Written by Ying Chia
On the last leg of the International Visitors Leadership Program, after a whirlwind tour across the United States, I had landed in Seattle. The West Coast seaport city is of course world-famous for many things, including Starbucks, the Space Needle and the 1993 rom-com ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. I anticipated tourist-traps filled with half-decent food, or perhaps some waning attractions struggling to remain relevant in such a vast and varied country that is reticent on the new and shiny. A question that was often asked amongst my program colleagues was ‘Which city do you think you’d come back to?’. Many of us, ironically, found the answer in Seattle right before we were due to return to our respective home countries — a sentiment similar to the 2018 report in The Seattle Times citing more people coming to the city than leaving it. But what makes this city so special? Seattle’s metropolitan area had a population of 4.02 million in 2018 and its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the country’s fasting growing large cities.
Netizens seem to agree on a few things — that the public transport in Seattle is far better than many other cities in the U.S, Seattle’s natural attractions and landscape are among, if not, the best in the country, and as with most popular cities it is the city’s culture that draws so many to move here. If nothing else, the Chihuly Garden and Glass art museum is a unique attraction that I would happily frequent again and again. Not one to typically fancy a museum dedicated to just one artist, I was so very pleasantly proven wrong upin setting foot inside. Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington; Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice, which would become critical in his work later. His work appears in more than 200 museum collections worldwide and he has been the recipient of many awards including twelve honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. His sculptures and installations are at once whimsical, fun, thoughtful and visually arresting, and it was certainly easy to become lost mesmerised by works like Ikebana and Float Boats, which was inspired by the Japanese art of flower arranging and spherical fishing lures during a trip there.
If you’re a foodie, well then be ready to have your wallets emptied by the time you leave Emerald City, if you even get that far. Besides the obvious OG Starbucks branch and Reserve Roastery, Pike Place is an obvious attraction thanks to hundreds of shops winding along the famous market building. It’s surprisingly also an integral part of Seattle life. Yes, it is packed with tourist (both international and local) but there remains a solid number of locals around, which is always a promising sign. It won’t be hard to find something delicious to eat here but if you have limited time, then make this your unofficial quick list:
Fish and Chips at The Athenian or Lowell’s, is best enjoyed at the restaurant’s outdoor seating or on any available bench along the wharf area. If you’re a movie buff, The Athenian was used as a set for the 90’s romcom ‘Sleepless in Seattle’!
Pike Place Chowder for Seattle’s famous seafood soup (Ivar’s just a few blocks down the road is equally good).
Le Panier for delicious French bread and pastries.
Wild Fish Poke in the outer galleries of Pike Place is the US equivalent of going to Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Fresh as fish, on a slightly more affordable scale.
