Some of the best kid-friendly attractions in the Seattle area include hands-on exhibits suitable for all ages, such as the Burke Museum, the Children's Museum, the Pacific Science Center and the Seattle Children’s Theatre. In addition, there are activities centred on animals, which include Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Seattle Aquarium and Woodland Park Zoo. The Museum of Flight provides a truly unique museum-type experience.

Children's Museum
Children and families can experience the joy of discovery through fun and hands-on exploration of the world around them at this museum. Its 22,000 square foot environment, located in the Seattle Center, is filled with interactive exhibits, encouraging small hands and developing minds to play, explore and learn. Kids can climb a mountain, build something big, see what it’s like to live in another culture and much more. Eleven permanent exhibits are featured as well as an art studio, classrooms, a story telling circle, a resource library and special workshops and events.
Phone: +1 206 441 1768; website: www.thechildrensmuseum.org

Pacific Science Centre
Also located in the Seattle Center is the Pacific Science Center, featuring a vast range of exhibits which range from animatronic dinosaurs to the physiology of addiction. Many interactive displays and demonstrations will keep the youngsters and the whole family interested and involved. In the summertime there’s a special butterfly house and throughout the year there are two IMAX theatres hosting films and documentaries.
Phone: +1 206 443 2001; website: www.pacsci.org

Seattle Aquarium
Located on Pier 59 at the waterfront, the Seattle Aquarium features creatures from the Puget Sound area as well as those from other underwater places. Public feedings are scheduled throughout the day, when visitors can watch trainers feed diving birds, harbour seals and sea otters. Activities here are created just for the kids who can feel a wolf eel's teeth, shake hands with an octopus and find out what starfish and sea urchins feel like in the touching pool.
Phone: +1 206 386 4300; website: www.seattleaquarium.org

Seattle Children's Theatre
The children’s theatre boasts a busy schedule of productions and events, and is located on the grounds of the Seattle Center, in the lower Queen Anne neighbourhood, just steps away from the Space Needle. The main stage season runs from September through June. Phone: +1 206 441 3322; website: www.sct.org

Seattle Woodland Park Zoo
Located north of the city and spread over 65 acres, Woodland Park Zoo is home to the largest collection of animals in Washington state, with more than 1,100 specimens on hand representing 290 species. One million people visit this award-winning zoo every year. You’ll witness animals in their natural surroundings and grouped by the climate zones in which they live.
Phone: +1 206 684 4800; website: www.zoo.org

The Seattle area offers endless opportunities to appreciate art, culture and regional heritage in a setting of rare natural beauty. There are thriving dance, music and theatre scenes; art galleries and unique museums; as well as centres for Native American, maritime and pioneer history.

Seattle Art Museum 
Jonathan Borofsky's 48-foot tall mechanised sculpture entitled ‘Hammering Man’ stands in the front of the Seattle Art Museum. Inside the museum, there are exhibitions on Chinese calligraphy and Buddhist art, complemented by others of modern and contemporary art, which change regularly.
Phone: +1 206 654 3100; website: www.seattleartmuseum.org

Pacific Northwest Ballet
Founded in 1972, this company of 43 dancers presents more than 90 innovative performances each year at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall and on international tour. A highlight of the company’s season is its unique, dazzling presentation of the ‘Nutcracker.’ Phone: +1 206 441 9411; website: www.pnb.org

Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera, founded in 1963, is rated as one of the leading opera companies in the US. Its summer presentations, especially Wagner's ‘Ring des Nibelungen,’ have been acclaimed as premier cultural events in the country. Five operas per year, during the regular season, are performed in the stunning new venue, McCaw Hall. Phone: +1 206 389 7676; website: www.seattleopera.org

Seattle Symphony
Founded in 1903, the Seattle symphony has compiled more recordings than most other world orchestras, including nearly 100 CDs and has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards. From September through until July, the 91 musicians perform over 220 concerts, attended by more than 300,000 patrons at the stunning acoustical marvel, Benaroya Hall.
Phone: +1 206 215 4700;
website: www.seattlesymphony.org/symphony

