How to spend your weekend in Seattle – making your Emerald City experience all the more rewarding

…with a drink in hand of course! After you’ve checked into your mode of accommodation, decide on where you want to have dinner but to ease into your weekend getaway in the Emerald City, consider a drink at Belltown’s Navy Strength. Home to a lively and bright atmosphere, Navy Strength can be made into your base should you wish for a night filled with tropical cocktails and free-flowing conversation. Located within the same region but with a far more romantic ambience is Bathtub Gin Co where the hours can be spent trying out the many creative concoctions that find their way onto the menu.

After you’ve shaken the cobwebs, showered and grabbed a cuppa coffee from either Anchorhead Coffee or Victrola Coffee Roasters who claim to serve some of the finest flavours in town, you are ready to hit the road and take on all that Seattle has in store for you. Enter Pike Place Market which is home to an enormous selection of best buys and eating places well worth factoring into your day’s schedule. For instance, try the mac and cheese at Beecher’s Cheese before giving the fabulous woodfired pizzas at The Alibi Room a go. Considered a great way to stumble upon the ways of the locals and in short, people watch to your heart’s content, Pike Place Market is also found within a 15-minute walk from Pan Pacific Seattle which is one of the best hotels in Seattle to be at. One will surely be in one’s element no sooner than one has entered and gauged the surroundings. Next up, beeline towards the Seattle Center and the International Fountain where the latter can be found spraying water high into the clear blue sky to the sound of music. Without a doubt, the best views of the city can be captured at Kerry Park and for the curious globetrotter, walk along the northwest corner of Seattle Center and up a hill where the captivating Kerry Park will be located. On top of the brilliance of the city skyline, the magnificent Mount Rainier might be seen poking its face out through the clouds. Better yet, move towards the city’s hipster hub, otherwise known as Capitol Hill and you will not regret your choice. For starters, the bookworm in you will be quite at home in the company of your favourite authors and novels at Elliott Bay Book Company. Come dinnertime and if Mexican cuisine is high on your list of priorities, then look no further than the aromas that waft in from La Cocina Oaxaquena where tacos, memelas and other munchables can be sampled. However, if it’s the sight and smell of fried chicken that arouses your taste buds, then consider stopping by Bok a Bok Fried Chicken where various takes on this favourite delicacy can be tried out.

If the thought of hiking within city limits seems foreign to you, then you probably haven’t heard of Discovery Park which is northwest of Seattle Center. Make your way through a 4.4-mile-long loop that will have you navigating a forest and a sandy stretch of beach almost at the same time. During such a journey, catch a glimpse of West Point Lighthouse and do not forget to bring your trusty camera along with you. Further, your final stop before bidding Seattle “goodbye” would be to explore the ins and outs of Ballard Farmers Market. Here, all forms of fresh produce, meats and cheeses can be purchased. Should this get you in the mood for lunch, then Ballard will take care of the rest. Whether it's smoky barbecues at Bitterroot BBQ or the flavourful bursts associated with La Carta de Oaxaca, one’s tummy will be satisfied without a shadow of a doubt. Cap off the weekend with a sugar rush at Salt and Straw which serves splendid ice cream made with the best Pacific Northwest ingredients that will soon have you forgetting the new week ahead and returning for more.