10 Things to Do Off the Beaten Track in Seattle

The Seattle Underground tour takes you down a 75-minute rabbit hole of stories from Seattle's hidden, dark past, traveling from a public house to Pioneer Square and beyond. You'll learn about a Seattle madam who established public education in the city, explore historic storefronts dating back to the late 1800s, and learn about the humorous, quirky, dark, disturbing, and enchanting history of Seattle from its earliest days to the present.

These are the Seattle history stories you won't get from your standard museums. Tour guides are fun and knowledgeable, and you'll learn while having a blast. The tour starts right on 1st Avenue in the heart of downtown.

The Orient Express Restaurant offers great food, karaoke, and a slice of history served up in an antique train car that was once Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal transportation. For the past 30 years, the car has sat in Seattle serving up Thai-Chinese cuisine. You don't have to sit in the train car, though; the restaurant has been here since before the car was added and was once a favorite lunch spot.

The food here is great, the drinks are strong, and the karaoke is a ton of fun. If you're looking for a quirky place to grab eats in Seattle, this one's about 20 minutes south of the central downtown area.

Smith Tower offers a watering hole for adults that serves up custom craft cocktails and Pacific Northwest delicacies in a 1920s speakeasy-style setting hidden inside its 35th floor. One of the signature cocktails here, the Devil's Haircut, is unlike anything you've ever had before, made with tequila, lime, bitters, ginger, and port. You can enjoy oysters specially prepared here while you take in an astounding view of Elliott Bay.

Technically, the bar is called the Temperance Café and Bar, but it's all part of Smith Tower's attractions, and you can get there by taking a tour of the entire tower, which includes shopping, observation decks, and more. It's right in the heart of downtown.

Kubota Garden is a quiet, hidden garden in Rainier Beach that's designed after a traditional Japanese atmosphere and uses only plants that are native to the Pacific Northwest. It was founded by Fujitaro Kubota, a self-taught gardener who moved to the area in 1907 and thought of the place as his magnum opus. Though Kubota passed in 1973, the garden goes on, operated by the city and tended by his grandsons.

The garden is a serene escape and holds major cultural importance to the local Japanese community. It's tucked away in a secluded area where you can stroll across bridges, meditate under a pagoda, and just walk in peace, and you'll find it about an hour south of downtown.

The Fremont Troll is exactly what it sounds like—a gigantic stone troll located under a bridge—and it's an iconic public art piece in Seattle to climb and photograph. The troll, which pays homage to the old folkloric idea of the evil troll under the bridge, is an 18-foot-tall statue underneath the iconic Washington Memorial Bridge that depicts the creature's head, its shoulders, and its arms clutching a Volkswagen Beetle.

Visitors are encouraged not only to capture photos of the troll but to climb on it as much as they like. Don't worry; it's not necessary to offer it a car as payment. It's in the heart of the Fremont area, about 10 minutes north of downtown Seattle.

Oxbow Park features iconic sculptures and climbing and playing opportunities in a Western-themed park originally designed for a gas station and situated in the heart of a historic neighborhood. The centerpiece of the park is the Hat n' Boots sculpture consisting of a cowboy hat that is 44 feet wide and boots that stand 22 feet tall. Legend has it that once even Elvis dropped by to see the hat and boots that marked a popular service station in the 1960s.

When Interstate 5 opened up, the station shut down, but the park sprung up on the site. Today, it's considered the heart and soul of the historic Georgetown neighborhood, located just 8 minutes south of downtown.

Ye Olde Curiosity Shop is a century-old shop and museum with kitsch, curiosities, and odd exhibits, from shrunken heads to mummies to a Fiji Mermaid. It was founded by Joseph Standley in 1899 to exhibit the wide range of unusual artifacts he had collected over his life, and it's still in Seattle today, though it's changed locations several times. Much of the original collection remains, passed down through 4 family generations.

Here, you can see a 3-tusked walrus skull, a narwhal tusk, and a merry-go-round organ, among other artifacts. Of course, you can also buy a wide range of quirky souvenirs. It's located right in the heart of downtown along the waterfront.

The statue of Lenin stands 16 feet tall and is one of Seattle's most visible, controversial pieces of public art—a piece that changes depending on when you visit. During Pride, he's dressed in colorful rainbow outfits, while he wears a bright star during the holiday season. The statue is unique in that it depicts Lenin in an aggressive stance as opposed to a more common scholarly pose, and he towers over the Fremont neighborhood.

It's a controversial statue, with some claiming it as a bit of whimsy and others accusing it of paying homage to a historic villain. The statue has been here since 1988 and can be seen just 12 minutes north of downtown.

Gas Works Park, a public green space located on the grounds of a former coal gasification plant, features an industrial backdrop, rolling green fields, and a connection to local history. The original plant converted coal and crude oil into synthetic gas, and when it closed in 1956, the structure was preserved. It opened in 1975 as a public park and now offers 7 sections, but much of the original structure is fenced off for safety.

Here, you can see live concert performances, ball games, live-action role-playing games, and even kite-flying competitions. This popular free, open space offers a unique place to escape the city's hustle and bustle. You can reach the park just 13 minutes north of downtown.

The Beacon Hill Tunnel is part of an operating light rail station that houses several art installations celebrating the local community. Created as part of the “STart” program, the exterior of the station building features a variety of unique works influenced by local history and culture.

Some of the notable art installations include 2 sculptures by Dan Corson. “Portals” comprises murals with images from the Hubble Space Telescope, microscopes, and the deep sea, and “Space Forms” features a set of bright, translucent sculptures resembling microscopic creatures.