Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
park with an ornate pagoda), Uwa-
jimaya (an Asian supermarket), and
many other small shops and restau-
rants. The International District
begins around Fifth Avenue South
and South Jackson Street. This
neighborhood is interesting for a
stroll, but there really isn't a lot to do
here.
BELLTOWN
Located in the blocks
north of
Pike Place Market
between Western and Fourth
avenues, this area once held mostly
warehouses, but over the past decade
it has become gentrified. Today
Belltown is ground zero for upscale
Seattle restaurants. Keeping the
restaurants in business are the resi-
dents of the neighborhood's many
new high-rise condominiums. Bell-
town's many nightclubs attract
crowds of the young, the hip, and
the stylish—who, in turn, attract a
lot of nighttime panhandlers.
QUEEN ANNE HILL
Queen
Anne is located just northwest of
Seattle Center
and offers great views
of the city. This affluent neighbor-
hood, one of the most prestigious in
Seattle proper, is where you'll find
some of Seattle's oldest homes.
Today the neighborhood is divided
into the Upper Queen Anne and
Lower Queen Anne neighborhoods.
Upper Queen Anne has a very
peaceful neighborhood feel and
abounds in moderately priced
restaurants. Lower Queen Anne,
adjacent to the theaters and Opera
House at Seattle Center, is some-
thing of a theater district and has a
more urban character.
CAPITOL HILL
To the northeast
of downtown, centered along
Broadway near Volunteer Park,
Capitol Hill is Seattle's main gay
community and is also a popular
youth-culture shopping district.
Broadway sidewalks are always
crowded, and it is nearly impossible
to find a parking space in this
neighborhood. Although there are
lots of inexpensive restaurants in
the area, few are really worth rec-
ommending. This is also the city's
main hangout for runaways and
street kids, many of whom have
become involved in the city's infa-
mous heroin scene. Despite the
youthful orientation, Capitol Hill is
also where you'll find many of the
city's bed-and-breakfast inns. These
inns are housed in some of the
neighborhood's impressive old
homes and mansions.
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
As the
name implies, this neighborhood in
the northeast section of the city sur-
rounds the University of Washing-
ton. The “U” District, as it's known
to locals, provides all the amenities
of a college neighborhood: cheap
ethnic restaurants, bars, pubs,
espresso bars, and music stores. The
neighborhood has several good
hotels that offer substantial savings
over comparable downtown Seattle
hotels.
FREMONT
Located north of the
Lake Washington Ship Canal
between Wallingford and Ballard,
Fremont is home to Seattle's best-
loved piece of public art—
Waiting
for the Interurban
—as well as the
famous Fremont Troll sculpture.
This is Seattle's wackiest neighbor-
hood and is filled with eclectic
shops and ethnic restaurants. Dur-
ing the summer, there's a Sunday
flea market, and outdoor movies are
screened on Saturday nights. If you
have time to visit only one neigh-
borhood outside of downtown,
make it Fremont.
BALLARD
In northwest Seattle,
bordering the Lake Washington
Ship Canal and Puget Sound, you'll
find Ballard, a former Scandinavian
community that retains visible rem-
nants of its past. Now known for its
