Seattle in Dec.
 

I'm thinking of driving down to Seattle in December for shopping and exploring with gf. What is there to do for a couple that likes walking around and eating?

The few things I already plan to do:
- Pike Place and Ferris Wheel
- Cheesecake Factory

* And I would like to know if anyone suggests a good inn/hotel with free/cheap parking that is driving distance downtown? I was thinking of staying at Westin or Hyatt downtown to save gas by not driving, but parking for the weekend is easily $150+ down there.

Stay at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue. It's about 10 mins from downtown Seattle and they have free parking on the weekends. If you stay downtown Seattle then park at Pacific Place because it'll be cheaper than hotel parking. I think the Grand Hyatt and Olive 8 charge around $40/night for valet (in/out privilege) and $35/night for self park (no in/out)

emp - experience music project. interactive music museum. they had a star wars costume exhibit as well recently and a seahawks thing.

bruce lee's grave

crab pot is fun for a touristy restaurant. it's on the docks so there's some stuff around there as well. literally 2 blocks from pike place.

red lion hotel is a solid spot in downtown. i believe parking was free. if it wasn't it was literally like $5. it's close enough that you could walk to most of your destinations. ie pike.

get the ivar's clam chowder in a bread bowl if you like that shit. it's everywhere, random spots will carry it, not just ivar's.

space needle. it's not a bad thing to do with the old lady for the classic view.

they have the underground seattle tour too. another couple thing to do.

Norstrom Rack! All the locations lol.

Crabpot and Nordstrom Rack are definitely what I will do before I head back home haha! Last time down there they were selling Nike slips for 20 bucks, here they are around 50 to 70 bucks. Now I got a few for vacation, summer, and just at home.

Pike Place Market
EMP
Museum of Flight
Space Needle
Bill Spiedel's Underground Tour
Crab Pot is good, but will likely be extremely busy. A good alternative is Blueacre (though it is, admittedly, a far more upscale place).

Is the red lion in downtown seattle now the Motif? I can't any red lions downtown.

1) I stayed at Pan Pacific, yes it's expensive; promo rate of 180 a night. You get free shuttle to downtown whenever you want and they will pick you up. You get what you pay for.

2) go to Tom Douglas restaurant; they have 8 around downtown and feel free to hop to 4-5 of them, it's a decent place to go and it's all around pike market area.

If you like Japanese stuff, Uwajimaya and Kinokuniya that is inside Uwajimaya. Kinokuniya is a bookstore with tonnes of anime stuff, toys, etc. Parking is free if you buy a certain amount. If you like dim sum for dirt cheap, Dim Sum King two or so blocks from Uwajimaya. Walking around that area of Seattle is like Chinatown here, but bigger.

BOOKS KINOKUNIYA Home Page(Store Information)

Uwajimaya

I stayed at the Hyatt House Bellevue (which is a bit more out of the way, but still 5 mins from I90). Great rooms, was a great rate (~150USD with free parking), and an awesome breakfast buffet. If you're looking for a cheapish room, I highly recommend HH.

As someone suggested, the area in and around the Space Needle is pretty neat. Otherwise, almost all my Seattle time is spent at Pike. I generally don't stay in downtown Seattle all that often. I always go back to Pike for piroshkies, Beecher's mac and cheese, and Elleno's yogurt. mmmmmm just thinking about it makes me want to make another visit soon. Stupid CAD.

Don't forget the Boeing Factory tour in Everett (Future of Flight - different from the Museum of Flight)

Lately I've been going down and visiting some of the other neighborhoods that Seattle has to offer (non-Downtown/Belltown). Most are a 10 -15 minute drive away from Downtown. Just exit I-5 a bit early:

Fremont (where you can also see the Troll and statue of Lenin)
Capitol Hill
Ballard

All are sorta hipster-y with a slew of diverse restaurants,bars, and shops. Think their version of Commercial Drive/Gastown/Main Street. Good if you're sick of eating at chains all the time (which is so easy to do down there).