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    Seattle Center Monorail

    3.8 (331 reviews)
    Closed 8:30 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Seattle Center Monorail Photos

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    Kenneth K.

    The Monorail is a great way get from Seattle Center to the light rail. I rode it before the light rail even existed so it's even more useful now.

    Charmaine S.

    I was getting off the link rail to go to Westlake but saw people get out of the door to get to I didn't know where until my Aha moment! Don't judge. Some of my traveling adventures require safe curiosity. Whilst, brought me to the monorail to get to space needle! It was quick, scenic, unique. They have the Orca scanner card so I was able to use mine. Rode back and walked to link rail to get to my original plan to go to pike place! What a fun ride! To an actual bucket list destination. The ride was a bucket list on itself!

    Back of the train
    Mimi W.

    Very short ride from downtown to Seattle Center near the Space Needle, but for $4, it's worth the trip and photo ops. Only goes from one stop to the next above ground, so it's a nice view of the city. If you sit near the back, you get the best 180 views through the driver windows. The doors are extremely loud when opening, so try not to sit next to them!

    David C.

    Super short ride, so less of a tourist attraction and more a good way to get to point a to b. We ran out of time during our trip to the space needle and had to make a second trip just for the monorail which was not really worth the extra parking and walk, so make sure to leave yourself time for both attractions on the same day or while visiting the Westlake Center. Definitely worth it if part of your day, but not a one off. In fact we needed up staying on the monorail for three round trips to make it worth our while. Still only about 30 mins total :)

    Sarah T.

    Convenient and easy to ride on this monorail. Took this from Space Needle back towards the airport. It was inexpensive and easy. Love the public transportation in Seattle

    Entrance from downtown, take the elevator to the left
    Cheyenne P.

    Pretty cool way to get around from the mall downtown to the needle. If you're going to the needle this is a good way to view the city hands free.

    Alaric S.

    The Seattle Center monorail was seriously a lifesaver getting from one part of town to the other. Although we didn't have our day totally planned out as we would've liked, getting on the tram to people watch and observed the new sights was pretty amazing

    Kyle B.

    Not the most exciting thing. It only has one stop. So if you're downtown going to the sspace needle, great. Beyond that, you may not need it.

    Les R.

    The Monorail is awesome but with a name like that, and it's history, how could it not be. Fun to ride and the fastest way to go between the Seattle Center and downtown. It has been running since 1962 and originally built for transportation to and from the 1962 Worlds Fair. You can get on at the Seattle Center Station at 305 Harrison Street and it goes to the Westlake Center Station (Westlake Center Mall @ 400 Pine Street at 3rd Floor) . That's it. Just goes back and forth. There are two tracks but either one or the other was running. We took it a bunch of times but never saw them running at the same time. We did the Orca card while on vacation and just kept loading money to pay for our public transportation. Easy and convenient and you can use it for the Monorail, light rail, street cars, and busses. The Monorail is a must do when in Seattle. For more info, you can check out their website at www.seattlemonorail.com.

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    11 months ago

    A nice ride in Seattle, connecting a few places. Considering one-way was $4, it is worth taking one way & walking the other way.

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    Seattle Center Monorail Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Seattle Center Monorail

    Is it wheelchair Accessible?

    Yes, the Monorail is wheelchair accessible. Please find a monorail customer service representative if you need ramp assistance at either station. At Seattle Center station, look for the yellow gates that swing open.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Seattle Center Monorail

    This monorail track was originally built for the World's Fair (same as the Space Needle) and it is awesomely retro!

    Mentioned in 119 reviews

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    Westlake Station Monorail - Monorail Westlake Station Entrance

    Westlake Station Monorail

    4.2(52 reviews)
    0.9 miDowntown

    A nice monorail station that takes you all the way down to the museum of pop culture, space needle…read moreand a few other touristy things, from Downtown Seattle. It was a little chaotic but centered in a busy area, that was expected. I liked that I was able to walk from Pike Market to this station in a few minutes. Buying tickets was easy and for a round trip ticket, it is about $3.50 a person. The station was clean and it was easy to buy tickets because they have self-service kiosks as well as a couple workers that will help you out with your purchase if you need it. The wait isn't long but I will say depending on the day, this place can start to get crowded quickly because the station itself is rather small. It is very well-lit and kept clean. They also have elevators for those that have difficulty with the stairs or escalators they also offer.

    A fun way to get to the Seattle center. A brief ride through parts of downtown Seattle. When I'm…read moretaking public transportation into the city and need to go to climate pledge, the needle or MOPOP this is fun mode of transportation. You can walk to Queen neighborhoods from here to. The monorail is clean, spacious and an Orca card works. There's only one stop and the monorail goes back and forth. Easy and reliable. It's on the third floor of the Westland center which is a mall. Don't drive! Take public transportation. SYOY!

    Photos
    Westlake Station Monorail - Monorail Westlake Station Entrance Gate

    Monorail Westlake Station Entrance Gate

    Westlake Station Monorail - Westlake Station Monorail

    Westlake Station Monorail

    Westlake Station Monorail - Monorail--natural light, above ground, not crowded

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    Monorail--natural light, above ground, not crowded

    Seattle Metro Route 49 - Bus Stop

    Seattle Metro Route 49

    4.8(4 reviews)
    1.1 miDowntown

    The #49 trolleybuses are workhorses and they travel through some of my favorite and unique places…read morein Seattle. It runs through historical neighborhoods and serves students who attend Seattle Central College and UW. It travels by fun, vibrant storefronts of coffee shops, restaurants, and retail. You'll also see public art on sidewalks. If you continue to take it NB past Capitol Hill you'll eventually cross the University Bridge (opened in 1919) and into the U District. Right now you can take this bus from downtown Seattle to see the cherry blossoms at The Quad and the U District Cherry Blossom Festival. Sure you can take the light rail from Downtown to Capitol Hill to the U District but if you want to take the scenic route then take the 49.

