Seattle Center

Following an underground tour, you might be in the mood for a very different view of the area. Make your way to Seattle Center, just north of downtown and bounded to the southeast by Broad Street, the 74-acre site of the 1962 World’s Fair. (A fun way to get there is by monorail from Westlake Center Mall at 5th Avenue and Pine Street.) Take the glass elevator to the top of the 602-foot Space Needle, where indoor and outdoor observation decks provide a magnificent 360-degree view of the area, weather permitting as usual, and a revolving restaurant serves first-class, Pacific Northwest cuisine. (Open from 8 am to midnight in summer; otherwise from 9 am to 11 pm weekdays, to midnight weekends; 206-905-2100, www.spaceneedle.com.) Other attractions at the center include an amusement park, the very hands-on Pacific Science Center (open from 10 am to 5 pm weekdays, to 6 pm weekends; 206-443-2001; www.pacsci.org) and Children’s Museum (open from 10 am to 5 pm weekdays, to 6 pm weekends; 206-441-1768; www.thechildrensmuseum.org), and several theaters.