Rainy Days and Munchkins...50+ Rainy Day Options in Walkable Seattle

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You did your due diligence. You planned a trip in June expecting sunny skies and warm temperatures Bwa ha ha ha.  Sorry sucka. Many a wedding or a company picnic have been held under umbrellas and picnic shelters on a foolproof August day.  So here you are, on vacation, getting physically and financially soaked. You have the option to stay bundled up like Pod People in your AirBnB or suck it up and get your money's worth out of this drizzly waterlogged city I call home.  Here are some insider tips for what to do in Seattle on rainy days. (We call those weekends)

 Umbrellas
Seattlelites love to tell you that nobody uses an umbrella. I am a local.  I am a native.  I live downtown. I proudly use an umbrella.  I have had 44 years to get used to the rain and I still don't particularly enjoy getting wet.

Umbrella Pro-tips

  • Get a GOOD umbrella. I am a huge fan of all sizes and colors of the GustBuster.  (Not a sponsor....YET) You can find reasonably priced heavy duty umbrellas at Ross, TJ Maxx, and Target and some flimsy over priced ones available at many touristy shops.
  • Don't get one of those ridiculous golf umbrellas that take up an entire block. It's not your job to keep the whole city dry.
  • If your kids are anything like mine, you may want to let them fend for themselves and just get wet.  Mine are at their most annoying when wielding a large wet weapony type object.


I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Rainy days are the BEST days to visit Pike Place Market.  You can explore almost the entire market without feeling so much as a drop of rain.  Why is the market so great in the drizzle?  Everyone else is scared of the rain, too! Rainy days are the perfect days to wander the underground terrain.  Make sure to work your way down into the depths of the market. The Down Under is home to a variety of specialty shops. Most visitors to Seattle don't even journey down there. Don't be those visitors!
Go downstairs! There,  you will find local favorites like Golden Age Collectibles and the Magic Shop as well as used books stores, a record shop, and a number of places to buy souvenirs from all over the world. Up top, you can stay dry and wander the many crafts stalls in the North Arcade. Be sure to check out the new expansion to Pike Place on the north end of the market. There is so much more to Pike Place than the fish throwers and the fresh flowers. 225 Independently own businesses make Pike Place Market their home. My family favorites include grabbing fresh produce (and samples!) at Choice Produce, Croissants at Le Panier, watching the artisan cheesemakers at Beechers Cheese.  Playing with the little toy train set at Boston Street, Piroshkys at Piroshky Piroshky, Hot Chocolate at Indi Chocolate, Tea from Market Spice, Nachos at El Borracho and yes, the fish throwing and fresh flowers too!...Ok my list goes on and on and on.

You can't go wrong at the Market.  Go explore, take weird turns and go down little passageways and spooky ramps. Everyone seems to know Rachel the Pig at the entrance of the market but can you find some of the lesser known pigs? The pig is the unofficial mascot of the market. Spot as many pigs as you can.  There are lots of them.
Downtown is where you will find the Pacific Place and Westlake shopping malls, Regal and AMC theatres and Gameworks. Beyond those usual haunts, I would encourage you to explore the innovative Central Library, duck into Benaroya Hall's Soundbridge, wander the Seattle Art Museum and check out their gift shop. Consider booking a private kid's city tour with Seattle By Foot, for a fun and affordable way to sample the city with your own personal tour guide. Stay dry at one of the many Top Pot Doughnut locations or even better, make your way to the Assembly Hall for anything your taste buds desire.You can spend hours hanging out on the mezzanine level playing pool, ring toss, shuffleboard and 80's style arcade games.
If you are going to go to Starbucks and lets face it, sometimes, especially with kids, you want something familiar, at least go somewhere special!  The Columbia Tower has a Starbucks hidden away on the 40th floor. The view is stunning and the place is mostly devoid of tourists. (shh!).  If you are close to the Seattle Art Museum, there is another interesting a spacious Starbucks hidden away in the Russell Investments Building.  Seating is plentiful and quirky. Even at it's busiest you can easily snag a table or comfy couch or loveseat.   Personally, I would skip a trip to Seattle's first Starbucks.  The lines are crazy long and they don't have seating or food. Maybe stop by and take photo of the original "scandalous" logo as you wander through the market.

Belltown is a shapeshifter.  Charming home of cafes, bakeries and locally owned restaurants by day and haven for bachelorette parties and frat boys by night with a lovely happy hour no-mans-land in between.  For me, Belltown is all about the coffee and the food. Locally owned coffee shops are abundant in Belltown.  You have to work pretty dang hard to find a bad cup of coffee in Seattle.
Spending a rainy afternoon at Drip City Coffee is apropos.At Uptown Espresso, you can while away the hours trying out various boardgames from their wide collection in the Gameporium.  Bedlam Coffee has a fun and eclectic vibe and captures the spirit of old Belltown.  They aren't particulary kid-friendly...or people-friendly, but it's a quirky place to visit and try to coax a smile out of a surly barista. Street Bean is another favorite of mine and I love their commitment to their mission. La Parisienne has delectable french pastries and is run by the most delightful French woman.  Macrina is always a solid choice for coffee, baked goods, breakfast, or lunch, though I would recommend trying them on a weekday as securing a table during weekend brunch can get pretty cutthroat. Down by the groovy Popsicle sculpture on 4th avenue you will find Yellow Leaf Cupcakes.  This place gets better and better every time I go, and they were pretty darn amazing to begin with! The Cinerama is right on the border of downtown and Belltown, but in the absence of anything besides food in this section, I'm claiming them for Belltown. Forget all the fancy recliners and boutique movie theatres, the Cinerama is the best place to watch a movie, also, they have chocolate popcorn!  I love food.  Can you tell?

