Seattle With Kids
On a sunny day, Seattle might just be the most beautiful city in the world. Bordered by the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains to the west, Mt. Rainier to the south and the Cascades to the east, it has an awe factor few major cities can match.
The Short List
The places we’d build the trip around
One of the world's best aviation museums, featuring historic aircraft you can board and space exhibits.
Waterfront Ferris wheel with sweeping views of Elliott Bay and the Seattle skyline.
Immersive flying theater that soars virtually over Washington's landscapes.
Beloved neighborhood pizzeria serving exceptional wood-fired Neapolitan-style pies.
Watch boats, salmon, and sea lions navigate Seattle's famous Ballard Locks.
Hawaiian-Korean fusion with kimchi fried rice, shave ice and unbeatable waterfront views from the patio.
Seattle began as Indigenous land, home to the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples for thousands of years before settlers arrived in 1851. Named for Chief Seattle, the city quickly grew from a logging outpost into a major port, fueled by timber and the Klondike Gold Rush.
After rebuilding from the Great Fire of 1889—raising its streets a level above a still existent underground in the process—Seattle evolved into an innovation hub, first through Boeing, then later with tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon. And all of these brilliant minds kept focusedby courtesy of a little local coffee chain called Starbucks.
The 1962 World’s Fair gave it the Space Needle—and the expansion and growth of the city surrounded by unmovable natural borders - has never really stopped.
Quick History:
A WEEKEND IN SEATTLE
Seattle may have had a tech-induced identity crisis, but if you look a little harder, you'll still find plenty of soul. The food scene is excellent, the neighborhoods are distinct enough to feel like different cities, and when the rain comes, it's usually the soft Pacific Northwest kind — more mist than downpour. With kids, Seattle is a great city to explore, with plenty of museums, playgrounds and neighborhoods where actual families live.
FRIDAY | MUSEUM OF FLIGHT → HOTEL RESET → PIKE PLACE
AFTERNOON | MUSEUM OF FLIGHT
Start Friday at the Museum of Flight ($29/adult, $21/youth 5–17, free under 5), which sits south of downtown near Boeing Field and is one of the great aviation museums in the world. More than 160 aircraft (and spacecraft!) fill the hangars, from a Concorde supersonic jet to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, to the actual Air Force One that carried Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. And you can walk inside most of them. Plan for at least three hours — most families end up spending four (ours included) — and don't skip the fighter jet simulator, which is thrilling for adults and kids alike. There is a cafe inside with pretty standard food options, but if the kids get hungry, it'll do the job so you can keep exploring. Open daily 10am to 5pm; admission is free the first Thursday of every month from 5 to 9pm if your trip happens to land on one.
Buy tickets online before you go — same price as the door but you walk straight in. The gift shop has the best aerospace-themed kids' merchandise you will find anywhere, and you will leave with something. Budget for it.
LATE AFTERNOON | HOTEL RESET
After the museum, head to your hotel and do nothing useful for an hour. Seattle is built on hills that are steeper than they look on a map, and downtown traffic is absurd. Everyone needs to decompress, adults go grab a drink while the kids settle into their new hotel room.
EVENING + DINNER | PIKE PLACE
When you're ready, walk to Pike Place Market and orient yourself. Watch someone throw a fish. Then go find dinner.
Friday night should be good and easy, Pike Place neighborhood is dense with good options.
Old Stove Brewing Co. (~$20–35/person) is a waterfront brewery tucked into the edge of Pike Place where you come as much for the view as the beer. Grab a table by the windows (or outside on the expansive patio if it's sunny) and watch ferries drift across Elliott Bay while you settle in. It’s casual and easy, wood-fired pizza or burgers for the adults and a solid pub classics kid's menu to keep things moving for the kids. It's lively but not chaotic, casual but still feels like you picked a spot.
Le Pichet (~$20–35/person) This is probably best for well-behaved children as it is small and a little bit more refined. Le Pichet is a quieter, narrow, candlelit French bistro one block from Pike Place that has been doing the simple things right for over two decades. Get a jug of house wine and the roast chicken for two — and a steak frites for the kids to split if the otherwise French menu seems a little too adventurous for them. You could also just order a cheese course with a baguette if you don't want to get your kids accustomed to having steak dinners out. The space is warm and unhurried, the service good, and the whole meal has the quality of a place that has earned its spot among the Seattle icons.
