PHX
Phoenix · Sky Harbor
06:59Sat 5 Sep
3h 06mNon-stop
SEA
Seattle · Sea-Tac
10:05Sat 5 Sep
Carrier DeltaBags main-terminal carouselsRides garage, 3rd floor
The XYZ family goes toSeattle
Four days between the Sound and the mountains: glass domes and blown glass, the first 747 at Boeing Field, the Needle at golden hour, salmon at the locks, the market at opening, and the ferry across the Sound before the flight home.
Scroll down4days
Sat 5 → Tue 8 Sep
2hotels
Lake Union, then downtown
2timed entries
Spheres 2:30 · Needle 5:00
$163– 301
Ground transport, all three
Getting there
Phoenix to Seattle, non-stop both ways
Delta up on Saturday morning and back on Tuesday evening. Arizona doesn't observe daylight saving, so the clocks read the same in both cities this week: no time change to think about.
SEA
Seattle · Sea-Tac
18:10Tue 8 Sep
3h 02mNon-stop
PHX
Phoenix · Sky Harbor
21:12Tue 8 Sep
Carrier DeltaAt terminal by 4:10 PMLeave hotel 2:30 PM
Airport to hotel
25–40 minCab or rideshare, $45–65 for three
Traffic-proof option
Link 1 LineSEA → Westlake, 38 min, $3 per adult
Security on the way home
Allow 2 hoursTuesday after a holiday weekend is busy
Window seat
Left side leaving SEAMount Rainier on a clear evening
Where we're staying
One night by the lake, two nights downtown
Both hotels include breakfast for everyone and will hold bags before check-in and after check-out. The Sunday-evening move is deliberate: it puts us four minutes from Pike Place Market for the last two days.
Sat 5 · 1 night
Hotel 1 · South Lake Union
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Seattle Downtown – Lake Union
A short walk from Denny Park, the Spheres and Seattle Center, which is exactly where Saturday happens. We drop bags on arrival, sleep here Saturday, breakfast here Sunday, and leave the luggage at the desk until noon, when the 62 bus takes it, and us, down to the Charter.
Open in Maps →
Sun 6 – Tue 8 · 2 nights
Hotel 2 · Downtown
The Charter Hotel Seattle, Curio Collection by Hilton
On 2nd Avenue at Pine: four minutes to the market, three to Westlake light-rail station, and the Fog Room rooftop lounge upstairs on the 16th floor for Sunday's nightcap. Breakfast here on Monday and Tuesday.
Open in Maps →
What we want to do
Seven things worth the trip
In the order they happen. Two are reserved already; the rest need tickets bought ahead or just showing up. The day-by-day plan below has the times and how we get between them.
01 · Sat 2:30 PM · Reserved
The Spheres
Three glass domes holding a four-storey rainforest of 40,000 plants. Public visits happen only on select Saturdays, and ours is booked.
02 · Sat afternoon
Olympic Sculpture Park
Nine free acres zigzagging from Belltown down to the Sound: Calder's red Eagle with the Needle standing inside its legs, Serra's steel Wake, and a beach at the bottom. Then $3.50 tacos on Dexter and sunset from Lake Union Park as the seaplanes land.
03 · Sun morning
The Museum of Flight
Boeing's own field: the Red Barn where the company started, a Blackbird under the glass roof, and outside a Concorde, the first 747 and an Air Force One you walk through.
04 · Sun 2:30 PM
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Eight galleries, a glasshouse and a garden where glass grows among the plants.
05 · Sun 5:00 PM · Reserved
Space Needle at golden hour
Glass benches, the revolving glass floor, Rainier to the south-east, and a 7:36 PM sunset if we linger.
06 · Mon morning
Ballard Locks and the salmon ladder
Boats lifted between the Sound and the lakes, coho climbing the fish ladder past underwater windows, then old Ballard and the Troll under the Aurora Bridge, with the 40 and 44 buses doing the distance. Free, and all of it open on Labor Day.
07 · Tue morning
The market, then the ferry to Bainbridge
Fish throwing and piroshky as the stalls open, then a walk-on ticket for the 9:35 boat: the whole skyline off the stern, a free art museum and a bakery in Winslow, the 12:20 boat back with the city filling the bow windows, and fish and chips at Ivar's on the pier where it lands. $11.35 a head, the best view of the trip, and back at the bags by one.
