The radiance of the Emerald City

You can taste Seattle: the natural flavours of the surrounding forests, mountain rivers and the Pacific meet to create the recipe for success that is Pacific Northwest cuisine – including indigenous and Asian traditions. An urban natural beauty, Seattle is also a city of music and art.

In Seattle, the trees grow tall, and the Museum of Pop Culture is no exception. Only this time we are dealing with a guitar tree. It stands several metres tall, an original, dynamic sculpture made of dozens of electric guitars with the best strings in American music history. People like Jimi Hendrix played a part – the guitar of Seattle’s most famous musician features in this unique work. Things can also get loud at the MoPOP. Or quiet, with oscillating contortions of electronic riffs, and open to changing moods. In the Sound Lab music studio, you can even record songs yourself playing drums, guitars, keyboards or singing. Frank O. Gehry, the pop star of architecture, saw it that way too. With the MoPOP, he gave Seattle one of his most unusual buildings – inspired by the ecstatic moment of smashing a guitar. On the edge of the city centre, the steel skin of the deconstructivist building bulges and twists, playing with carefully placed disharmonies and the chronically hyperactive lights of the city. Sun and rain alternate more capriciously in the Pacific Northwest than anywhere else. This also contributes to the refreshing vibe that characterises Seattle and has always made the city a testing ground for experimental developments. Sure, there were moments when the Pacific coast was the end of the line after the long trek from east to west. But it was nothing more than a short breather. Cosmopolitan Seattle is not a bad example of this. The MoPOP, where Keith Haring’s stick figures will also be hanging this spring, was brought to life by a pioneer of modern times; it was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. It’s part of the DNA here. 

The non-profit organisation Americans for the Arts has registered more art-related companies and organisations in Seattle than in any other metropolitan area in the United States – including corporate patrons. A few years ago, another toy from a Seattle-based tech company caught people’s attention. The Amazon Spheres glass domes attraction opened on 7th Avenue in the vibrant Denny Triangle neighbourhood: three overlapping, biomorphic balloons with lush, sprawling plant walls. Tongue-in-cheek, local media christened the green relaxation room for Amazon employees ​“Bezos’ balls”. Starbucks? This successful Seattle brand, which redefined the café on a global level, is also worth a visit. In the Capitol Hill district, get a taste of history at the Seattle Roastery – among other things. Coffee lovers can choose between a Rwandan cold brew made from beans aged in a gin barrel, or the sun-dried highland variety from the Bolivia Kusillo plantation. Visitors can also watch the mixologists at work as they create a variety of caffeinated drinks.

Creative culinary scene

In Seattle, taste buds are tantalised at every turn by a curiosity for new recipes. The keywords here: Pacific Northwest cuisine. Around the same time that New Nordic Cuisine was on the rise ­– a culinary movement that celebrates Scandinavia’s natural flavours – the intense tastes of forest, sea and mountains were coming together here to deliver authentic culinary creations. This is what makes places like Seattle’s Pike Place Market – better known as PPM – a mecca for food bloggers and protagonists of the locavore trend, which champions locally produced food as the key ingredient. In the Emerald City, which is blessed with an abundance of nature and extends between an ocean, densely mossy primeval forests, fresh headwaters and mountain ranges, locavores have plenty to choose from. Wild mushrooms and seasonal berries, fresh fiddlehead ferns and caribou, Pacific salmon, seafood and elk – the variety and freshness of the food here is simply astounding. But what makes Seattle’s Pacific Northwest cuisine unique are the culinary techniques of the Native Americans who live here, as well as the Asian and Mexican immigrants who came later. The ancient knowledge of fish perfectly smoked with cedar wood is testament to this, and even weeds such as cow parsnip are served as a delicacy called pushki. Fusion food carts entice with bulgogi burritos, deep-fried sushi, Korean tacos and Japanese-style hot dogs. Taste Washington, the largest food festival in the United States, throws a fiesta that brings all of this together. Meanwhile, gastronomic history is being written at the upper end of the scale, – for example, at restaurants like Musang, which takes Filipino food, often under-appreciated in fine dining, to a gourmet level in Seattle. If you prefer, you can also follow in the footsteps of the ingredients yourself. Organisers of wild food safaris such as Savor the Wild offer trips in the Seattle area that include mushroom foraging, gourmet kayaking and shellfish safaris – ideally topped off with a pop-up dinner in a stunning natural setting.

