-shirts is the oerfect Seattle souvenir.

2) Visit Seattle’s Volunteer Park

Volunteer Park Blackhole Sun

“Black Sun” Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi

The “Black Sun” Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi from 1969 has been known as the Doughnut, but more recently the “Black Hole Sun” after it became known as the inspiration for the iconic 1994 Soundgarden tune of the same name.

Volunteer Park has recently become one of our favorite off-the-beaten-path destinations to show our clients. Wee probably should have put it on our 5 Off-the-beaten-path Spots in Seattle, but there are so many incredible things to see and do in Seattle that it’s hard to keep track sometimes! 

The 48-acre park is home to the Volunteer Park Water Tower, the recently renovated Seattle Asian Art Museum, the Volunteer Park Conservatory, as well as an amphitheater, reservoir, koi pond, and beautiful acres of landscaped parkland.

It’s situated in one of Seattle’s oldest residential areas in Capitol Hill. The Lakeview Cemetery borders it to the north and is surrounded by beautiful homes and views to the east. The cemetery is home to gravestones that mark the burial sites of such Seattle legends as Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee, John Nordstrom, the Denny Party, Henry Yesler and even Chief Seattle’s daughter. 

1) Lumen Field (Formerly known as Century Field)

Century Field

Us locals will take a while to come to terms with the new name as it has been Century Link Field for a VERY long time but has recently changed its name to Lumen Field. We’re not sure we love the change… Name change aside, this is one of the greatest — and loudest — stadiums in the world 

Construction began in 2000 after the infamous Kingdome was imploded and it hosted its first event in 2002. The stadium holds around 70,000 screaming fans — depending on the type of event taking place. Over 90% of the concrete from the Kingdome was salvaged and recycled into the construction of the new state-of-the-art football stadium.

It was the site of the Beast Quake run in the 2010 playoff game where Marshawn Lynch broke a 67-yard TD run to essentially seal a Seahawks playoff victory. The excitement and rumbling from the crowd registered as seismic activity with local seismologist equipment (this is not a joke; Seattleites are just very enthusiastic sports fans).

While there are always 11 men on the field at one time, Seahawks fans proudly refer to themselves as “the 12th man” and wear jerseys and wave flags with the number 12 on them. The logic is that if the crowd is loud enough and can affect the opposing team’s ability to communicate on the field, we give our players a unique home-field advantage. 

The stadium is designed to funnel crowd noise onto the field and we have caused more false start penalties than any other venue in the NFL since the stadium was constructed.

Regardless of the type of event you see in Lumen Field, it is always an exciting experience, mostly due to the passion of the fans who attend each event. 

Whether a sports fan or not, we almost always drive by this world-class stadium on our city tours to provide a glimpse into the incredible facility right in the heart of the city. 

After all, this is the home to the famous Seattle Seahawks, as well as the XFL Sea Dragons and the Seattle Sounders FC.

We hope you’ve added one of two places from this list to your next Seattle adventure. If you have any questions about anywhere we’ve mentioned on this blog, please don’t hesitate to contact us. And if you’d like to take your Seattle Trip to the next level, check out our Seattle Speciality Experiences!

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