The Emerald City fuses nature with high technology. Its natural wonders - lush forests, mountains and Pacific Ocean - stand unchanging beside the hip neighbourhoods and world-famous companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon.com, and, of course, Starbucks.
Thanks to the scenery and salty ocean air, Seattle retains an air of a frontier city. It was, after all, a jumping-off point during the age of Alaskan exploration and whaling, and this attractive edginess ensures travellers book cheap flights to Seattle time after time.
Pike Place Market is a great place to start exploring Seattle. It's home to shops, restaurants, a farmers' market and the very first Starbucks coffee house.
The South Downtown part of Seattle, known as SoDo, has become one of the city's hottest areas with microbreweries, restaurants, wine shops, and the Coast Guard Museum Northwest. Most famously perhaps, it is home to two stadiums. The Seattle Mariners are at Safeco Field and the Seattle Seahawks roost at Qwest Field.
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It's no surprise why Seattle is called the Emerald City. It rains. A lot. Travellers planning on taking cheap flights to Seattle should pack a rain jacket. Seattle and the Pacific Northwest have a wet climate. Average yearly rainfall is around 94cm. January-May and October-December are the rainiest periods. June through August are the driest and warmest months with temperatures about 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit), sometimes hitting 31-33 degrees (high 80s/low 90s F)
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Peak Season:
June, July and August are the warmest and driest months. Most travellers take cheap flights to Seattle during these months. Cruise season, conventions and summer festivals (including the Fremont Fair and Pike Place Market Street Festival in June, Seafair in July and August, and Bumbershoot in September) are all in full swing. The season extends into September and to mid-October.
Off Season:
November to April, when most of the rain falls.
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After landing on cheap flights to Seattle, travellers will find several rental car companies, including Alamo and Hertz, have information desks in the Baggage Claim area. Five companies have car pick-up and drop-off at Sea-Tac on the first floor of the garage across from the Main Terminal.
There are shuttles and buses and shared-ride van services that run almost 24/7.
Courtesy buses for hotels and motels, off-site car-rental facilities and parking lots pick up and drop off passengers on the third floor of the parking garage at Islands 1 and 3.
Public transit buses can be picked up outside Door 6 by Baggage Carousel 5, on the Baggage Claim level. Metro Transit bus tickets cost about $2. Sound Transit fares (for bus and rail ) cost between $1.50 and $3 depending on the zone.
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Once travellers have disembarked their cheap flights to Seattle, renting a car is quick and easy. Rental car offers maximum independence if travelling outside Downtown Seattle.
King County Metro operates the bus system Downtown and surrounding neighbourhoods.
Monorail runs to and from the Seattle Center and Westlake Center (5th and Pine).
Ferries connect Elliott Bay with Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, or Vashon Island.
The Waterfront Streetcar trundles along the waterfront from Myrtle Edwards Park through Pioneer Square to the International District. There are nine stops in all and the streetcars run approximately every 20 minutes seven days a week. The Seattle Streetcar runs from Westlake Center to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in South Lake Union. Streetcars run every 15 minutes.
Sound Transit offers new transit facilities to the residents of urban King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties Community Transit operates 276 coaches to most of Snohomish County, University of Washington, Seattle and the Eastside.
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- Seattle is synonymous with the aviation industry. Once you've landed on cheap flights to Seattle, the Museum of Flight is worth a look. It is one of the largest air and space museums in the world. The collection includes more than 150 historically significant air- and spacecraft, as well as the Red Barn, one of the original manufacturing buildings of the Boeing Company.
- Seattle's districts each has its own individual character. Walking around is a treat, but if you get tired, riding Metro Transit is free between 6am and 7pm daily in Downtown Seattle. The Ride Free Area runs from the north at Battery Street to S. Jackson Street on the south, and east at 6th Avenue to the waterfront on the west. The Ride Free area does not include Metro routes 116, 118 and 119.
- To the south-west of the city lies its oldest section, Pioneer Square. From here you can choose to take Bill Spiegel's legendary underground tour of the city or just wander around the boutiques and galleries. On the first Thursday evening of every month the galleries in this area hold late viewings (complete with canapés and music) and it's a great way to spend a couple of hours before going to eat.
- If you go to the parks, keep an eye out for bald headed eagles' nests. This city is green enough to attract such wildlife.
- From the Space Needle, Seattle's most famous landmark, there are stunning views of the mountains that surround Seattle and Puget Sound. On a clear day, you may even spy Mount Rainier (an active volcano in a national park). Right next door to the Needle is the Paul Allen-owned and Frank Gehry-designed Experience Music Project, that honours Jimi Hendrix and fellow Seattle natives including Kurt Cobain.
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