Day by day
The plan, hour by hour
Flights, hotels and the two timed entries are fixed. Everything else is the intended order, with the walk, cab or train that connects each stop and what it costs for three. Times are when we aim to arrive, with at least twenty minutes of slack in every leg, so a late bus or a long line costs nothing. Nothing is booked beyond the two entries we already hold, and any stop that isn't one of those can be dropped on the day. Weather is the National Weather Service forecast issued on Friday 4 September: dry and partly sunny all four days, highs of 70–72°F.
05SaturdayLand, brunch, the domes, the lake
Partly sunny71°F / 22°C high55°F / 13°C low20% chance of a shower before 8 PMSunset 7:38 PM
Off the plane and into the domes
We land at 10:05, take the train into town and the 62 bus up Dexter Avenue to leave the bags at the Holiday Inn Express: four minutes of walking with luggage, not seventeen. Brunch at Tilikum Place Cafe, ten minutes away, then nine minutes on through the Amazon blocks to the Spheres for the 2:30 slot. From the domes it's a downhill mile to the Olympic Sculpture Park, nine free acres of Calder and Serra stepping down to the water, then the 8 bus along Denny Way back to the hotel for showers and an hour off our feet. Dinner is adobada tacos at Tacos Chukis on Dexter Avenue, nine minutes up the street and about $12 a head, then Lake Union Park for the seaplanes landing and the sun going down behind Queen Anne at 7:38. Bed by nine, on purpose: we have been up since 4:30.
Spheres · reserved 2:30 PMSculpture park is freeNothing to bookUp since 4:30 AM
- Land at Sea-Tac. Bags at the main terminal, then the skybridge from the garage's 4th floor to the Link station.Link 1 Line to Westlake · 38 min · $3 per adult · out at 3rd Ave and Pine St, and the Metro 62 north from that corner to Dexter Ave N and Denny Way · 8 min · every 15 min · $3 per adult · then 4 min on foot to the hotel · a cab from the airport, 25–40 min, $45–65, is the only-if-wrecked option
- Bag drop at the Holiday Inn Express. Rooms are rarely ready before three; leave everything at the desk and take one small bag for the day. Brunch isn't until 12:45, so a slow train or a missed 62 costs nothing.Walk down Aurora Ave and Denny Way to 5th Ave and Cedar St · 10 min · 0.5 mi · flat
- Brunch at Tilikum Place Cafe. Twelve tables by the Chief Seattle statue and one of the best brunches in the country: the Dutch babies, sweet or savoury, are the reason to come. Brunch runs to two on Saturdays and it's twelve tables, so walk in and take the wait if it's short; about $18 a head. If it's long, Top Pot Doughnuts on 5th Ave, two minutes on, is the $6 version and always has a seat. MapWalk down 5th Ave, then Lenora St to 7th · 9 min · 0.45 mi
- The Understory. The free exhibit at the base of the Spheres explains how the domes were built and what grows in them; no ticket needed, and it's the queue point for our slot.Same building
- The Spheres. Reserved 2:30. Be in line 15 minutes early with the confirmation. Living Wall from the top walkway, the bird's-nest meeting room in the canopy, the fig tree that came in through the roof by crane. Allow an hour. MapWalk down Lenora St to 1st Ave, north to Broad St and down through the park gate · 20 min · 1 mi · downhill all the way · or a cab, $10
- Olympic Sculpture Park. The Seattle Art Museum's outdoor wing, free and open until dusk: a zigzag path from Belltown down to Elliott Bay past Calder's red Eagle, which lines up with the Needle if you stand on the lawn below it, Serra's rusted Wake, the Typewriter Eraser, and a pocket beach at the bottom with the Olympics across the water. Forty-five minutes, benches everywhere, no ticket. MapWalk up Broad St to Denny Way and 1st Ave N · 8 min · Metro 8 east along Denny Way to Dexter Ave N · 5 min · every 15 min · $3 per adult · then 4 min to the hotel · or 20 min on foot up Denny, or a cab, $10
- Check in at the Holiday Inn Express. Rooms are ready by now. Showers, phones on charge, and an hour off our feet before the only walk left today.Walk north up Dexter Ave N to Aloha St · 9 min · flat
- Dinner at Tacos Chukis. Seattle's taco counter, started on Capitol Hill and now on Dexter Avenue: the adobada taco with grilled pineapple is the order, about $3.50 each, with the tortas and the quesadillas behind it. Counter service, tables inside, cards fine, and around $12 a head. Open until 10; at 6:30 there is no line. If the line is out the door, Pagliacci Pizza, Seattle's own since 1979, is four minutes on at Aurora Ave N and Valley St, slices or a whole pie, open until 11. MapWalk east on Aloha St and down Westlake Ave N to Lake Union Park · 10 min · flat
- Sunset from Lake Union Park. The sun goes down behind Queen Anne Hill at 7:38 with the seaplanes landing in front of the park and the towers lighting up across the water. Then back the way we came. The earliest night of the trip, and the one that makes Sunday work.Walk west on John St to the hotel · 6 min
2:30 PM · The Spheres, reserved
3:50 PM · Calder's Eagle, sculpture park
7:38 PM · Sunset from Lake Union Park
Late sun through the west glass of the Spheres is the photo.
