A Casually Luxurious Family Weekend in Seattle

There’s supposed to be a rivalry between Seattle and Portland, but that never made much sense to me. Soccer aside, I take the relative proximity of our neighbor to the north as an open invitation—especially in the summertime, when Portland’s river valley air socks in the heat, and Seattle’s comparatively cool Puget Sound breezes beckon. I went to college in Seattle, and for many years now my family has enjoyed some variation on a summer ritual trip up there. The itinerary neatly straddles some element of the old “high-low” principle: some fancy choices offset by casual decisions. Leave your sports beef at home and enjoy a cheeky weekend in the Emerald City.

Friday, noon: You’re heading up to Seattle for the weekend, and I think that’s splendid—but please heed my advice as a frequent visitor to the northlands. The earlier you can leave Portland on a Friday, the better, unless you’re cool with adding an hour and a half stuck in traffic to the itinerary. Lie to your boss, pull your kid out of school for a half day, and get on the road as soon as you’re able. By around 3pm (with a stop at the excellent Taco Time location in Kelso) you’ll be pulling around that bend on I-5, just past exit 163, where the Seattle skyline comes into full view. It never fails to take my breath away.

3pm: By far the greatest place in Seattle to stay—especially if you’ve got kids (my daughter is 8)—is at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Opened in 1924 and lavishly remodeled in 2020, the Fairmont boasts plenty of historic charm (and rumored ghosts) alongside modern amenities, including the ultraluxe spa Penelope & the Beauty Bar and an epic weekend brunch (with a biscuit-and-jam cart) at restaurant the George. So much Seattle history has flowed through this place—some 15 US presidents have stayed here, plus Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Elvis—and you can feel it walking around the halls. The hotel is cool and interesting enough to occupy your entire first evening in town: Explore the lobby and mezzanine, order room service and pretend you’re Eloise, and definitely hit the glorious, conservatory-styled glass-roofed swimming pool, which is perfect for kids in all weather.

Saturday, 9am: Every proper city has a destination that both locals and tourists agree is great; in Portland that’s Powell’s Books, and in Seattle it’s Pike Place Market. Walk past the Seattle Art Museum (and its grunge-era iconic outdoor Jonathan Borofsky sculpture, Hammering Man) on your way to this real working greengrocer and seafood market, also home to dozens of little stores, restaurants, flower sellers, and handcrafted merchants. My family’s tradition is to grab a 
hom bow bun from Mee Sum Pastry to snack on as we stroll. There’s every kind of store at Pike Place: a shop that sells vintage political buttons, a wood carver that specializes in various Sasquatch motifs, the grossly eternal Gum Wall, and, yes, the guys who throw fish.

Noon: It’s lunchtime now, so clomp down the Overlook Walk steps toward the waterfront. Puget Sound is right on top of you here, which means seafood, and a few blocks down Alaskan Way (named for the Gold Rush) you will find one of my very favorite only-in-Seattle experiences, at the original Ivar’s “Acres of Clams” location at Pier 54. Here you can dine alfresco on clams and chowder directly over the water, offering fried snacks to a bevy of swooping seagulls. Hold a fry over the railing and watch as they dive bomb with surprising grace. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, and taking my own kid along now is profoundly fun. After lunch, the nearby Seattle Aquarium and Ye Olde Curiosity Shop are both worth a visit, so long as you enjoy sea otters and shrunken heads, respectively.

5pm: The gameday experience at T-Mobile Park, home of my beloved (and evidently cursed) Seattle Mariners is a crucial part of how I plan a summer in the city. Saturday nights you can arrive at the ballpark early, well before the first pitch, and there’s great food everywhere, from cult MOTO Pizza to perfumed garlic fries to surprisingly sophisticated beer and wine options, and the stadium setting itself is gorgeous. Come enjoy a beautiful day at the ballpark no matter who wins, or loses, or sucks consistently for your entire life. Terrace Club seats are especially worth the splurge if you’re traveling with kids, or there’s a member of your party mindful of mobility (direct access from the parking structure next door is especially nice). And T-Mobile park allows outside food—my kid loves picking out snacks from the street vendors around the stadium before we head in.

7pm: If you’re not going to the game, Belltown’s Serious Pie—from the original Seattle celebrity chef, Tom Douglas—is solid for a family-friendly dinner option, with a famous coconut cream pie for dessert. But perhaps you’ve got a childless night out in Seattle on your agenda, or some babysitting help back at the hotel (hi, Mom, thank you). Head to the bar at Canlis, where the building’s architecture and truly stunning view over Lake Union are matched by the caliber of drinks from bar director José Castillo. From there, consider dinner at Kamonegi for incredible handmade soba noodles, Beast & Cleaver for inventive steakhouse locavore cuisine with a London influence, or Off Alley for wild tasting menus. Finish the night with a glass of wine and maybe a little cheese at Le Caviste, a charming wine bar in South Lake Union sporting rattan outdoor chairs and an epic by-the-glass list ripped from your Parisian bistro dreams. Of particular note are the bar’s many dessert wine options, a passion of owner-operator David Butler, including sauternes, port, and rare macvin from the cult Jura region. Ask nicely and they may even bum you a single European cigarette, imported home from the bar’s many travels abroad—that is, if mom and dad’s night out in Seattle has turned truly wild.

Sunday, 10am: On your last day in town, indulge in the aforementioned biscuit cart, then retrieve your car from the hotel to drive up Queen Anne Hill and take in the Frasier view. Continue north to the beach at Golden Gardens, a visceral reminder that Seattle sits stubbornly, defiantly in the midst of an unlikely topographical milieu: a city located on an isthmus betwixt lakes and salt water, with snowcapped Olympic Mountains to the west, framed by lapping waves and verdant trees. I used to come here in college for smoky bonfires, and now I come to walk around like an old guy, catching feelings anew. This is a different version of the Pacific Northwest, so very different from our own here in Portland. I think you’ll catch some feelings, too.