LGBT Travel
Welcome to Seattle!
We invite LGBT travelers to be a part of Seattle’s sophisticated, thriving urban core and to experience the pristine wilderness and abundant outdoor recreation. Whether you prefer metro or natural attractions, or both, this metronatural city welcomes you!
Come renew yourself in a city where “new” is constantly redefined. See a play at a local theater - before it’s seen on Broadway. Record your own song at the Experience Music Project. Sample an array of cutting-edge cuisine from some of the country’s top chefs. Taste internationally-acclaimed wines from Washington’s burgeoning wine region at the Tasting Room tucked inside Pike Place Market.
Explore a colorful mix of neighborhoods that mingle among the city’s hills and waterways, from regal Queen Anne to funky Fremont. While Seattle’s LGBT community is integrated throughout the city, its highest concentration of businesses is on Capitol Hill. Broadway Avenue boasts bookstores and boutiques and to the south along the Pike and Pine Street corridor, many of Seattle’s top nightclubs and trendiest restaurants can be found.
Take an excursion. Seattle is the gateway to the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by Puget Sound and fresh water lakes, two mountain ranges and three national parks. Day and night skiing are just an hour east in the Cascade Mountains.
It’s all here, waiting to be experienced. We’re proud and excited to welcome you to Seattle.
10 Reasons to Visit Seattle
1. Join the Culture
Channel your inner diva and record your own song at Experience Music Project or learn to blow your own glass art masterpieces at galleries around the city. The city beckons world-renowned performances and exhibitions. The Seattle Men’s Chorus is one of the largest community choruses in the U.S. and one of the largest gay men’s choruses in the world. Click here to search our calendar of events.
2. Experience metronatural
Catch a flying fish at Pike Place Market or catch the latest Broadway show. Enjoy the beauty of a stroll through the forest or through the Olympic Sculpture Park. No matter what type of vacation you crave, Seattle puts a unique spin on it. From ferry rides to art galleries to winery tours. From gourmet cuisine to hot dogs at a Mariners game. It all comes together in only one place. One city. Seattle.
3. Cruise
The Port of Seattle offers more than 200 sailings to the Inside Passage of Alaska. Seven-day roundtrip cruises are offered from Seattle by Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean. Both 7- and 14-day cruises are offered by Holland America and Princess Cruise Lines. LGBT charter cruises book up quickly. Click here for great Seattle cruise packages.
4. Claim your own Cuisine
Serious foodies argue whether the term “Pacific Northwest Cuisine” adequately encompasses the region’s bounty of fresh local ingredients. The prospect of reaching your own decision is delicious. Take a stroll through Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market to sample wild salmon, dungeness crab, fresh produce, strong coffee, craft beers and ales and a wide selection of internationally acclaimed Washington wines. Or, fill your itinerary with an array of sophisticated restaurants run by creative chefs who will constantly redefine cuisine.
5. Shopping
Even shopping is a recreational activity in Seattle. Scale the world’s largest indoor climbing wall at the REI flagship store (attendants will gladly hold your shopping bags). Need to outfit yourself for the evening? Try the Nordstrom flagship store in the downtown shopping district or the upscale Bellevue Collection and Bravern on the city’s Eastside. Independent-minded shoppers will discover boutiques in pocket neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, Belltown and Fremont.
6. Gateway to Washington Wine
Washington State lies at the same latitude as some of Europe’s great wine growing regions and is now the second-largest producer of premium wine in the U.S. The state boasts more than 600 wineries with a new one opening on average every 15 days. A popular wine highway runs between Woodinville (just east of Seattle) and Walla Walla (Eastern Washington). Click here to plan your wine country itinerary.
7. Entertainment – Nightlife
Seattle’s gay and lesbian nightlife thrives in the Pike/Pine corridor in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Whether it’s legendary Neighbours nightclub or the ever-popular Cuff Complex which spins the top dance hits you won’t have a problem dancing into the night. For more of a low key lounge setting, visit Purr Cocktail Lounge, The Lobby Bar or Wild Rose, also known by local lesbians as the Rose. Theater and cirque more of your thing? Experience the unique masterpiece Teatro ZinZanni, a three-hour cirque that includes comedy, cabaret and a five-course dinner by celebrated Northwest chef Tom Douglas. For daily and weekend events as well as other highlighted hot spots, click here.
8. Pride as Tall as the Space Needle
The Northwest’s largest annual LGBT Pride Parade runs through downtown Seattle on Sunday, June 27 beginning at 11:00 a.m. The route begins at Union Street and runs along 4th Avenue and to the Seattle Center. This year, the Space Needle will fly a rainbow flag throughout Pride Weekend. Click here to learn more.
9. Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in 2010, the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival showcases more than 150 films and 65 themed programs, including feature films, documentaries and experimental cinema. Spanning ten days each October, the festival takes place at select cinemas throughout Seattle. 2010 dates are October 15-24.
10. Holidays in the City
Decidedly urban and sometimes urbane, Downtown Seattle shines throughout the holiday season with festive light displays, big-city arts and entertainment, festivals and special events, shopping, dining and merrymaking. Visiting sophisticates can find the latest Seattle holiday information and updates at the Holidays in the City website.