    Metro 49 is great when I go out to Cap Hill since parking on Cap Hill is a huge pain. Every time my…read morefriends and I drive to Cap Hill, it would take at least 15 minutes to find a free parking spot in the evenings. It is also because I don't know the area that well enough. So this bus is great! The best part of the bus is that it runs super late until 2am or 3am! I feel bad for bus drivers who work late and have deal with super drunk people. But if I want to have a late night out with friends on the Hill or even in Downtown, I could definitely rely on bus 49! It does seem to take very long, though. The bus is not very fast and stops VERY frequently. The bus is often on time. The bus, however, seems very dirty most of the time. Not sure why that is.

    Photos
    Seattle Metro Route 49 - Bus Stop

    Bus Stop

    Seattle Metro Route 49 - Bus Stop

    Bus Stop

    Seattle Metro Route 49 - Bus Exterior

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    Bus Exterior

    Seattle Streetcar - South Lake Union - Inside the street car

    Seattle Streetcar - South Lake Union

    3.0(63 reviews)
    0.6 miSouth Lake Union

    Our first ride on the Seattle Street Car was a treat! The driver super helpful and friendly,…read moreengaging the littlest passengers with enthusiasm and sincere interest. Orca cards are accepted, but bus transfers are not! Just so you know. The trip is relatively short from the north end of downtown to SLU, but comfortable, smooth and clean. It's not too crowded; at least not early on a Thursday afternoon while most are lunching. The trolley provides easy access to MOHAI and the Center for Wooden Boats without having to search for and pay for limited hours parking.

    I hope they can salvage this somehow…read more As far as a people mover system, the South Lake Union Streetcar has as much appeal as the Seattle Monorail. It is a curiosity, but lacking in usefulness for most. The Streetcar runs from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the Eastlake area to a stop across the street from Westlake Center. There is a train every 15 minutes. The system seems to model itself like the Portland Streetcar, but the current streetcar system in Seattle is inferior in the same way that Seattle's Sound Transit Light Rail system is to the Portland MAX system. In its current state, I think the main use of it is in shuttling Amazon and Fred Hutchinson employees from Westlake to their respective offices. There is not a whole lot of Metro bus service in South Lake Union (SLU), so the Streetcar does alleviate that issue a bit. But seeing that Westlake is only several blocks south from SLU, I think most people including myself would prefer to walk the distance rather than wait for the Streetcar. I would only take it if there was a train leaving shortly that would save me a couple minutes. Work on a First Hill Streetcar is going on now and there has been talk of extending the SLU Streetcar further north which would be great if it happens. It would be a waste to not expand. Right now the value of this line is not there, but hopefully city planners can turn that around with some forward thinking expansion.

    Photos
    Seattle Streetcar - South Lake Union - Street car in SLU

    Street car in SLU

    Seattle Streetcar - South Lake Union - Streetcar map

    Streetcar map

    Seattle Streetcar - South Lake Union - Day pass for adults is $4.50 and expires that same evening

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    Day pass for adults is $4.50 and expires that same evening

    Westlake Station - Going North

    Westlake Station

    4.0(59 reviews)
    0.9 miDowntown

    With the recent opening of the expansion of the 2 line going to Lynnwood from Redmond, this…read moreWestlake Station (like all the other stations in downtown Seattle) now services both the 1 AND 2 lines of the Sound Transit Link system. This means that one can take one train without transfer from here to Bellevue and Redmond, crossing Lake Washington on the world's first light rail pontoon railway. My wife and I took this route while visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Bellevue, and the crossing was a routine non-event, just like it is supposed to be. My last review for this station was 2 years, at which time, only the 1 line serviced this station. Because of the way they designed the routes, the inclusion of the 2 line was seamless, requiring no station outages during the transition. My only small gripe is the signage at a major connection point at the center near the elevators, still only shows the 1 line (with its stops at the airport and university), instead of now the opening of the entire East side of Puget Sound area, accessible via the 2 line. It's confusing for visitors...better just to state that lower level is for Sound Transit, instead of explicitly naming each line, if they don't want to change the signage every time. Another big addition that occurred earlier this year (Feb '26), is the use of tap-to-pay (using a tap enabled payment card to pay for fare at the point of entry) at all stations and bus lines (like NYC and London has). We still ended up using our preloaded Orca card this trip, but can discontinue that for future (unless taking the Monorail, which still requires an Orca card). Transfers are free for 2 hours from the first tap (excluding the Monorail), with initial charge being $3. There are no gates, with the pay stations being intentionally out of the way...it really is about the honor system to tap. We also used Westlake station as the transfer point to get from the monorail on the 3rd floor of the Westlake shopping center down to the lower level where the station actually is. Connecting to the 1 line, we got to Sea-Tac airport station in 41 minutes (though from there, it's quite a walk to get to the terminal area).

    So this is a major hub station and named after the most obvious point nearby - Westlake Shopping…read moreCenter - with its accompanying plaza (often free events and music here), major shopping, and major hotels and dining. This station has had some safety issues in the past so I don't frequent it as much as I would if it weren't for that concern.

    Photos
    Westlake Station - Train to the airport! 05/14/2023

    Train to the airport! 05/14/2023

    Westlake Station
    Westlake Station - Nice station

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    Nice station

    Seattle Center Monorail - publictransport - Updated May 2026

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