Mr. Fish (~$15–25/person) is the most casual of the three — a relaxed, come-as-you-are seafood spot that does the fundamentals well. Good for families who want something easy and satisfying after a long travel day. We like the sampler platter called the King of the Sea (a cup of chowder, piece of fried cod and fries) or a half Dungeness crab with butter. Get the kids something off the dedicated kid's menu: the grilled cheese promises nothing green, but there's fish on there as well. Chef Tom Douglas is a Seattle legend and he doesn't skimp on flavor. NOTE: Its proximity to the market means it closes shortly after the market shuts down — 7pm to be exact. Happy Hour with $2 oysters from 3–6 daily.
SATURDAY | PIKE PLACE → THE WATERFRONT → WEST SEATTLE → BALLARD
MORNING | LE PANIER + PIKE PLACE MARKET
Start Saturday at Le Panier (open daily 7am–5pm), the French bakery by Pike Place Market that's been there since 1983. The pastry lead trained at Pierre Hermé in Paris, which is not the kind of detail you'd expect from a market bakery but explains why the croissants and the macarons are excellent. Get a box of macarons — the pistachio and vanilla are our favorites — and something for breakfast: the pain au chocolat, the Jambon Mornay, or the kouign-amann if they have it. The coffee is great and you’ll want to load up here since the Starbucks down the street has lines so long they warrant crowd control. If you still feel peckish afterwards, pop into Beecher's Cheese Factory a block away and try a curd or two..
Then take your time in Pike Place Market. Saturday morning is busy but not yet impossible. The flowers, fish counters, lower levels, gum wall and general weirdness make it one of those places that's as much fun to wander as it is to actually shop.
LATE MORNING | WATERFRONT + WINGS OVER WASHINGTON
Walk down toward the waterfront via the Hillclimb, which gets you from the market to the water in about three minutes. (You'll pass the original Starbucks at 1912 Pike Place we talked about earlier). It will have a much-too-long line, but hey, at least you've seen it.
Walk the waterfront south to Pier 57 for Wings Over Washington (~$19–24/person) and the Seattle Great Wheel(~$16–20/person; combo tickets are available).
Wings Over Washington is a flying theater that creates the sensation of soaring across Washington — the Olympic National Forest, Mount Rainier, the San Juan Islands, Snoqualmie Falls and the Walla Walla Valley. The whole experience takes about twenty minutes. The technology is better than the Soarin' attractions at Disney parks, which is a high bar, and kids tend to emerge wanting to go again. It feels expensive before you go in, but trust us, it's incredible and worth the splurge. Slightly scary if you're sensitive as the visual immersion is intense.
The Seattle Great Wheel is literally right next door — 175 feet tall, fully enclosed gondolas, 360-degree views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Combo tickets for both attractions offer a small discount and together they take anywhere from one to two hours including lines.
LUNCH | WATER TAXI + MARINATION MA KAI
From the waterfront, walk south to Pier 50 and take the West Seattle Water Taxi (~$6/person each way (transfers good for two hours)) across the Sound for lunch. The crossing takes about fifteen minutes, and the boat feels much more adventurous than a car — with the views of downtown growing more spectacular the closer you get to West Seattle. You might even see a seal or two hanging out on other boats and buoys as you cross. The water taxi runs on a regular schedule on Saturdays; check King County Metro for current departure times before you leave the hotel and build your morning around the next boat.
Steps from where you disembark, Marination Ma Kai (~$12–20/person) does Hawaiian-Korean fusion on one of the most enjoyable outdoor patios in Seattle. There are picnic tables, sweeping views of Puget Sound and downtown, and a dedicated kids' menu. The miso ginger chicken tacos and Kalua pork sliders are great; the kimchi fried rice with a runny egg is exceptional. Then get the kids shave ice with coconut or vanilla soft serve.
AFTERNOON | ALKI BEACH
After lunch, Alki Beach is a short walk along Harbor Avenue. It's a long, sandy stretch facing Elliott Bay with a boardwalk, rental bikes and one of those views of the Seattle skyline that makes you understand why people love this city. Look for crab shells — they're abundant.