Heli-seeing

It’s time for an even better overview. The rotating glass floor of the architectural landmark the Space Needle is one option. But a forward-looking city like Seattle also offers panoramic views as part of heli-sightseeing or scenic seaplane tours like those offered by Kenmore Air. It’s the ideal way to see the city’s embrace of the land, water, skyscrapers and snow-capped mountains from above. Outposts include the Puget Sound strait and the glacier-covered Cascade Range, while the spectacular Mount Rainier and the volcanic crater of Mount St. Helens are not too far away. If you prefer to visit these natural gems in a 4×4, driving by wildflower meadows, gushing waterfalls and ancient conifers, day trips such as those offered by Evergreen Escapes are a good option. However, the 25-minute round trip over downtown Seattle itself is also an out-of-this-world experience. The Space Needle, a circular tower that looks like a UFO pinned to the ground, was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. The gentle water landing at central Lake Union is an experience in itself.

Neighbourhood visits

You can also delve into the city’s various neighbourhoods and learn to love Seattle as a relaxed living room. We have already mentioned Pike Place Market, the culinary centre of the cosmopolitan city, but not the spontaneous boat tours that can be taken in addition to a stroll along the Seattle waterfront. Places like Elliott Bay and Bainbridge Island surprise visitors with wineries, hiking trails and kayaking opportunities. There is always plenty to see on a stroll through Seattle’s neighbourhoods. The historic charm of Pioneer Square and the modern Queen Anne district, characterised by Victorian houses, are worlds apart. North of Lake Union and Salmon Bay, some districts are directly bounded by the water: Ballard gives visitors a specific sense of déjà vu thanks to its Scandinavian influence and seafaring tradition. The neighbouring district of Fremont is very different: on the former site of the Gas Works Park, the skyline is as impressive as the bizarre reminders of the industrial past. Another must-see here is the sculpture of a troll crushing a VW Beetle. The Fremont Troll, one of the city’s most famous works of art, is a symbol of the local art scene.

Festival city

If you talk to the locals, their priorities sometimes lie elsewhere. They talk about neighbourhoods like West Seattle – because of the wonderfully relaxed mix of residential areas, second-hand shopping and the Sunday routine of visiting the West Seattle Farmers Market. One of the most popular beaches in Elliott Bay – Alki Beach – attracts water sports enthusiasts in summer. And from locations such as Hamilton Viewpoint or Seacrest Park, amateur photographers may be able to capture the best skyline shots of the Seattle Center. Meanwhile, the diverse Capitol Hill neighbourhood, home to stylish boutiques and LGBTQ+ bars, promises a very different kind of party. The Capitol Hill Block Party is held here every July, one of the best music and street festivals in the city. The more international counterpart to this neighbourhood event is Bumbershoot – one of the largest music and arts festivals in the USA. If you still have time between experiencing nature, live music, food safaris, spontaneous helicopter cruises and a must-see visit to the world-class Seattle Art Museum, the Emerald City has countless other highlights in store for you. In Capitol Hill alone, the Seattle Asian Art Museum or Volunteer Park, with its historic greenhouse and dahlia garden, are worth a visit. But perhaps the creative exuberance of Seattle’s legendary music scene or the search for traces of grunge legend Kurt Cobain are at the top of your bucket list. Even November is not a bad time to be in town – the Cloudbreak music festival transforms the city into a huge stage at Puget Sound. It goes without saying that the list of venues that attract live music acts every day is endless. However, the selection of niche music tours is also worth a mention. The Grunge Redux Walking Tour – led by writer and native Seattleite Eric Magnuson – takes in the most important sites. And the London Bridge Studio Tour introduces visitors to the places where some of the most famous records in Seattle music history were recorded. Either way, this city is always a hit!

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