Seattle is a very fun city to visit with a baby. Being a large city, there is a lot to do – food to taste, parks to play in, and kid-friendly activities. We had a fantastic time in Seattle and even with the stereotypical wet weather, we had a fun-filled two days. Our first day consisted of exploring Pike Place Market, visiting the Space Needle and Sculpture Park, and going to dinner. Our second day included a stop at Seattle Public Library, a ride on the Great Seattle Wheel, and a walk near Kerry Park. With a one-year-old, we didn’t stick to an itinerary, instead opting to go with the flow.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle for three nights. The location of the hotel could not have been better. We were just a few blocks from Pike Place Market and the Seattle Center Monorail. There are countless restaurants available and a Target was nearby for any essentials. We arrived to Seattle in the evening so went straight to the hotel, where we got our baby to bed and had a dinner of empanadas from the market downstairs in our hotel. The hotel had a crib already set up for us with a small package of baby essentials – soap, lotion, etc.

When in Seattle, one must get Starbucks, correct? I think so anyway. Very conveniently, a Starbucks was located in the lobby of our hotel. We began our first day in the city with coffee before taking a short walk to Top Pot Doughnuts, which had been recommended by friends. I’m partial to cake donuts and Top Pot has plenty to choose from. We brought our donuts and coffee to Pike Place Market and found a spot overlooking the water to enjoy our breakfast.

Pike Place Market has so much to see and do. We looked around for a bit at the crafts and flowers before buying supplies for a big lunch spread. Our lunch included freshly made mac and cheese from Beecher’s (you can actually watch the cheese being made!), huckleberry yogurt from Ellenos Greek Yogurt, and smoked salmon from Pike Place Fish Market. You pay a bit of a premium at Pike Place Fish Market since it’s the famous shop where the fishmongers throw the fish, but it’s delicious and fresh, and worth every penny.

After a quick trip to Target to stock up on snacks for our time in Olympic National Park, we brought our supplies back to the hotel and had a hotel picnic lunch while our son napped. Once he was awake and we were ready to venture back out, we took the Seattle Center Monorail from Westlake Station near our hotel to Seattle Center and the Space Needle. We walked around the park for a bit, but opted not to ride the Space Needle on this trip. Our logic was that we will probably come back to Seattle one day when our son and any future children are older, so we will wait until they want to go in the Space Needle and will enjoy it.

From there, we walked to Olympic Sculpture Park, where we admired the interesting art.

After riding the monorail back to Seattle Center, we stopped for a cocktail at Rachel’s Ginger Beer. This was a place I had seen on a friend’s blog and as Moscow Mule lovers, knew we had to make a stop there. I wanted to try all of the flavors, but after sampling a couple, settled on the pink guava Moscow Mule. Delicious. If you’re a ginger beer fan, this place is a must!

For dinner, we walked to Pier 54 to have a dinner of smoked salmon chowder and fish and chips at Ivar’s. We opted to sit outside at the Fish Bar so we could make a quick exit when it was time to return to the hotel for bedtime.

The next morning, we woke up to a stereotypically rainy Seattle day. We walked to the Starbucks at Columbia Tower where there are supposedly fantastic views of the city and Puget Sound. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we really couldn’t see anything. The coffee was good though!

From there, we decided to walk to Pier 57 to ride the Great Seattle Wheel. It started pouring on our walk, but as we were fortuitously right next to the Central location of the Seattle Public Library, we decided to pop in. It happened to be Spanish story and music time so we joined the fun for about a half an hour until the rain let up. Our son had a blast playing with the noisemakers and listening to the stories. It was a great way to pass some time!

Once we made it down to Pier 57, we bought tickets to ride the Great Seattle Wheel and enjoyed views over Puget Sound. The weather had improved but still wasn’t totally clear. After our ride, we went inside to Miner’s Landing to ride the carousel and take family photo booth pictures.

At lunch time, we went back to the hotel for smoked salmon, mac and cheese, and nap time. While the boys napped, I took a rideshare over to Gas Works Park to walk around and enjoyed an apple cider at Schilling Hard Cider nearby.

Once I was back and everyone was up from their naps, we took a rideshare to Kerry Park. The views of Mt. Ranier over the skyline are supposed to be fantastic, but we couldn’t see the mountain because of the overcast weather. Oh well! You can’t always have perfect weather while traveling. For dinner, we ordered takeout from Wild Ginger, before calling it a night so we could get an early start to Olympic National Park.

Thanks for reading and please come back to hear about our time in Olympic NP! If you’ve been to Seattle, I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments! 

Stay:
Grand Hyatt, 721 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101

Eat/Drink:
Top Pot Doughnuts, 2124 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Pike Place Market
Rachel’s Ginger Beer, 1530 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
Ivar’s Fish Bar, 1001 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98104
Schilling Hard Cider, 708 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103
Wild Ginger, 1401 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

Do:
Space Needle/Seattle Center, 400 Broad St, Seattle, WA 98109
Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Ave, Seattle, WA, 98121
Seattle Public Library – Central, 1000 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104
Great Seattle Wheel/Miner’s Landing, 1301 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101
Gas Works Park, 2101 N Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98103
Kerry Park, 211 W Highland Dr, Seattle, WA 98119