10 Best Free Things to Do in Seattle

Seattle Waterfront is a tourist hotspot and many of its stores are fairly expensive. However, the views across Elliott Bay to the Olympic Mountains are free and make visiting a must. There are plenty of souvenir shops here, which make it easy to find gifts for those back home. Ye Olde Curiosity Shop is especially good for a quick look around.

The walk from Pike Place Market towards the Olympic Sculpture Park takes you past Seattle’s Great Wheel, which has nice views of the city, depending on the weather.

Visiting the library may not typically be on your vacation agenda, but Seattle Public Library is definitely remarkable. From the outside, it’s a dazzling architectural marvel that appears to be a hybrid between a greenhouse and a spacecraft. The interior is equally impressive, featuring modern design elements and offering self-guided audio tours available through the library’s website.

The library has a packed schedule of events throughout the year, including story time for kids (in multiple languages) and readings by famous authors.

Truly a must-do in the Emerald City, the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park holds impressive artworks by contemporary A-list artists such as Alexander Calder and Louise Bourgeois. The sculptures stand adjacent to Puget Sound, with the Space Needle and the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop.

A special nod goes to Jaume Plensa’s mesmerizing Echo, which is a 46-foot-high (14-meter-high) head that gazes towards the Olympic Mountains. No matter the weather, the park should be visited, especially since it’s free.

Seattle has a great selection of museums and art galleries, and many of them offer free museum days at certain times. The Seattle Art Museum is especially impressive, with exhibits of artistic creations from around the world which you can see for free on the first Thursday of the month.

The Museum of Flight isn’t far away and is also free on the same day, but only between 5 pm and 9 pm. The Museum of Popular Culture (MoPop) is worth checking out just for the architecture, but is amazing inside, too. MoPOP offers free admission through the Museums for All program when you present an EBT card from any state.

Unsurprisingly situated in the heart of the city, Seattle Center is a major cultural hub. It’s here that you’ll find most of Seattle’s star attractions, including the Space Needle, Museum of Popular Culture, and Chihuly Garden and Glass, as well as a wide choice of theaters.

This was the site of the 1962 World’s Fair and, while several of the attractions do have an entrance fee, you can explore the beautiful grounds for free. You can also check out the special events here almost every weekend, including the Irish Festival in March and the Polish Festival in July.

The Center for Wooden Boats is a haven for those who love maritime history. Free to enter, you can explore Seattle’s heritage of shipbuilding, fishing, and sea trade through a selection of workshops and preserved vessels.

This is much more than a typical, dry museum (pardon the pun) as there is a special emphasis on the hands-on experience. Come on the last Sunday of the month and you can even set sail on Lake Union for free, though you’ll have to get there early to get your name on the shortlist.

Seattle has dozens of parks and green spaces, but Gas Works Park definitely stands out. The park's most distinctive feature, and its namesake, is the ruins of a former oil gasification plant, quietly rusting away right in the middle of the park. This creates a striking scene, especially with the Seattle skyline forming a picturesque backdrop across Lake Union.

The 20-acre (8-hectare) park is mostly open to the elements, with virtually no trees, which makes it a perfect place for kite flying.

The Fremont Troll is an icon of Seattle. The sculpture lies under the George Washington Memorial Bridge and finds its roots in the Norwegian folklore that depicts a troll living under a bridge. The sculpture is a unique spot in the city as it’s located in an unusual spot just off the freeway. The Troll lives in the self-proclaimed Center of the Universe: Fremont. This quirky, counter-cultural area houses some of the best coffee shops in Seattle – Fremont Coffee Company and Milstead & Co. are favorites. The Sunday farmers’ market stretches to Ballard and is a very pleasant place to spend your afternoon without spending too much money.

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, which everyone calls the Ballard Locks, are fascinating to watch in operation. Originally built in 1911, they allow ships to pass from Puget Sound into Salmon Bay and, from there, into Lake Union. There’s even a visitor’s center where you can learn more about the lock.

If you visit between March and April or June and October, you can see the salmon run and watch as they climb the fish ladder to head upstream to their spawning grounds. The nearby Carl English Botanical Gardens are also impressive, and home to 2,000 plant varieties.

Seattle is famous for its musical culture, offering free concerts on certain days and at specific times. During July and August, you can head to City Hall for lunchtime concerts every Thursday of the month, featuring a diverse range of musical genres from big bands to jazz and beyond.

You’ll also find performers in many downtown plazas and parks at lunchtime, including Westlake Park and Pioneer Park. These performances encompass a wide array of musical styles, from classical to rock ‘n’ roll tunes, providing a rich and varied musical experience for all.