LATE AFTERNOON | WATER TAXI + RACHEL'S GINGER BEER
Hop back on the Water Taxi and head back toward Pike Place. There's a quick elevator by the Aquarium if the kids want to skip the climb.
Then stop at Rachel's Ginger Beer (~$5–15/person). The flagship opened in Pike Place in 2013, and the ginger beer is made with fresh lemons, pure cane sugar and ginger. Sample the seasonal flavors, get the original (or original Moscow mule) for yourself and order the kids a ginger beer float or a scoop of pineapple or vanilla soft serve.
DINNER | DELANCEY
Grab an Uber to Ballard for dinner at Delancey (~$18–28/person), which opens at 4:30pm on Saturdays. This is wood-fired pizza made with long-fermented dough from Washington-grown wheat, and it's an effortlessly cool, walk-in restaurant.
Our move: arrive when they open. Get the Draft Americanos, the Jersey salad, the white pie and something with the house sausage. Whatever is on the chalkboard is probably worth ordering too. The gray sea salt chocolate chip cookies come warm from the oven and are excellent.
If there's a wait, adults can grab a drink at Essex next door. If the kids are losing it, walk eight minutes to Salmon Bay Park and let them play until they text you that the table is ready.
RAINY DAY SWAP
If Seattle is staying true to it’s rainy reputation while you’re there, throw on your rain gear and swap an outdoor stop for one of these indoor favorites. We like the following for kids.
Pacific Science Center: This is our go-to for a rainy Seattle day, with hands-on science exhibits, a planetarium, IMAX and the Tropical Butterfly House. You can easily spend a few hours here, so it’s a particularly good swap when the weather is really coming down. Tickets start around $30 for kids and $35 for adults, with additional costs for IMAX and special experiences.
Seattle Children’s Museum: Best for younger kids, this is a very hands-on museum where kids can climb, build, pretend and explore. Our girls have repeatedly asked to go back - and there is a decent food court upstairs including a Starbucks. Admission is around $15 per person.
MOHAI: Seattle’s history museum is surprisingly fun with kids, especially thanks to the interactive exhibits and hands-on activities in the Idea Lab. Around $25 adults / $17 kids, with children 14 and under free on the first Thursday of each month.
Seattle Aquarium: An easy rainy-day win right on the waterfront. Kids can get up close with sea otters, seals, giant Pacific octopus and all sorts of Pacific Northwest marine life, and you can duck inside for a couple of hours without giving up your downtown plans entirely. Around $40 adults / $25 kids, with discounts for booking online ahead of time.
SUNDAY | GAS WORKS → BALLARD MARKET → THE LOCKS → GOLDEN GARDENS
MORNING | GAS WORKS PARK + SAINT BREAD
Start Sunday morning at Gas Works Park (free, dawn to dusk) on the north shore of Lake Union. The Seattle skyline rises dramatically across the water, with the Space Needle, sailboats and floatplanes all in view. The park sits on the site of a former gasification plant, and the rusting industrial towers have been preserved as sculptural artifacts.
The lawn is enormous. If you're staying at the Graduate, it's a fifteen-minute walk along the Burke-Gilman Trail. Otherwise, Uber or take the light rail to U District Station and walk.
A ten-minute walk from Gas Works, Saint Bread (~$4–12/person) is a small, serious bakery in Fremont. The pastries are excellent — especially the croissants and seasonal tarts — and the coffee is great. The space is small and the line moves quickly; grab a table on the covered patio and enjoy.
From here, Ballard is about a ten-minute Uber.
LATE MORNING | BALLARD FARMERS MARKET
The Ballard Farmers Market (free, Sundays year-round, 9am–2pm) runs along the historic cobblestone stretch of Ballard Avenue. An open air market is one of our favorite ways to see any city. You can see the locals buying their weekly groceries, the farmer’s slinging what’s in season and understand what that specific geography does well. This is a great market, with produce grown exclusively by Washington state farmers and a very seasonal selection. If you drove, parking meters on surrounding streets are free on Sundays.
