Help me pick out some Seattle tours

amateurhour

So my wife and I will be making our three-peat trip to Seattle this year. We've gone previously for PAX and had a fantastic time as we love the city and the show, and this year we're doing Emerald City Comic Con. I took a few extra days off so we've got two days of non-convention funtimes to plan and we want to really see the city. I know the usual stuff like the market, but what are some hidden gems for tourists?

We're looking at doing some tours and I wanted to see if anyone from the area or anyone who visited the area had experience with the following tours?

http://seattleghost.com/
This one is a ghost tour of Pike Place Market. It is open on Thursdays, so we could go before the convention starts. Tickets are $16.50 each.

http://spookedinseattle.com/pioneer-square-walking-tour/
This one is a ghost tour (I think) of Pioneer Square. This one is also open on Thursdays. Tickets are $16 each.

http://spookedinseattle.com/pioneer-square-haunted-pub-tour/
This one is a haunted pub tour of Pioneer Square. It only runs Fridays or Saturdays (whichever is booked first, they say). Tickets are $30.

http://www.undergroundtour.com/about/index.html
Not a ghost tour. This one is a tour of Seattle's underground (a.k.a. old downtown Seattle). It's open everyday, and tickets are $17.

http://www.undergroundtour.com/underworld/
This is a more adult-oriented tour of the underground, and it includes a cocktail. It's open Thursday through Saturday, and tickets are $25.

Also any other cool events or adventures that might not be listed above we'd be down for as well.

Help me Seattle based people, you're my only hope! : )

Dehumanized

I'd really recommend one of the underground tours, personally. It's a cool part of Seattle's history. Haven't tried the adult-oriented variety, but either one would probably be fun.

schuss

I've done the underground tour twice, it's great.

I did the duck tour and that was pretty great too, provided you're ready to act like a tourist (which you should), as it's some great dumb fun and good info.

Other must-do's on my list:
1. Chihouly garden - rad glass sculptures
2. Aquarium - OTTERS!
3. Seattle Art Museum is pretty cool if you like tribal art, very hit or miss on the modern stuff though.
4. If you're in hiking shape, rent a car and do granite peak nearby. Great short hike.
5. If it's sunny out, go out to west seattle/alki beach and rent a kayak. Really cool way to see the city and you'll probably run into some seals and sea lions.

Aioua

Dehumanized wrote: »

I'd really recommend one of the underground tours, personally. It's a cool part of Seattle's history. Haven't tried the adult-oriented variety, but either one would probably be fun.

I've done the adult one. I'm not sure what they talk about on the regular one, since apparently everything there used to be brothels.
So many brothels.

Seattle Thread

Do not ride the Ducks. Some of us have to live here.

Dehumanized

Aioua wrote: »

Dehumanized wrote: »

I'd really recommend one of the underground tours, personally. It's a cool part of Seattle's history. Haven't tried the adult-oriented variety, but either one would probably be fun.

I've done the adult one. I'm not sure what they talk about on the regular one, since apparently everything there used to be brothels.
So many brothels.

They just hint that it was all brothels, and instead point out that it was also all speakeasies.

schuss

Seattle Thread wrote: »

Do not ride the Ducks. Some of us have to live here.

Oh please, let tourists be tourists. They're stupid fun in Boston too, just accept.

amateurhour

Thanks for the advice so far.

What about little hidden gems within walking distance from the convention center? Any cool record stores or restaurants we need to know about? We already know about that kickass $5 brick oven pizza place which is officially the best fucking pizza place I've ever eaten at.

Dehumanized

My top two Seattle record stores are a bit of a ways out from the convention center (not walkable) but I'll list 'em just in case:

Rat City Records, 9632 16th Ave Sw, Seattle, WA 98106. All the way over in White Center but really a gem. They've got a tiny store packed to the gills with records -- prices and selection are great.

Sonic Boom Records, 2209 Nw Market St, Seattle, WA 98107. Heart of Ballard. If you go to Card Kingdom you're just a few blocks from here. This is where you go if you want new records... their used selection isn't great, unfortunately. Also across the street from this place is Bop Street Records which you might wanna check out. They have a mindboggling amount of vinyl... their website boasts over half a million records. Unfortunately, their prices are eBay high, but the sheer amount of vinyl is a hell of a sight to see.