Seattle Repertory Theatre
The Tony Award-winning Seattle Repertory Theatre is the largest non-profit resident theatre company in the Pacific north-west. Founded in 1963, its focus is on high-quality classic and contemporary dramatic works. Located at the Seattle Center, it has two stages including the Bagley Wright Theatre.
Phone: +1 443 2222; website: www.seattlerep.org

With the city's waterside location, you’ll probably be expecting delicious seafood and you won’t be disappointed. Dungeness crab, mussels, prawns and oysters, and of course, salmon are all on offer. Many other types of food are also featured at a variety of restaurant choices. The fact that Pike Place Market is one of Seattle's major attractions demonstrates that the city places an emphasis on food. Coffee is also taken very seriously here with Starbucks having its roots at Pike Place Market.

The market neighbourhood is considered to be the best dining district in the city, but nearby Belltown also boasts some great restaurants. In both places, the eateries are pricey although you can find special fixed menus, even at the more expensive restaurants.

Deals on dining can be found in the neighbourhoods surrounding the city centre. Here you’ll find dozens of good, inexpensive places to eat that aren't usually patronised by tourists. Queen Anne, Madison Valley, Madison Park and Ballard are the best areas to visit.

The Seattle shopping scene is centred on the corner of Pine street and Fifth Avenue. Two major department stores, Nordstrom and Macy's, and two upscale urban malls, Westlake Center and Pacific Place, are situated within two blocks of this intersection. From this area, fanning out east and south are blocks of upscale boutiques and national chains, including Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Barneys New York, Coach, Gap, Max Mara and Niketown. There are also a few local independents remaining. In this city centre shopping area, you’ll also find the loosely-affiliated shops of Rainier Square. While this isn’t exactly a shopping mall, it is filled with upscale shops and boutiques, including Brooks Brothers, Louis Vuitton, Northwest Pendleton and St John.

The main shopping district for tourists is the Pike Place Market area, with dozens of T-shirt and souvenir shops, import shops, outlets appealing to teenagers and several market shops offering ethnic cooking supplies. It's a fun place to simply window shop. West of the market lies Seattle’s waterfront, where gift and souvenir shops are also plentiful.

Seattle's cool, mild climate encourages a number of outdoor activities including cycling, hiking and swimming. In the city, walking around Green Lake is popular, through the forests and along the bluffs and sandy shores of Discovery Park, along the shores of the city’s waterfront in Myrtle Edwards Park or in West Seattle, along Alki Beach. The nearby Cascade and Olympic mountains attract many visitors, as do the waters of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia, for kayaking and sailing. Sailing enthusiasts (and passengers aboard the Washington State Ferries) enjoy the sunny climate and rambling waterways of San Juan Islands.

Fishing
From the trout streams in the nearby mountains to the deep-sea sport fishing off Washington's Pacific coast, there is an array of angling opportunities which rank among the best in the US. The range of fish that the Pacific north-west has to offer includes salmon, steelhead, trout, halibut and tuna. Mountaineering and Hiking Mount Rainier stands majestically nearby Seattle, luring locals and visitors to its slopes for hiking and more serious climbs in the spring and summer months. Mountaineering is reported to be the top hobby here. Professional guide services offer support for those who are determined to reach Rainier's 14,411-foot summit.

Sea Kayaking
The Seattle area offers many opportunities for water activity and one that is increasingly popular is sea kayaking. There are several outfitters offering rentals on Elliott Bay, but if you're looking for an escape from civilisation, heading north to the San Juan Islands is highly recommended. You'll find stunning scenery and first-class paddling, with a host of services providing the kayaks and showing you the way to a memorable adventure.

Scuba Diving
The eight-footed octopus and six-gill shark make their home in Puget Sound, which is one of the deepest and most diverse aquatic ecosystems in continental US. It's also home to great diving: from the area off Alki Beach in West Seattle to the San Juans, there are dive options for beginners to pros.

White-water Rafting
Springtime sees the winter snows melting and the city bursting with white-water rafting opportunities. Two rivers in particular draw rafters: the Skykomish, with its forest setting, and the open and sun-drenched Wenatchee. There are thrills and fun for rafters at all skill levels, with guide services offering tours on both rivers.