06SundayBoeing Field, glass, then the Needle
Mostly sunny72°F / 22°C high55°F / 13°C lowSunset 7:36 PM
Nothing longer than six minutes on foot
Breakfast at the hotel, check out, and the 62 bus with the bags from the corner of Dexter and Denny straight down 3rd Avenue to the Charter's block: four minutes with luggage on the pavement, not twenty. The desk holds the bags, and the 124 leaves from the same avenue for the Museum of Flight on Boeing Field, thirty-five minutes south: the Red Barn where Boeing began, a Blackbird and a DC-3 under the glass roof of the Great Gallery, and across the bridge the Concorde, the first 747 and the Air Force One that carried Eisenhower and Kennedy, all with their doors open. Lunch at the museum's café, the 124 back up 3rd Avenue and the Monorail from Westlake Center to Seattle Center, two minutes, for Chihuly at 2:30 and the Space Needle at 5:00. Bumbershoot has the rest of Seattle Center fenced off today, so the Armory food hall and the fountain are out; the Needle and Chihuly keep their own doors. Dinner is Dick's Drive-In on Queen Anne Avenue, two bus stops from the Needle, the 13 down to the Charter, check in, and the 16th-floor terrace at Fog Room. No cab all day.
Space Needle · reserved 5:00 PMBuy Chihuly + Needle bundleBags ride the 62 at 9Armory closed to us today
- Breakfast, check out at the Holiday Inn Express, bags with us. No rush at the desk: the 62 runs every fifteen minutes and the museum doesn't open until 10.Walk to Dexter Ave and Denny Way · 4 min
- Ride the bags to The Charter. The 62 stops a block from the hotel at Dexter Avenue and Denny Way and runs straight down 3rd Avenue; off at Pine Street, and the Charter is two minutes over on 2nd. The desk holds the bags until check-in. MapMetro 62 to 3rd Ave and Pine St · 8 min · every 15 min · $3 per adult, good for 2 hours, so the 124 is a free transfer · 2 min to the Charter · a cab is $10–15 if the timing goes wrong
- The 124 south to Boeing Field. Back on 3rd Avenue at Pine Street, southbound. It goes through Pioneer Square, past the stadiums and Georgetown and stops at the museum's door on East Marginal Way; thirty-five minutes with the city thinning out the window. Every fifteen to twenty minutes on Sundays, so the next one still lands us before 10:30. MapMetro 124 to E Marginal Way S and S 94th Pl · 35 min · free on the 62 ticket · or a cab, 20 min, $30–35
- The Museum of Flight. Boeing's birthplace on Boeing Field and the biggest air museum outside Washington, D.C. The Great Gallery first, the DC-3 and the Blackbird under the glass roof, then the Red Barn, the original 1909 Boeing factory, then over the pedestrian bridge to the Aviation Pavilion: the Concorde, the very first 747, a 787, and the Air Force One that flew Eisenhower and Kennedy, all open to walk through. Two and a half hours is right, and there is a lot of sitting-down space. $29 an adult, $25 over 65, at the door or online. Open 10 to 5. MapWings Café is inside, by the Great Gallery
- Lunch at Wings Café in the museum: sandwiches, a hot dish or two, soup, coffee, about $12 a head, no line to speak of, and tables under the planes. Nothing to book. The chowder cup happens at Ivar's on Tuesday instead. Out the door by 12:50; the 124 stops across the road. MapMetro 124 north to 3rd Ave and Pine St · 35 min · every 15–20 min · $3 per adult · walk up Pine St to Westlake Center, 5th and Pine · 6 min · Monorail from the 3rd floor · 2 min · every 10 min · $4 per adult · the platform is 3 min from Chihuly, so about forty minutes of slack before the 2:30 slot · if today's festival fence has taken the platform in, the 13 from 3rd Ave and Pine to Denny Way and 2nd Ave N does it instead, then 8 min up Denny Way to the Needle · or a cab straight from the museum to Chihuly, 25 min, $35–40
