A Seattle gem, free admission and donations appreciated. Small enough to be comfortable and large…read moreenough to be always interesting. Permanent collection housed in a large room of very well hung various interesting paintings. Always new art collections in other smaller rooms. Excellent programs offered like Wednesday meditation and See You at the Movies. Staff is welcoming and knowledgeable. Highly recommend!

The Frye Art Museum, located in downtown Seattle, was found on Yelp. I did notice that people said…read morenot to have a car so we walked here from the hotel which is about a 20-minute walk. Some uphill walks but it was a nice walk actually. The museum is free which is nice you walk through and it is pretty much filled with many unique rooms, each with different pieces of art. It was pretty quiet but I do enjoy the placement of every piece. It's not a big museum so this probably won't take up so much time.

Visited the Burke Museum at UW today- The Paleontology section is vastly expanded with many…read morecomplete skeletons and good coverage of the evolution of organisms over hundreds of millions of years, paleontology & NW indigenous culture. One downside is they've removed the display of NW Native American masks that used to be a core part of the presentation. When I asked why they said those are now available online. Thursdays admission is free

So much to see here! All of the staff we spoke to were so friendly and gave great customer service…read more- a true rarity these days. We most recently visited so my kiddo could check out the Dino exhibit. Online/on the website they had mentioned fossil digs so my kid was really looking forward to that. When we went through all 4 levels of the museum though, there was no fossil dig to be found. After asking staff , they mentioned it's only once or twice a year. A bit of a bummer since that's the main thing my kid wanted to do! Just 1 star off for that. The husky scavenger hunt kind of made up for it! If you're coming with a kid they'll offer the scavenger hunt & I'd highly recommend it to make the visit more interesting for the little ones! All in all I definitely recommend checking out the Burke Museum & also stop by Off the Rez (connected cafe) while you visit!

Great tour in an under the radar Seattle museum. It's housed mainly on the 3rd floor of a working…read moreAT&T communications building and is open SUNDAYS only from 10-3. Be amazed by a century's worth of telephone equipment from the very first sending device to video phones from the 1964 World's Fair. Your tour guides are equal parts excited and surprised that you are there and able to explain how your call actually gets routed to Beechwood 45789. This is good for all ages, especially 15 and up. Work this into your weekend.

If you're a fan of old tech, phones, computers, data transmission, this is a very worthwhile visit…read more Knowledgeable guides tour small groups around working telephone switches, inside a decomissioned telephone switch building. Definitely a museum aimed at a particular audience, the more technical you are, the more interesting it will be. Youngsters will probably be bored unless they are slightly older and have some experience with electronics. No question or technology is too obscure for the very capable guides.

We visited the National Nordic Museum for a candlelight violin performance featuring The Beatles,…read moreand it turned out to be a really special experience. The museum itself is very modern--clean lines, open spaces, and thoughtfully designed throughout. There's a good mix of Nordic artwork and exhibits, and even just walking around the space feels intentional and well curated. The highlight for us was the performance. The candlelight setup created a really warm, immersive atmosphere, and hearing familiar Beatles music in that setting gave it a completely different feel. It's one of those experiences that's hard to fully capture in photos, but definitely stands out in person. Between the architecture, the exhibits, and the events they host, it's more than just a typical museum visit. Would absolutely recommend checking it out, especially if you can catch a performance like this.

Nicely done museum! Very informative exhibits, and some interactive. Really did a great job…read moreexplaining immigration from the different Nordic countries, and what people ended up doing once they arrived in the US. My only comment was that entrance was fairly pricey. $24 a person. Although there were various discounts.

I was surprised how much I loved this free art display! Lots of different types of art in many…read moremediums, a lot of it interactive! Somewhat designed to take photos at, which isn't really for me, but it isn't a tourist trap or only for instagram. Had some really unique and subversive pieces. The staff is really nice and you get free water, sparkling water, snacks, and popcorn! They also host guided tours.

What a beautiful collection of exhibits set in an absolutely stunning location. I love how the…read moreexhibits interwove with the existing theatre artifacts, complementing, not detracting. You could feel the loving homage to the coliseum which was underscored with a video presentation showing its history. The staff is friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. There are a variety of sculptures, artwork, paintings, and interactive features. Each have QR codes for further details. Definitely easy to spend an hour or two exploring.