LUNCH / EARLY AFTERNOON | BALLARD LOCKS
From the market, walk about ten minutes to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (free). The locks connect the saltwater of Puget Sound to the freshwater Ship Canal, which sits about 20 feet above sea level. Boats enter, the gates close, and the water rises or falls to the level of the destination waterway.
Watching a 40-foot sailboat get lifted like a bathtub toy is surprisingly mesmerizing for kids and adults alike. The whole cycle takes about fifteen minutes.
The grounds also include the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden and a fish ladder with underground viewing windows where, during the summer months, you can watch salmon migrate through the glass. Free one-hour tours depart from the visitor center if your timing allows.
AFTERNOON | GOLDEN GARDENS
Five minutes northwest of the Locks, Golden Gardens Park (free) is Ballard's beach — a long, sandy stretch on Shilshole Bay with fire pits, a boat launch and Olympic Mountain views on a clear day.
If the sun is out, spread a blanket and stay for an hour. If it's grey, stay anyway. The moody version of this beach is also very good. Keep an eye out for harbor seals swimming close to shore, and let the kids use your empty coffee cups as sand buckets so everyone can stay a little longer.
LATE AFTERNOON | STOUP BREWING
Before or after Golden Gardens, Stoup Brewing (~$8–10/person, kids welcome) is an easy stop. There's a large, relaxed indoor space and a heated patio, with rotating IPAs, lagers and stouts. Kids and dogs are welcome, and they keep juice boxes in the beer fridge for the under-21 crowd. Food trucks are excellent and rotate, so check their Instagram that morning to see what's there.
WHERE TO STAY
We look for hotels with real character in the right neighborhoods that can comfortably accommodate 4 people.
Hyatt at Olive 8
From $200/night
A full-service hotel two blocks from Pike Place with a pool — and rooms that comfortably sleep four. The pool is indoor and heated, which in Seattle is not an afterthought. Location is slightly east of the Pike Place cluster, which makes it quieter at night while remaining walkable to downtown and the light rail and water taxi.
Graduate Seattle
From $160/night
Our budget pick sits in the University District, right next to University of Washington and only steps from the U District Light Rail station. The hotel itself leans into its collegiate neighborhood with a bookish, slightly nostalgic design concept. Rooms are well-sized for families, and there is a fun rooftop bar called The Mountaineering Club, with sweeping views of the city that children are welcome at in the early evening. Not a downtown address, but for families who want to move on transit rather than wrestle with parking, it earns its place on this list.
Thompson Seattle
From $350/night
Our luxury pick sits right above Pike Place Market — literally, the market is a four-minute walk downhill — with rooms that have views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Family rooms can accommodate four, and the location is unbeatable for this itinerary: you roll out the door Saturday morning and you're at Le Panier in eight minutes. The ground-floor bar is excellent and the rooftop bar has some of the best views in downtown. Worth the location premium if you can swing it.
Populus Seattle
From $250/night
A design-forward boutique hotel in historic Pioneer Square, with double-queen rooms that comfortably sleep four. The beautifully restored building blends original architecture with warm Pacific Northwest design, local artwork, and thoughtful touches like Aesop bath products. The rooftop bar, Firn, is one of the city's best new spots for skyline views. A splurge for sure, but she’s gorgeous.
Hotel pricing is dynamic and subject to change.
A FEW THINGS TO KNOW
The Weather: Seattle has a reputation for rain, but it’s usually more of a misty, persistent drizzle than a dramatic downpour. Summer can be spectacularly sunny, dry and warm, while spring and fall are more unpredictable. Bring layers, rain jackets and a rain cover for the stroller if you're traveling with little ones.
Getting Around: We recommend not driving. Seattle can be very frustrating to get around as public transit isn't the best and traffic is terrible. The light rail only serves very specific locations and parking is a nightmare almost everywhere. Our recommendation is to walk or train where you can, and be ready to use Uber or Lyft. If you have a car, allow considerable more time downtown to find parking (and read the signs well — parking spots at noon can become in-use lanes of traffic at 3pm and your car will be towed).