- Chihuly Garden and Glass. Lie on the floor under the Persian Ceiling, save the outdoor garden for last when the sun is on it. Two hours is right, and The Bar inside does a coffee or a glass of wine before the Needle. MapWalk round to the Needle entrance on Broad St · 3 min
- Space Needle. Reserved 5:00. Skyrisers glass benches early in the slot, stairs down one level to The Loupe revolving floor. No time limit up top, so staying for the 7:36 sunset is allowed; it just pushes dinner later. MapWalk down 5th Ave N to Denny Way · 4 min · Metro 8 west two stops to 1st Ave N and Republican St · 3 min · every 15 min · $3 per adult · Dick's is a block west · or 13 min on foot along Denny Way and up Queen Anne Ave
- Dinner at Dick's Drive-In. Seattle's burger since 1954 and the city's real local cuisine: a Deluxe, fries cut in the shop, a hand-dipped shake, no substitutions, about $10 a head, and the Queen Anne one is the only Dick's with seats inside. Festival Sunday means a line; it moves fast. If it's round the block, Serious Pie on Virginia Street, four minutes from the Charter, is blistered thin-crust pizza on a stool. MapWalk to Queen Anne Ave N and W Harrison St · 2 min · Metro 13 down to 3rd Ave and Pine St · 10 min · every 30 min on Sundays, so check the app; the D Line runs the same avenue more often · $3 per adult · 2 min to the Charter
- Check in to The Charter Hotel. The bags are already at the desk; ten minutes to change, and up to the roof. MapLift to the 16th floor
- Nightcap at Fog Room, if anyone is still awake. Outdoor terrace over 2nd Avenue toward the Sound. Bring a layer; it's windy after dark. Strictly 21 and over with ID, so passports up. If that catches anyone, walk six minutes to the Overlook Walk instead: the lit-up waterfront and the Great Wheel from above, open until 10. Map
5:00 PM · Space Needle, reserved
10:15 AM · Museum of Flight, Boeing Field
Under the Needle
2:30 PM · Chihuly Garden and Glass
Rainier is the big cone to the south-east, behind downtown.
07Monday · Labor DayLocks, old Ballard, the Troll, sunset from the hill
Partly sunny72°F / 22°C high56°F / 13°C lowSunset 7:34 PM
The day out of downtown
The one day we leave the centre, and the buses do the distance: the 40 to Ballard and the 44 to the locks gate, where boats lift and drop and salmon climb the ladder past underwater windows, fish and chips at the Lockspot by the gate, the 44 back to Ballard Avenue for a slow look at the brick blocks of old Ballard, and the 40 to Fremont for the Troll under the Aurora Bridge, six minutes up from the stop. The same bus comes back over the drawbridge and down Westlake for two hours off at the hotel, then the 13 up Queen Anne Hill to the 5 Spot diner, Kerry Park for sunset, ice cream, and the 13 back down. No walk longer than six minutes except the ones that are the point, and every stop keeps its normal hours on the holiday; the ones that don't, Sushi Kashiba, Canlis, the Japanese Garden and the art museum, are why this is the plan.
