Shopping

Like everything else in this city, shopping is an eclectic mix. Although there seem to be upscale boutiques and funky secondhand stores in every area, the various Seattle neighborhoods do have overriding shopping experience personalities.

If you are looking for designer labels and high-end department stores, downtown is where you want to start. The Nordstrom flagship store is, of course, the holy grail here; but you will also find Bon Marché, Macy’s, and Barney’s, as well as an entire lineup of designer shops from Betsey Johnson to Cartier. The main indoor malls are Pacific Place, City Centre, and Westlake Center. If you are looking for that special piece of artwork to add to your collection, stick around the downtown area and make your way over to either Belltown or Pioneer Square. Both neighborhoods, anchoring each end of the central business district, are rich with galleries offering a wide range of paintings, sculpture, photographic art, and Seattle’s specialty, hand-blown glasswork. Pioneer Square is also an excellent spot for antiques hunting.

Foodies will want to browse the stalls of Pike Place Market, and the shops along the surrounding streets, for an astounding array of artisan foods and cooking implements. Pike Place is also the best place to shop for souvenirs for yourself or to take back home to friends and family. The International District is also a great place for foodie shoppers, particularly if your tastes run to the more exotic and international.

If trendy, independent boutiques are more your thing, you’ll want to head to Ballard. The charming tree-lined brick streets are filled with small European-style shops, where you will find the absolute hippest shoes, fashion-forward clothing, local designers, and really unique home decor items. For a lot more funk, with the dial turned way down on trendy, move to next-door Fremont. This hippy, quirky, anything-goes neighborhood is full of vintage shops, tucked-away spots where you can score collectible toys or that rare vinyl LP, fun clothing boutiques, and even the occasional head shop. A refreshing aspect of Fremont is that it is virtually chain-store-free. Another neighborhood for great vintage finds is Capitol Hill, where you can also find world imports, alternative bookstores, adult toys, and plenty of shops that cater to a gay clientele.

Shopping - The Arts

Seattle’s art community is a vibrant, eclectic, original, interactive, community-based scene; pretentious, inaccessible art is not for the residents here. For the most part it’s a creative community available to everyone, and it invites exploration, which often takes it beyond the edges of imagination. This seems entirely fitting for a city that is known for innovation in so many fields.

But don’t let that knowledge lead you to think that Seattleites don’t retain a deep appreciation for the classical arts. The opera, symphony, and ballet companies are among the best in the country, and dozens of professional theaters enjoy strong audience support. Many have been tapped by top producers worldwide as launching pads for new productions. Seattle’s cultural scene definitely mirrors its inhabitants—next to every traditionalist is the cutting-edge bad boy; for every serious piece of art, there’s something whimsical that will make you laugh.

You will see the thriving, “for the people” vibe I’m talking about when you browse the listings in this chapter. From a plethora of taking-it-to-the-streets art walks that happen in almost every neighborhood around the city, to the many creative centers and support organizations that exist for the arts community here, it’s hard to feel excluded from the Seattle art scene. Local artists even designed the city’s manhole covers!