Pike Place Market
The basics
The best way to experience Seattle’s top gastronomic attraction is by sampling your way through it. Guided tasting tours, cooking classes, and cultural walking tours of the market are all excellent ways to take in the sights and sounds, try a little bit of everything, and find spots you may have missed on your own. You can even book an early-access tour to avoid the crowds.
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Things to know before you go
The main and north arcades are the most popular areas at Pike Place Market.
Save some pocket change for Rachel, the bronze charity piggy bank that serves as Pike Place Market’s unofficial mascot.
After browsing Pike Place Market, head over to Victor Steinbrueck Park for a picnic.
Nearby attractions include the Seattle Art Museum, Waterfront Park, and the Seattle Aquarium.
Pike Place Market is completely accessible for wheelchair users and has several elevators and accessible bathrooms.
How to get there
Pike Place Market is in downtown Seattle on the waterfront, at First Avenue between Pike and Pine streets. The market is accessible via bus and streetcar. There's an information booth below the Pike Place Market sign, where you can pick up a free guide and market map.
Trip ideas
When to get there
Because most of the action at Pike Place Market takes place indoors, it’s a great place to visit year-round. Open from dawn to dusk, the market is always bustling, but you can often avoid the crowds by visiting on weekday mornings.
Classic fish throwing at Pike Place
One of the market's most entertaining spectacles takes place at the seafood stalls, where fishmongers throw salmon and other fish to each other rather than passing them by hand. When a customer places an order, an employee at the ice-covered fish table picks up the fish and theatrically hurls it over the countertop so it goes flying through the air to another employee who catches it and preps it for sale. Vendors can pack fish for travel, and most ship throughout the US.
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