Kerry Park · sunset 7:34 PM5 Spot, walk inEverything open on Labor DayBuses on the Sunday timetable
- Breakfast at The Charter. No alarm needed; the locks run all day and nothing on Monday is timed.Metro 40 from 3rd Ave and Pine, three minutes from the hotel, to NW Market St and Ballard Ave · 35 min · every 15 min · $3 per adult, good for two hours of transfers · then the 44 west from the same corner, three stops to 32nd Ave NW · 3 min · and 2 min to the locks gate
- Ballard Locks. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks lift boats between Puget Sound and the lakes, and on a holiday Monday the small lock cycles nonstop. Watch one fill from the footbridge, cross the spillway to the fish ladder, and go downstairs to the underwater windows: September is the coho run. The walk over the locks to the ladder and back is ten flat minutes, and the whole point. Free, with the botanical garden thrown in. MapThe café is at the gate · 2 min
- Lunch at the Lockspot Café. The fish-and-chips joint at the locks gate since the 1920s, and the most Ballard thing in Ballard: cod or halibut and chips, clam chowder, a wooden booth, open from 11 on Mondays. Ray's Café, fifteen minutes west along the water at Shilshole, is the sit-down alternative with the Olympics out of the window, and thirty minutes back. MapMetro 44 east from NW 54th St and 30th Ave NW, at the gate, to NW Market St and Ballard Ave · 4 min · every 15 min · a fresh ticket, $3 per adult, good for the next two hours
- Old Ballard on foot. Ballard Avenue NW is the Scandinavian fishing town Seattle grew around: five blocks of 1900s brick, the bell tower from the old city hall, boat-supply shops giving way to bars and boutiques, and Bergen Place with its flags at the top. A slow walk, not a shopping stop; the Sunday market isn't on. Or skip it and stay on the 40 straight to Fremont if the legs say so. MapMetro 40 from NW Market St and Ballard Ave, where we got off, to Fremont Ave N and N 34th St · 13 min · every 15 min · same ticket
- The Fremont Troll. Eighteen feet of concrete under the Aurora Bridge, crushing a real Volkswagen, six minutes up the hill from the bus. Ten minutes and the photo, then the Lenin statue and the rocket five minutes down 36th Street if anyone wants them. MapWalk back down to Fremont Ave N and N 34th St · 6 min · Metro 40 south over the Fremont Bridge and down Westlake to 3rd Ave and Pine · 20 min · every 15 min · $3 per adult once the ticket has expired · Gas Works Park and its skyline is a flat 20-minute walk east along N 34th St, and 20 back, if the legs vote for it
- Back to The Charter. Two hours off our feet. Phones charged, a nap if anyone wants one.Metro 13 from 3rd Ave and Pike, three minutes from the hotel, up the Counterbalance to Queen Anne Ave N and W Galer St · 15 min · every 30 min, so check the next one in the Transit app before leaving · $3 per adult · the hill is 450 feet and the stop is a minute from the restaurant door · a cab, $12–15, if the bus is twenty minutes out
- Dinner at 5 Spot. The neighbourhood diner at the top of Queen Anne Avenue, a block from the bus stop: meatloaf, chicken and waffles, a burger, pot roast, booths, and a rotating regional menu on the wall, about $20 a head. Walk in; it closes at 8 on Mondays, so 5:30 is right. If the wait is long, put a name down and do Kerry Park first; it's eight minutes away. Eating first makes sunset the finale instead of the thing we're rushing to. MapWalk west on W Galer St to 3rd Ave W, then one block down to W Highland Dr · 8 min · flat
- Kerry Park at golden hour. The postcard: Needle, downtown, Elliott Bay and Rainier in one frame. Sunset is 7:34, the light is best from about 7:00, and the city lights come on twenty minutes after. Free, always open, a small park, so take a spot on the wall early. MapWalk one block up 3rd Ave W to Galer St · 3 min
- Molly Moon's. Seattle's ice cream: salted caramel, honey lavender, whatever's seasonal, eaten on the walk. Open until 11. If dinner was light, Toulouse Petit at the bottom of the hill serves until 11: gumbo, beignets, a big candle-lit room. MapWalk east on Galer St to Queen Anne Ave N · 4 min · Metro 13 down the Counterbalance to 3rd Ave and Pine · 15 min · every 30 min, check the app · same ticket if it's under two hours old · 2 min to the Charter
10:15 AM · Ballard Locks
2:45 PM · Over the Fremont Bridge on the 40
2:15 PM · The Fremont Troll
7:00 PM · Kerry Park, sunset 7:34
08TuesdayThe market, the ferry, then home
Partly sunny70°F / 21°C high56°F / 13°C lowDepart 6:10 PM
The best view in Seattle costs $11 and leaves from Pier 52
Into the market as the fish counters open, then twelve minutes down 1st Avenue to Colman Dock for the 9:35 ferry to Bainbridge Island: thirty-five minutes on the open stern deck with the whole skyline, the Needle and Rainier lined up behind the wake. Winslow is a five-minute walk from the dock, with a free art museum, a bookshop street and a bakery. The 12:20 boat brings us back into the city with the towers filling the bow windows, fish and chips and a cup of chowder at Ivar's on the pier where we land, the Overlook Walk lifts up to the market so nobody climbs the hill, bags at two, and the train to the airport at 2:30, three and a half hours before the flight, with a booked slot in the security line.
