There are many well-known toddler attractions in Seattle, but once this verdant, hip city gets into your blood, you will want to keep returning even as your kids outgrow the Children's Museum and Pacific Science Center. If you want your kids to really feel all grown-up, check into Seattle’s Mayflower Park Hotel for a special weekend getaway.
The boutique luxury Mayflower Park Hotel is ideal if you are traveling with teens or tweens. With its Summer in Seattle Package, a family of four can relax in a Deluxe Queen suite at $294/N plus tax. Guests also receive valet parking at $35/N and a full American breakfast for two. The Mayflower has dozens of stores within a two-block radius, and it connects through a mall to Seattle’s monorail.
The monorail whisks you from the center of the city to the Seattle Center. But you can also stroll down to the waterfront and walk through the Olympic Sculpture Park (an outdoor part of the Seattle Art Museum,but don’t tell your kids if they are museum resistant), and eat your way through Pike Place Market.
Or, we love renting a bicycle and exploring more of the city. Seattle has some steeps hills, but it is flat along the waterfront. And if you or your kids can’t handle the hills, you can take bikes on public buses.
Actually, the Science Center is popular with child-free adults, so you may be able to get your tweens and teens to visit again. But on our recent trip, we spent the better part of a day at the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibition, a spectacular indoor/outdoor museum with large-scale colorful glass sculptures .
The Chihuly museum is the latest addition to the 74-acre Seattle Center, also home to the Pacific Science Center, the Children’s Museum and Settle’s signature Space Needle. But if you’ve already ridden to the top of the needle, you might want to save the money and head to the EMP Museum.
This museum hits the sweet spot for older kids; it is dedicated to music, features lots of tech-y interactives and has sound labs where kids can play guitar, bass, drums or keyboards. Current exhibits include one on horror films and a new one on fantasy, myths and magic.
In addition, June 15 marks the opening of the ground-breaking Women Who Rock exhibit, organized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, that illustrates the important roles women have played in rock music from its origins to the present. The exhibition spotlights more than 70 artists and features artifacts, interviews, videos, and listening stations that feature several powerful primadonnas and their trademark gear, including Lady Gaga’s piano, Madonna’s bustier from The Blonde Ambition Tour (1990), Wanda Jackson’s acoustic guitar, and much more.
For more information on other attractions and discounts, visit the Seattle tourism information website or call your travel agent. The Mayflower Park hotel (206/623-8700) is located at 405 Olive Way, Seattle, Washington, 98101 if want to tune your GPS for bike or drive directions.
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