Shopping in Seattle
Downtown Seattle Shopping
Epicenter: Seneca and 4th Ave., Seattle WA
Seattle's downtown shopping district is a compact square of several blocks with brand names like Urban Outfitters, Gap and Nordstorm. Fashion boutiques like Betsy Johnson and Isadora's Antique Clothing dot the urban landscape and offer Seattle shoppers more eclectic options. Downtown Seattle shopping can feel like Fifth Avenue, especially as you stroll by fashion stars like Banana Republic or Nike occupying their own buildings. Westlake Center Plaza, a nearby mall, features local and international home designers as well as a top floor food consortium. If the Seattle rain catches you, shoppers can duck into Pacific Place and shop at Ann Taylor and J. Crew or catch an afternoon flick on the top floor movie theatre. Seattle shoppers tired of schlepping around their shopping bags can unwind at the many fine high-end spas and salons or duck in for a latte at Nordstrom Cafe.
First Hill Shopping
Epicenter: Madison and Boren Ave., Seattle WA
First Hill, also dubbed "Pill Hill," is located atop the downtown center and is an intensive but brief hike from Pioneer Square. Although not a main tourist stop for Seattle visitors, the Hill boasts St. James Cathedral where a mosaic tile floor is on view and the Frye Art Museum, with free admission and representational art, is just a block away. On Madison Avenue, Seattle shoppers can take a lunch break at Pizza Orgasmica or a coffee break at one of three Starbucks located on the same corner. It is easy to understand why because Starbucks caters to the doctors and residents of Pill Hill's medical community.
Fremont Shopping District
Seattle, WA
This compact Seattle shopping block attracts MWS (moms with strollers) taking in the sunshine through the Sunday Fremont Market browsing for a bargain at the retro and vintage stores while weekday worker bees shop-hop during their lunchbreak looking for atomic age martini glasses. This is also a haven for fashionistas who hate the snob factor of downtown Seattle boutiques but can find big-name designers without the attitude.
International District Shopping
Epicenter: Maynard Ave. & Weller St., Seattle WA
Seattle's International District transports Seattle visitors to the tastes and sights of Asia. The "ID," as locals call it, is a colorful consortium of restaurants, shops and cafes of a dozen different ethnic varieties. Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander are just some of the international nationalities represented in this shopping expanse of eight-city blocks just south of Pioneer Square. Visitors walking through this diverse Seattle shopping and food district will find a fortune cookie factory, bustling dim sum, herbal pharmacies and Kinokuniya, an international bookstore that houses top-notch Asian cookbooks. Visitors in need of additional background about Seattle's International District can visit The Wing Luke Asian Museum, which depicts the neighborhood's history in pictures and artifacts. Seattle shoppers cannot miss Uwajimaya, a sprawling Asian food and products court with miles of seafood, fresh vegetables and specialty candies.
Pike Place Market Shopping
Epicenter: Pike Place and 1st Ave., Seattle WA
Seattle's waterfront Pike Place Market is one of the most colorful and energetic shopping districts in the Pacific Northwest. Serious Seattle shoppers should consider world-famous Pike's Place Fish Market a priority on their Seattle shopping list. The highlight is Pike Place Market's "flying fish," when fish merchants throw cuts of fish to each other across their stand to the delight of awestruck onlookers. A cobblestone street, lined with vendors selling handmade arts and crafts, a dazzling array of multicolored fresh flowers and photographs of scenic Seattle landscapes, winds through the Pike Place Market. For lunch, Seattle shoppers need not look far as vendors sell fresh sandwiches and hot piroshkis along the way. Seattle tourists and locals alike take advantage of Pike Place Market's waterfront park, where they can sit and take in the Elliott Bay view.