Ferry 9:35 out · 12:20 backLeave hotel 2:30 PMNothing to bookWalk-on, nothing to book
- Breakfast, pack, store bags at The Charter. Keep breakfast light; the market is about eating.Walk down Pine St · 4 min
- Pike Place Market at opening. Under the neon sign as the stalls open: the fish throw at Pike Place Fish Co., a smoked-salmon piroshky, a bag of Daily Dozen mini doughnuts, Beecher's cheese being made through the window, Rachel the bronze pig, and the Gum Wall in Post Alley. Coffee from Ghost Alley Espresso beside the Gum Wall, not the queue at the original Starbucks. MapWalk south down 1st Ave, then Marion St to the Colman Dock footbridge · 12 min · 0.6 mi · downhill · or any southbound bus on 3rd Ave from Pike St to Marion St, then two blocks down
- Colman Dock, Pier 52. Walk-on tickets from the kiosks in the terminal: $11.35 per adult, $5.65 at 65 and over, paid in this direction only. Foot passengers board first and never wait for space. MapBoard from the upper walkway
- Ferry to Bainbridge Island. Go straight up to the open deck at the stern: downtown, the Great Wheel, the Needle and, on a clear morning, Rainier behind it all, shrinking for thirty-five minutes. Coffee and a cinnamon roll from the galley. MapWalk up Winslow Way from the terminal · 5 min
- Winslow. The Bainbridge Island Museum of Art is beside the terminal and free, a bright two-storey building of Northwest artists and glass, open from ten. Then Winslow Way: Eagle Harbor Book Co., Blackbird Bakery, Mora ice cream, the waterfront trail behind the shops. MapOn foot, everything within four blocks
- Blackbird Bakery and the harbour trail. A pastry and a coffee at the island's bakery, open 8 to 4, and not lunch: that's waiting on the pier in Seattle. Then the waterfront trail behind Winslow Way along Eagle Harbor and back to the terminal. MapWalk back to the terminal · 5–10 min · be on the dock by 12:10
- Ferry back to Seattle. This time stand at the bow: the city grows for half an hour and Colman Dock lands us three blocks from the market. The 1:15 sailing also works if the island runs long; then Ivar's is chowder to go and we leave the hotel at 2:45 instead.Walk south along Alaskan Way to Pier 54 · 3 min
- Ivar's Fish Bar, Pier 54. The walk-up window that has been frying fish on this pier since 1938, three minutes from the ferry ramp: fish and chips, a cup of clam chowder, fried clams, eaten at the rail with the boats we just got off going out again. The sit-down Acres of Clams is next door if anyone wants a chair. Open until 9. MapWalk north along the waterfront to the Overlook Walk at the Aquarium, take its lifts up to the MarketFront, and cross the market to 2nd and Pine · 13 min · flat, the lifts do the hill · or a cab, $10
- Collect bags at The Charter. Change shoes, fill water bottles, one last look from the room.Walk to Westlake station · 3 min
- Leave for Sea-Tac. The Link from Westlake to SEA Airport station is a fixed 38 minutes for $3 and skips the freeway; a cab is 30–50 minutes and afternoon I-5 traffic can double it. We have two and a half hours for security and the gate; SEA Spot Saver, the free timed security slot, is there if anyone wants it, but nothing depends on it.Link 1 Line · 38 min · $3 per adult · or cab $45–65
- Delta 2698 to Phoenix. Lands 9:12 PM. Delta boards from the A and B gates: Floret by Café Flora at A1 for a proper sit-down plate, Caffe D'arte at A10 for a last espresso, or LouLou Market and Bar at B3. Beecher's is out at the N gates, so don't go looking for it. Left-hand windows for Rainier on take-off.