Kids + Restaurants: Seattle can be very kid-friendly, and most restaurants are pretty relaxed about children. That said, some of the city's smaller, more coveted restaurants are not ideal for young kids simply because they're tiny and quiet. Earlier dinners are your friend, particularly on weekends when reservations can be tough to get.
Power Outlets: The United States uses Type A and Type B outlets, the same plugs used in Canada and Mexico. Travelers from outside North America will likely need an adapter.
Tipping: Tipping is expected in the United States and is quite substantial. At sit-down restaurants, 18–22% is standard for good service, with 20% being the easy default. Tip on the pre-tax amount or total — but suggested tips on receipts are often post tax. For coffee shops, a dollar or two is appreciated but not mandatory. Rideshares, bartenders and hotel staff are also generally tipped.
Sales Tax: Seattle has a sales tax of around 10%, which is added at checkout rather than included in the displayed price. This applies to restaurants, shops, attractions and most other purchases, so remember that the price you see isn't the price you'll pay unless explicitly stated.
Cleaning up after your children is always appreciated everywhere.
IF YOU HAVE MORE TIME : GREEN LAKE
Green Lake Park (free, open daily dawn to dusk) is one of Seattle's great neighborhood parks — a 2.8-mile paved loop around an actual lake, flat enough for children on scooters or bikes, busy enough on weekends that it feels exciting, and surrounded by enough good energy that you won't want to leave quickly. The loop takes about an hour at a leisurely family pace, with the lake on one side and a rotating cast of joggers, dogs, and inline skaters for company. There is a large playground mid-loop on the east side that will cause any child under twelve to immediately abandon all forward momentum. There are paddleboats and rowboats for rent at the boathouse if the loop isn't enough. It is the version of Seattle that locals actually live in, rather than visit — which is its own kind of recommendation. If you're staying at the Graduate, Green Lake is a fifteen-minute Uber north.
The block of East Green Lake Drive N just off the park's east side has an unusually good concentration of casual restaurants for a residential neighborhood. Duke's Seafood Greenlake – Is a Relaxed neighborhood seafood spot overlooking Green Lake, known for sustainable seafood, award-winning chowder, and a great kids menu that features the classics along with an option for wild prawns, cod and fries or coho salmon. Wayward Vegan Café is a lively, genuinely good plant-based brunch spot that even confirmed omnivores tend to enjoy.Bongos is a laid-back Caribbean café overlooking Green Lake, famous for its flavorful Cuban sandwiches, tropical vibes, and kid-friendly outdoor sand play area.. None of these require a reservation; all of them are a short walk from the park's east entrance.
Worth the detour another day: Din Tai Fung at U Village is not to be missed. The xiao long bao (soup dumplings) are the speciality. Our family easily eats 4 baskets. The garlic green beans are insane and you must order them. There will likely be a wait on a weekend. If it's sunny and the wait is long, order your food for take away and carry it to the lawn by the Apple Store — it works perfectly as an impromptu picnic spot. U Village itself has Anthropologie, Madewell, Lululemon, Sur La Table, and a Molly Moon's ice cream right on site. We would say it’s beautiful… if a mall could be beautiful.
WORTH A MENTION:
If you find yourself off our curated path and need more food ideas:
Stoup Brewing on Capitol Hill is accessible by light rail and has an indoor kid play area if the weather is bad. It also features rotating food trucks or you’re welcome to bring your own in as well. It’s also a quick uber from downtown.
Din Tai Fung has a buzzy additional location downtown at Westlake Center but it’s in inside an almost abandoned mall and that bums us out although the Soup Dumplings still deliver.
Ba Bar has Vietnamese street food and two locations (one on Capitol Hill and one in U-village) they don’t have a dedicated kids menu but they have great wings and pho and we’ve taken our kids to both.
Dick’s Drive In is a Seattle cheeseburger institution. Think walk up window and simple menu of burgers and fries but if you’re craving one - it’s legendary. A few locations around town.
Elysian Fields just across from Lumen Stadium is kid friendly and has really good food with a kid’s menu if you catch a game/concert while you’re visiting.
Serious Pie is another Tom Douglas institution and the pizza is excellent. Several locations around town.
Reuben’s Brewing in Ballard has great beer and giant pretzels.
Pho Bac has great pho, multiple locations.