How to Find Hotels in Seattle

Once a relatively sleepy enclave in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle is now a bustling metropolis. The city's gorgeous surroundings and numerous cultural offerings make it both a great place to live and a vibrant city to visit. Follow these tips to make your next stay there memorable.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• City map of Seattle and map of Washington state
• Credit card for making reservations
• Computer with Internet access

Choose Your Accommodations in Seattle

1. Book accommodations in Seattle by calling the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau at [phone] or by visiting the Web site (see Resources below).

2. Take advantage of people's second homes in the form of cottages and cabins near the city. These can be found without a middleman on Craigslist.

3. Enjoy some of Seattle's more charming neighborhoods by staying at one of the city's many bed and breakfast accommodations. These also tend to be central to Seattle's lively downtown.

4. Camp to your heart's content near Seattle. Mount Rainier National Park offers some of the most scenic camping around at any of its six campgrounds, and even more gorgeous locations in the back country.

Know Your Destination

5. Bring your umbrella. Seattle's quintessential Pacific Northwest weather will bring drizzle or light rain often, but rarely does Seattle see major rainstorms.

6. Pack your comfortable shoes. Downtown Seattle and the neighboring areas offer some great urban hiking. Just be ready for some of the city's seven main hills.

7. Think "outdoors." Seattle is an outdoor city despite the often grey weather. From running around Green Lake Park to visiting the open-air Pike Place Market, Seattleites don't let a few raindrops slow them down.

See More of Seattle

8. Get up into space at the city's landmark Space Needle. It was built for the 1962 World's Fair and at 60 stories tall still offers one of the best views of the entire area.

9. Seattle has been rated the most literate city in America. In addition to plenty of bookstores, the city features the architecturally bold and relatively new Seattle Central Library downtown. It's worth a look, even without a library card.

10. Experience the Frank Gehry-designed Experience Music Project at Seattle Center. Founded by Microsoft multibillionaire Paul Allen, this interactive museum of sorts is great for everyone, particularly families with music fans.

Tips & Warnings

• Seattle plays host to a number of big festivals, from book fairs to Bumbershoot, the city's arts festival. It's a good idea to avoid the crowds in order to find more cheap accommodations options.
• Never set off on backcountry camping without first getting a permit and updated information from the ranger station.