9:35 AM · Colman Dock, Pier 52
8:15 AM · The market at opening
12:20 PM · The bow on the way back
12:55 PM · Back into Colman Dock
Stern going out, bow coming back. Gulls follow the boat; don't feed them.
Useful local notes
What the one‑page plan left out
The original itinerary has the bones. These are the details that change what we do: the holiday closures, the fares, which bus goes where, and what to order.
Labor Day changes less than it looks
- MonEvery Monday stop is a park or a street: the Locks, Ballard Avenue, the Troll, Kerry Park. No tickets, no holiday hours, nothing to confirm.
- MonBallard's restaurants mostly open at 4 PM on Mondays, and Un Bien is shut. The Lockspot at the locks gate opens at 11 every day, which is why lunch is there; Ray's Café, fifteen minutes west on the water, is the sit-down alternative.
- Mon5 Spot, Molly Moon's and Toulouse Petit keep normal hours on the holiday, 5 Spot until 8; so does the market. Closed on Labor Day: Sushi Kashiba, the Seattle Japanese Garden, the Volunteer Park Conservatory and the Seattle Art Museum, and Canlis is dark every Sunday and Monday. Metro runs its Sunday timetable on the holiday: the 40 and 44 every 15 minutes, the 13 every 30.
- SunBumbershoot, the Labor Day festival, fences off Seattle Center on both days. We're not going, so the Armory food hall and the International Fountain are out; the Space Needle and Chihuly keep their own entrances and stay open as normal, and the Monorail still runs into the middle of it.
Getting around
- RailLink is a flat $3 per adult since 2024; the $2.50 in the original plan is out of date. Riders 18 and under travel free. The Monorail, Westlake Center's 3rd floor to Seattle Center, is $4 per adult, two minutes, every ten; pay by card or phone at the machine, because the gate itself only reads ORCA.
- PayTap a contactless card or phone at the platform reader, on and off, or use the Transit GO Ticket app.
- SEAThe Link station is across the skybridge from the 4th floor of the parking garage; app rides, if it comes to that, pick up on the 3rd floor.
- BusMetro buses are a flat $3 per adult since September 2025, paid in the Transit GO Ticket app before boarding or with exact change on board; an activated ticket covers two hours of transfers. Labor Day runs the Sunday timetable. The 62 does the Lake Union hotel run both ways, the 8 runs Denny Way between the Needle and Dick's, Monday is the 40 and 44 to the locks, the 40 to Fremont and back, and the 13 up Queen Anne Hill and down again.
- HillsQueen Anne Hill is 450 feet above downtown: the 13 up for dinner and the 13 down after dark. Monday's outing is otherwise flat; Tuesday's climb from the dock is done by the Overlook Walk lifts.
- FerryWalk-on ferry fares are $11.35 per adult (19 to 64) and $5.65 at 65 and over, charged leaving Seattle only; the ride back is free. Kiosks at Colman Dock, no booking, and foot passengers always get on.
Eat
- SatTilikum Place Cafe Dutch babies, brunch by the Chief Seattle statue · Top Pot Doughnuts on 5th Ave, the $6 brunch · Tacos Chukis adobada tacos with pineapple on Dexter Ave, $12 a head · Pagliacci Pizza slices on Aurora at Valley St if the taco line is long
- SunWings Café inside the Museum of Flight, 10 to 5, tables under the planes · Dick's Drive-In the Deluxe and a shake on Queen Anne Ave, the only one with seats · Serious Pie thin-crust pizza on Virginia St if the Dick's line is round the block
- MonLockspot Café fish and chips at the locks gate since the 1920s · Ray's Café the sit-down alternative on the water at Shilshole · 5 Spot the diner at the top of Queen Anne, meatloaf and chicken and waffles, about $20, closes at 8 · Molly Moon's salted caramel
- TuePiroshky Piroshky smoked-salmon pâté · Daily Dozen mini doughnuts · Beecher's fresh curds through the window · Ghost Alley Espresso in Post Alley · Blackbird Bakery pastry and coffee in Winslow · Ivar's Fish Bar fish and chips and chowder on Pier 54, where the ferry lands
The local plates, on purpose: tacos on Dexter on Saturday, lunch under the planes and Dick's on Sunday, the Lockspot's fish and chips at the locks Monday, Ivar's on the pier Tuesday. Nothing is booked; every meal is a walk-in, a counter or a diner, and Serious Pie is pizza on a stool. For the coffee people: Victrola (310 E Pike) and Espresso Vivace on Broadway are the real Seattle coffee, a 15-minute climb from the hotel, if anyone would rather trade the ferry for Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The Reserve Roastery on Pike closed in 2025. Skip the original Starbucks queue.
