Seattle's Pike Place Market

Seattle's historic Pike Place Market is a popular, year-round destination for city residents and tourists alike, and it turned 100 years old in August 2007! Located just off the waterfront, this multi-level building features dozens of artisans, vegetable growers, flower sellers, craftspeople and more. Load up on organic produce or fresh seafood, or browse the unique gift and specialty shops.

There are also restaurants and brew pubs for your refreshment and dining pleasure. And right across the street is the first ever Starbucks Coffee. Wear comfortable shoes, bring your digital camera, a shopping list if you're so inclined and come experience this one-of-a-kind Seattle tradition.

Weekends you'll find Pike Place Market is much more crowded than weekdays, so take that into account if you can't stand an intense crush of people. You will find more merchants and vendors on weekends, so be sure to get info from your favorites so that you know when you can go back and find them again. Best daily deals include fish, flowers, bread and veggies, all found on the street level of the market.

In the summer of 1907, a group of farmers decided that the middle men were giving local shoppers a raw deal by marking prices up too much on local produce and the market was founded so that growers could sell directly to the consumers. Apparently that first day, there wasn't a whole lot of produce to sell, but tons of buyers showed up and bought whatever they could.  The market has been in continuous operation ever since! 

The Sanitary Public Market, the building directly across from Pike Market, was built in the 1920s and was the first market buiding that wouldn't allow horses or dogs inside at all, hence the "sanitary" moniker. It too still exists all these decades later, housing a collection of produce sellers, restaurants and retail shops.

1. Allow the better part of a whole day. The place is that big, that busy and has tons of great places to eat. Please note that most of the market shuts down by about 6pm.
2. Bring a jacket or sweater as the market is near the waterfront and it can easily get breezy and chilly.
3. Bring a camera. You might catch a shot of fish being thrown at the fish counter or you might just want to take great pics of all the amazing produce. The view of Puget Sound isn't bad either.
4. Bring a shopping bag. Getting out of the market without buying anything is extremely rare, and bringing your own reusable bag is eco-friendly and gives you an easy way to schlep all your goodies.

One of the unique features of Pike Place Market is the Ghost Tour. These take place in the evenings, after the market has closed, so one of the most interesting things about it is getting to see inside the market while no one else is there. The tour meets below and behind the market, where the (in)famous gum wall is just outside the Market Theater. (Just don't touch the wall!) You have to buy tickets ahead of time, so if you want to do this with friends or are would like to do this as part of a visit to Seattle from out of town, be sure to book ahead so that you can get the night and tour time you want. (the first tour of the evening is family-friendly, later tours get into more unsavory details)

The tour will highlight some of the interesting history of both Seattle and the Market, and since it was frontier/pioneer days, there certainly was no shortage of mayhem and death. Did you know the first documented serial killer in the USA was not only in Seattle but a woman? That's on the tour. You'll get to see several notorious locations where there have been and where there continue to be ghost sightings and unexplained happenings. The tour is a walking tour and takes a little over an hour so dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes. And don't forget to bring your camera! You never know what you might see...

1. Look for new PEZ that I don't have yet at the candy stores.

2. See if there are any veggies I need at the organic vendors. There are tons of great berries and nuts, two crops that grow abundantly in Washington State.

3. Watch to see if any fish are thrown. I also like to buy fresh salmon, that's one of my faves.

4. Get fresh little hot donuts - the donut place is on the main level, to the left of the fish-throwing, as you look at it from the front. If you get there after noon, they may be out of certain varieties. They close when they run out of batter so there is often nothing after 2pm.

5. Get a big bunch of fresh flowers - the $5-$10 bundles offered by the flower seller are amazing deals! I get bigger and more colorful bouquets here than anywhere else I've ever lived.