We started Spring Break 2023 with a girl’s weekend trip to Seattle. Over three days in downtown Seattle we found ourselves lured to Pike Place Market four times. Stacked over five floors, it was easy to lose time. On our first morning, we arrived while the fish were still frozen and before any of the vendor kiosks had opened. Later that day, we returned to elbow to elbow crowds (while it was a weekday afternoon, many schools were out for Easter weekend).
Farmer’s Market
Market Level
On the first day we stayed on the main Pike Place Farmer’s Market level, surrounded by craft vendors, restaurants, and florists. The Marketfront Sun Deck was a good place to eat, rest, and take pictures of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains in the distance.
Flower Farmers
Before departing Seattle, we purchased a bouquet to decorate our small roomette on the Amtrak Empire builder. The flower farmers/arrangers sell the flowers for much less than you would pay at a florist because they are coming directly from the farms. During our early spring visit most arrangements were filled with in-season tulips and daffodils. If we return in the summer we would find sunflowers and other summer-blooming plants.
“Down Under” Floors
Getting Lost
The three “Down Under” floors included a maze of shops, and we spent the most time window shopping before and after they were open. From the top, we ended at the bottom outdoor Western Avenue entrance and stopped to enjoy Cobb’s Popcorn before they ran out for the day.
Free Fun for Families
Children can go on a self-guided scavenger hunt to find the Short Cut by Dan Webb sculptures scattered through the walkways and staircases between floors.
Post Alley
Photo Ops & Coffee
Our final Pike Place Market experience was one of my favorites; coffee from the delightful staff at the Ghost Alley Espresso shop (they also sold gum for the nearby Gum Wall).
Gum Wall
We found the gum wall even gummier than we had expected. It’s more of a gum alley, with both sides of the walls, pipes, windowsills and posts all covered in gum.