The Seattle Waterfront is where the tourists are, and for good reason.  It's beautiful and quirky and fun. The crowds can be mind numbing in the summer.  While the view may not be spectacular on a rainy day, the attractions, shops and restaurants will welcome you with open arms! I might not recommend a boat ride or spending your hard earned cash on a drizzly Ferris wheel ride, but the waterfront has a lot to offer and you'll appreciate the elbow room
Make your way down to Ivars for some tasty fish and chips.  They have a covered seating area but when you are finished, make sure to save some chips for the seagulls. Feeding those flying rats are a favorite pastime on the Seattle Waterfront. You will have them, literally, eating our of your hand. You may feel a little like Tippi Hedren in the Hitchcock classic, but as loud and aggressive as they sound, I have never seen one attack. Speaking of traumatizing your children, you can also check out Sylvester, a real life mummy at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.  This local institution is home to pretty much anything you can imagine, from your usual tourist fare to shrunken heads, and mechanical psychics, pipe organs and native art.  You haven't truly visited Seattle without stopping in at Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. Pop down to Miner's landing (By the ferris wheel) for some indoor shopping, check out the Klondike Mini Arcade.  The vintage indoor carousel is the best priced deal in town. What kid wouldn't be in awe of this gigantic gumball machine. Right outside, you will find Wings over Washington.  It is a little spendy but even thrifty me will admit that it is well worth the money. The attention to detail, theming, and ride itself, surpassed my expectations for a tourist area attraction. Seattle has a lovely aquarium, which is a great place to wait out the rain. Make sure to check out their gift shop while you are there.The Seattle Waterfront has been undergoing a facelift and continues to change and grow.  We are excited to see what the future brings!

Don't let the rain scare you away from exploring historic Pioneer Square. Journey out and spend an hour or four taking in all of the glory of Magic Mouse Toys.  This is place will make you forget that torrential downpour.  Make sure you go downstairs into what was formerly part of the Seattle Underground. Head to Grand Central Bakery for sandwiches or coffee and a treat.  Try out the Gold Rush Museum.  It's free! If you have older kids the Beneath the Streets tour spends most of it's time beneath the streets and only a brief amount of time walking above ground. It's fun and informative and the keep their tours small. The Underground Tour is another good option for a yuck fest history tour, though your tour group can end up being pretty huge.

Head down towards the Stadiums and pop into Cone and Steiner for some shopping, coffee, candy, donuts, ice cream, groceries or happy hour. If the skies are starting to clear, beat the crowds and head to Seattle's first skyscraper.  Smith Tower offers an interactive tour in addition to the stunning view from the observation deck. They also have a rooftop cafe an old-timey ground floor lobby where you can sit at the soda fountain counter and indulge in a sweet treat. Rain or shine, you need to make your way to the hidden Waterfall park in Pioneer Square.  It's a little tricky to locate but you can hear it when you are close!
If you have a lot of time to kill and money to spend, Seattle Center is your spot. While, it is technically walkable, I might recommend that you take the monorail from downtown Seattle to Seattle Center. The monorail is incredibly user friendly.  You can't get lost because there is only one stop!  You can board the monorail on the top floor of Westlake Center on 4th and Pine. Monorail is reasonably priced but cash only! It will let you off right at the Armory (formerly the center house). The Armory offers a variety of food options (Skillet is my favorite!) with the Children's Museum right downstairs. The Children's museum is a great spot to kill some time and let the kids run off some of their rainy day energy.  Seattle Center is home to many of our beloved attractions like The Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, MoPop, Chihuly Glass Museum, Seattle Children's Theatre, Seattle Rep, Pacific Northwest Ballet and More.  The attraction admissions can rack up pretty quickly but they are all worth the money! I would consider buying a city pass which offers discounted admission. Even as locals we put this to good use. Check Groupon, especially in the rainy off-season  There are deals to be had! Don't be scared off by the Chihuly Museum of Glass. It is amazing and beautiful. Kids love it! (And not just my weirdo kids).  I love the butterfly house at the Pacific Science Center.  Teen Boy loves MoPop, My husband loves the International Fountain even in the rain and my daughter doesn't care how cold and miserable it is outside, she will beg to go to the playground.  The Artist at Play Playground is the only playground in all of Walkable Seattle!

We can all agree on grabbing a coffee, hot chocolate or treat at La Marzocco, playing a boardgame and enjoying the view of the live broadcast from KEXP.  Another spot to check out is the Gates Foundation Discovery Center on lower Queen Anne. Their kid friendly free tour focuses on things that we, as individuals, can do to encourage prosperity, health and education throughout the world. Other favorites in the neighborhood include burgers at the iconic Dicks Drive-In, slices at Pagliacci Pizza, and delicious baked goods at Sugar Bakery.

Hmm.  I talk a good game.  Maybe I should consult my own list next time I'm hunkered down in the condo, watching the rain come down and letting my kid watch her 12th episode of Phineas and Ferb




I only recommend things on this blog that I have experienced first hand.  Let me now if you have any rainy day suggestions!



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