The Emerald City offers many activities to residents and visitors alike. Whichever you are, you'll learn how even staying in one neighborhood in Seattle can offer a day's worth of fun and relaxation. Getting to know the city in all the right areas can show you why so many choose to call Seattle home, and the best places to start are where you don't have to spend much money to enjoy yourself.
West of the University of Washington district is the Fremont neighborhood. Just under the Aurora avenue bridge on North 36th Avenue is the Troll, or the Fremont Troll. A much-loved icon, the concrete and steel 15-foot troll looks as if it is coming from out of the ground while gripping a Volkswagen Beetle. East of the monster is Gasworks Park, a must for viewing downtown Seattle from across Lake Union atop large hills, especially during the Fourth of July, when fireworks are lit right there. On Sunday mornings, in central Fremont on North 34th Street, dozens of local vendors and artisans set up stands to sell everything from antiques to Zippos, organic veggies and fresh made grub.
Northwest of Fremont is Ballard, home of the Ballard Locks. Seattle used to harbor coal for California homes and railroads and the Ballard Locks were built in 1911 to let boats carry out coal safely between the outer Puget Sound waters and Lake Washington, Lake Union, Salmon Bay and Portage Bay. At the Ballard Locks, you can get a great view of both passing boats and the salmon that flow through the locks' fish ladder, which you can see through glass panels. Continue traveling north on North 54th Street, which turns to Seaview Avenue Northwest, and you'll reach Golden Gardens, a favorite Seattle beach and park where locals retreat to catch breathtaking views of the Olympic mountains and the sound for pure relaxation.
Home of the famed Space Needle, Seattle Center also houses the Pacific Science Center, Key Arena and Experience Music Project. All four are open daily. At the Seattle Center, on almost any given week starting in the springtime, you can enter a festival or celebration of sorts from Northwest Folklife Festival in late May to Bumbershoot in September. You can play carnival games and ride a ferris wheel or simply tour the campus for a look at architecture and fountains. The Imax Theatre is there in the science center for you to watch newly released movies with amazing picture quality on Seattle's largest screen.
Capitol Hill is perhaps the most diverse neighborhood in Seattle. There you can try one of a hundred acclaimed restaurants, cafes and bars, and even enjoy the city's premier gay night clubs. There are also scores of boutique shops to find nearly every kind of clothing and accessory you seek to match your style. Cal Anderson park is a large stretch of urban design equipped with a soccer/baseball field and tennis and basketball courts. Outdoor music shows are held there. At Capitol Hill, you wouldn't have trouble finding a lively spot on any block corner to meet your social likings.
