Seattle itinerary for first-timers

Open since 1907, Pike Place Market is the heart of Seattle: fishmongers tossing salmon under the neon Public Market sign, produce and flower stalls, bakeries and the warren of small shops on the lower levels. Post Alley runs along the back, with the original Starbucks storefront and the famously sticky Gum Wall a few steps away.

• Public Market sign
• Fish-throwing stall
• Lower levels
• Post Alley
• The Gum Wall
• The first Starbucks

Come early in the morning, before the crowds, when the stalls are being set up and the light is soft over Elliott Bay.

Where an elevated highway once cut the city off from the bay, a new waterfront park now runs along Elliott Bay. From Victor Steinbrueck Park, the Overlook Walk bridge carries you straight down from the market to Pier 62, the Seattle Aquarium and the reopened Pier 58, then the promenade continues past Miner's Landing and the Great Wheel to the ferry terminal.

• Victor Steinbrueck Park
• Overlook Walk
• Pier 62
• Seattle Aquarium
• Seattle Great Wheel
• Ye Olde Curiosity Shop
• Colman Dock

On a clear day, look west across the water: the Olympic Mountains line the horizon behind the ferries.

Seattle's oldest neighbourhood was rebuilt in brick and stone after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, and its Romanesque Revival blocks, iron pergola and tree-lined Occidental Square still look much as they did in the Klondike Gold Rush years. The white Smith Tower, once the tallest building on the West Coast, rises over the corner of 2nd Avenue.

• Occidental Square
• Pioneer Square pergola
• Smith Tower
• Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

The Underground Tour leads beneath the sidewalks into the streets buried when the district was rebuilt; it runs as a guided tour, so book ahead in summer.

The grounds of the 1962 World's Fair are still the city's playground. Ride the monorail from Westlake Center, then circle the Space Needle, the swooping Museum of Pop Culture and Chihuly Garden and Glass, and cross the lawn to the International Fountain, where jets of water dance to music.

• Seattle Center Monorail
• Space Needle
• Museum of Pop Culture
• Chihuly Garden and Glass
• International Fountain
• Pacific Science Center

Go up the Space Needle on a clear morning; if the clouds are low, save it for another day and come back for the evening lights.

A small terrace on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill gives the postcard view of Seattle: the Space Needle in front of the downtown towers, Elliott Bay to the right and, when the sky is clear, Mount Rainier floating behind. Highland Drive continues west past Parsons Garden to the Betty Bowen Viewpoint, through streets of grand early-1900s houses.

• Kerry Park
• Highland Drive
• Parsons Garden
• Betty Bowen Viewpoint
• Queen Anne mansions

Kerry Park is a residential street with very little parking; walk or take the bus up from Seattle Center.

At the foot of Queen Anne, Myrtle Edwards Park and the Elliott Bay Trail run along the water, and the free Olympic Sculpture Park zigzags down to the shore with large outdoor artworks set against the bay and the mountains. It is one of the best places in the city to watch the sun go down behind the Olympics.

• Myrtle Edwards Park
• Elliott Bay Trail
• Olympic Sculpture Park
• Bell Harbor Marina

Fremont calls itself the Center of the Universe, and its quirky streets live up to it, with public art at every turn and the famous troll crouching under the Aurora Bridge. From the Fremont Bridge, the path along the Ship Canal and Lake Union leads east past marinas to Gas Works Park, where the rusting towers of an old gas plant stand beside a grassy hill with a sweeping view of downtown across the lake.

• Fremont Avenue North
• Fremont Troll
• Fremont Bridge
• Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop
• Gas Works Park

Climb the small hill in Gas Works Park for the view; on summer weekends you can watch seaplanes landing on Lake Union.

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks lift and lower boats between the salt water of Puget Sound and the freshwater lakes, and you can stand right beside the chambers as fishing boats and yachts pass through. Across the gates, the fish ladder has an underwater viewing gallery, and a botanical garden fills the slope beside the canal.

• Hiram M. Chittenden Locks
• Lock gates
• Salmon fish ladder
• Underwater viewing gallery
• Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden
• Commodore Park

Salmon climb the ladder mainly in summer and early autumn; at other times the locks are still worth watching for the boats.

Once a separate town of Scandinavian fishermen and mill workers, Ballard keeps its history in the brick buildings of Ballard Avenue, now filled with boutiques, breweries and seafood spots. NW Market Street, the main shopping street, leads back towards the Ship Canal and the fishing fleet.

• Ballard Avenue Historic District
• NW Market Street
• Ballard Farmers Market

On Sundays the Ballard Farmers Market fills Ballard Avenue with local produce, seafood and flowers.