Views
- SatCalder's Eagle at the sculpture park with the Needle standing inside its legs, then the seaplanes landing off Lake Union Park as the sun goes down behind Queen Anne. Both free.
- SunSpace Needle at 5:00, stay for the light. The Loupe is one level down by stairs.
- MonThe Fremont Bridge from the 40: the ship canal and the boats from the top of the drawbridge, on the way back down. Free with the fare.
- MonKerry Park on Queen Anne: the postcard, best just before sunset. Free.
- TueThe stern of the 9:35 ferry: the whole skyline, the Needle and Rainier lined up behind the wake, for $11.35.
Pack for a Seattle September
- WearLayers. Days near 72°F, evenings in the mid 50s. The Needle deck and Fog Room terrace are windy.
- FeetComfortable shoes, still. About two miles a day in pieces of six minutes or less, flat, with the buses, the Monorail and the lifts doing the distance and the hills; the longest walks are the ones inside the locks, the market and the Chihuly garden.
- SunThe forecast is dry all four days, unusual here; a 20% shower chance on Saturday evening is the worst of it. Sunglasses for the Needle and the ferry deck, and a windproof layer for the boat.
- BagOne small bag on Saturday; the rooms aren't ready until three, so the daypack waits at the desk.
If it rains after all
- SatThe Spheres don't care about weather, and Tacos Chukis has tables inside. If it's pouring at 3:30, skip the sculpture park and the sunset, go straight back to the hotel, and walk up to the tacos under the hotel's umbrellas.
- SunMuseum, Chihuly and the Needle's enclosed level are all indoors. Skip the outdoor deck.
- MonThe locks and the fish-ladder windows work in rain, and the Troll is under a bridge. If it pours, Fremont Brewing's covered beer garden on N 34th St, a block from the 40 stop and open from 11, replaces the Troll, then the 40 straight back; keep Kerry Park if the cloud lifts. The art museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and the planes are already Sunday's museum.
- TueThe ferry sails in any weather and the cabin is warm; the market arcades are covered. Nothing changes.
Ground transport ledger
What moving around costs
For three people, at the $3 Link fare, the $3 Metro fare and $4 on the Monorail. Attraction tickets aren't included; the checklist below lists which to buy ahead.
| Day | Legs | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 5 | Link from the airport, the 62 to the hotel, the 8 back from the sculpture park$3 on the train and $3 on each bus a head; the high figure is a cab from the airport and a cab up from the park instead | $27 | $77 |
| Sun 6 | The 62 with the bags, the 124 to Boeing Field and back, the Monorail up, the 8 and the 13 back$3, $3, $4, $3 and $3 a head, the 124 south riding free on the 62 ticket; the high figure is a cab back from the museum instead of the 124 | $48 | $74 |
| Mon 7 | Metro 40 and 44 to the locks, 44 and 40 to Fremont, 40 back, 13 up the hill and down$3 a head a ticket, five tickets with the two-hour transfers; the high figure takes a cab up the hill if the 13 is late | $45 | $51 |
| Tue 8 | Ferry to Bainbridge and back, Link to Sea-Tac$11.35 a head on the boat, $3 on the train; the high figure is a cab to the airport instead | $43 | $99 |
| Four days | $163 | $301 |
Before we go
Tickets to have in hand
Ticks are saved on this device only. Two entries are already reserved. Nothing else is booked: the rest is tickets at the door and two apps on the phone.
5 → 8 Sep 2026
That's the plan
Two flights, two hotels, two reserved entries and four days mapped stop by stop, with nothing else booked and permission to skip things. Everything on this page comes from the family's itinerary, expanded with opening hours, fares and the things worth knowing before each door.