Nice historical "skyscraper" with great views of Seattle as well. They've preserved most of the…read morehistory and it still uses the original elevator (albeit with some modern improvements) so there's a few rooms of self-guided "museum" to visit as well on your way up to the observation deck. It is definitely not as tall as Sky View or the Space Needle, but is much less crowded and still offers amazing 360 views. It's also cool that there are people who still work in the historic building! They don't open before noon, so plan accordingly. Staff was super friendly and upbeat, and you do need an entry ticket to get to the observation deck bar/restaurant. If you go early on a weekday, you basically get the place to yourself for a little bit, which is super cool. Worth a visit if you're in the area!

This was actually my second time visiting the Smith Tower, but it was my boyfriend's first and…read moresince he's already been up the Space Needle, I wanted to show him that this historic spot also offers some seriously cool views of Seattle. What's even more impressive is that at one point, Smith Tower was actually the tallest skyscraper in the West! One thing I love about this place is how well they've preserved its old-school charm, especially the elevators. They still have an operator who manually controls the lift, and there's even a display of the original green Otis elevator motor in the lobby, the same kind that powered the elevators for over a century! The operator told us there's a tenant who lives above the observatory, which blew my mind. The rent was originally a whopping $17,000 a month, but the tenant apparently negotiated down to $14,000 since there's no A/C up there. Talk about living in style with a historic discount! Once you reach the top, there's a bar where you can grab a cocktail and enjoy the view. As you walk around the observatory deck, there are plaques pointing out different Seattle landmarks, so you can easily spot everything from Mt. Rainier to Lumen Field and Lake Washington. It makes the 360 deg view even more interactive and helps you appreciate just how much of the city you can see from up there. Pro tip: They don't open until noon, so if you're planning to go early, you'll end up waiting downstairs. Otherwise, grab a drink, take your time, and soak in one of the best vintage views Seattle has to offer.

I found this museum while perusing Google maps and it was a great find!…read more Pre-pandemic this museum was open once a month between 10am-2pm on the second Saturday of each month. There are free guided tours (please bring cash to tip the volunteers) at 11am and 1pm. You are free to explore the museum on your own, but the tour is highly recommended given how knowledgable the volunteers are! Built in 1906, this historical landmark showcases the giant turbines and allows you to explore what once powered the City of Seattle and its transportation system. This is a great way to spend a couple hours off the beaten path. Great place to take photos as well!

Steam plant! This place is pretty cool. Originally build in 1906 along side the Duwamish River. It…read morecould trains 3 turbine that once powered Georgetown and Seattle's rail and street cars. The museum has tours that you can go on and it's pretty cool. You get to learn a little bit of Seattle's history and its industrial history. It's a pretty short tour. It. Feels like your stepping into time and history when your next to these engines and historic things. Eye candy everywhere! What I like about this place is that occasionally they rent it out for special events. We went on a day where it had a live music show that played as the onlookers meandered through the plant. The. Music reverberated throughout the whole place! Lots of parking in the side of the building. Though the entrance is a little hard to find from the street. Come to see a snipbit of Seattle's history and the grandeur of the steam plant.

Do you like Horror films?…read more Do you like geeking out over movie artifacts like the "SAW" chair? Buffy's Stake? Jason's Mask? Freddy's glove? Creatures and critters from films aplenty? Excited to learn about the making of them? Special effect techniques? The evolution of Horror as a movie art? How it's music manipulates the audience? Want to actually watch some of these films? Want to scream your head off in a photo booth and get those photos sent for the memories? Want an excuse to jump from around a corner and spook your significant other/child/parents/random strangers? Go to this exhibit and have a good time. A devilishly good time. *If you don't like gore, dark lighting, spooky sounds or well, horror films -- don't come. We and the ghosties won't miss you.

Super nifty exhibit. Very interesting and compelling history of the horror genre. A must visit if…read moreyou're in the area! Loved the displays of replicas of famous monsters/ figures in horror movies.