Think Seattle and think blue. Endless wide-open spaces of water appear at every turn: Lake Washington, Lake Union, Elliott Bay, Puget Sound. You’re never far from water’s soothing influence. Think Seattle and think green (hence its affectionate moniker, “The Emerald City”), where trees, parks, and woodlands abound even as the urban scene grows to ever-increasing levels of 21st-century sophistication. Characteristic of the Northwest generally, Seattle’s culture is friendly and casual, its pace relatively slow, its style never one to take itself too seriously. Like Portland, it is a city passionate about nature, devoted to ensuring that its gorgeous surroundings remain an integral part of city life rather than something to overcome. Hence you will always have Mount Rainer, Mount Baker, the Olympics, and the majestic Cascades within view. Initially little more than a logging town, Seattle has evolved over a period of 150 years to become one of America’s key urban destinations. It’s the perfect spot from which to explore much of western and central Washington’s immense beauty: its rich cultural life, its mountain ranges, its wineries, its ancient lava flows, its islands, and its close neighbor, British Columbia.
