Pike Place Market Walk

Date of Walk:Aug 6, 2001

Length:1 mile to wander most areas
Time to Walk:45 minutes if you don't shop
Type of Walk:Shopping Dining Market
Location:Downtown Seattle, Washington
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Parking
Parking is an experience in downtown Seattle. It can be hard to find and can only be reached after negotiating a myriad of one way streets. We parked at the hotel we were staying at but our suggestion is that you surrender to the parking gods of Seattle. If you see a public parking lot near where you want to be, give up and take it. It will be expensive and it will be inconvenient but anything beats navigating the maze of Seattle downtown for one minute longer than you have to.

Let's Go!
Clicking on the thumbnail map below will display a map we shamelessly stole from the Pike Place Market website.

We started at the north end of the Market. There is a small park there with a totem pole and a good view of the harbour. Also, there may be homeless people sleeping on the grass. Remember, Pike Market is located off 1st which is one of Seattle's seamier districts. Don't worry though, the city fathers have been working to rehabilitate the area and it is safe for tourists, if a little colourful. Seattle has placed different pig statues all over downtown. Bill took a seat to admire one.

We carried on down Pike Street. The Market on both sides of Pike leans towards the flower, fish and vegetable stalls, although there is a generous sprinkling of other curiosities. This is the area that really attracts the tourists with its bright colours and the famous fish markets where the throwing of fish around the market rivals any juggler.

After we did the upper part, we went into the lower level where there were more formal shops as opposed to stalls. It doesn't have the bustle of the upper level but it is still loaded with unusual stores. The fact it was less crowded gave David the opportunity to take a rest by another of the pig statues.

We arose from the lower levels and took a stroll up Pike Street to First Avenue to get a view of the world famous Pike Market sign.

We headed south into the Economy Market. There are a few interesting stores and restaurants but it definitely didn't have the charm of the rest of the market. However, we were irresistibly drawn next door to the Pike Pub and Brewery for some reason. As long as we were there, we enjoyed some of their wide selection of microbrewery beer.