# Space needle, Seattle, WA



## presley (Jan 26, 2012)

I'll be in Seattle for a couple nights before I board my Alaskan cruise and wanted some info on the Space needle.  My husband gets motion sickness pretty easily.  Would the Space needle bother him?  Or, is it so slow that you can't really "feel" it.

Also, I saw the menu and it looks way too fancy for my teen.  I don't think he would eat anything there.  Is there ever a time (lunch, snack, whatever) that has more boring, basic type of food?

And, finally, about how far is the needle from Pike's Place?  Is it fairly easy to do both on the same outing without private transportation?


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## hypnotiq (Jan 26, 2012)

I've taken friends who have motion sickness to the needle and they've been fine, so your husband I would imagine would be ok.

There is a food court that is in the Pacific Science Cetner area (right next to the needle) if you want something quick but I'd just wait till you get down to the market. There are plenty of places to either eat there or on the pier.

You can walk to the market fairly easily. Its about a mi walk and whenever I have out of town guests, we just walk between the two.

Hope that helps!
-Nico


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## aliikai2 (Jan 26, 2012)

*I would go to the observation deck*

It doesn't move.
 In the restaurant, you can feel it jerk every now and then, so Hubby may have issues. 
The main level has always been spendy, I don't think they have an regular value meals.

You could get there by bus, or the Monorail if it is running.

 It is about 5 miles from Pike Place, and way to many hills to make it a comfortable walk.

Do you like seafood? Down from PP a little north there is the original Ivar's Seafood, and several other pretty good venues.

Greg



presley said:


> I'll be in Seattle for a couple nights before I board my Alaskan cruise and wanted some info on the Space needle.  My husband gets motion sickness pretty easily.  Would the Space needle bother him?  Or, is it so slow that you can't really "feel" it.
> 
> Also, I saw the menu and it looks way too fancy for my teen.  I don't think he would eat anything there.  Is there ever a time (lunch, snack, whatever) that has more boring, basic type of food?
> 
> And, finally, about how far is the needle from Pike's Place?  Is it fairly easy to do both on the same outing without private transportation?


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## hypnotiq (Jan 26, 2012)

aliikai2 said:


> It is about 5 miles from Pike Place, and way to many hills to make it a comfortable walk.



Are you going the long way?  :rofl: 

It's 1.1mi.

Space Needle -> Pike Place Market


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 26, 2012)

hypnotiq said:


> aliikai2 said:
> 
> 
> > It is about 5 miles from Pike Place, and way to many hills to make it a comfortable walk.
> ...


As well as pretty flat.  As shown in the photo below, the hill between the Space Needle and Pike Place Market was sluiced away about 100 years ago during the Denny Regrade.






Having made the stroll on several occasions, I can assure you there are no strenuous hills as long as you don't descend to the waterfront area during your walk.  Just head south on Third Ave, and as you get close to the Market cut over the couple of blocks toward the water.


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## presley (Jan 26, 2012)

Thanks, everyone.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 26, 2012)

presley said:


> Thanks, everyone.


It's a nice walk when the weather is OK; not so pleasant otherwise.  

As others have mentioned you can take monorail (if operating) from the Needle to Westlake Village.  From there the Market is about five blocks west (toward the water). 

There's also good bus service downtown from Seattle Center. Unfortunately Seattle Center is outside the downtown ridefree zone, so you will pay a one-zone fare ($2.25 off-peak) per person for the relatively short ride.

If you don't mind a bit of grade, after you leave the Space Needle follow Broad Street toward the water.  After you cross Western you can take the walkway through the Olympic Sculpture Park down to the waterfront trail.  The follow the Waterfront to the Market, where you can take one of the sets of steps back up the Market.


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## ricoba (Jan 26, 2012)

I am proud to say that my Dad was one of the cement finishers who laid the the foundations for the Space Needle. 

I still wish it was the original color without the "newer" deck at 100'.

But that's me.

Enjoy your trip to Seattle.


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## ampaholic (Jan 26, 2012)

When I went there back during the Fair it wasn't moving around all that much, he should be fine if he can ride in a car.

They also have a few taxis in Seattle - I think it would be under $15 to $20 to ride one from the Space Needle to Pike's Place.


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## Luanne (Jan 26, 2012)

ampaholic said:


> When I went there back during the Fair it wasn't moving around all that much, he should be fine if he can ride in a car.
> 
> They also have a few taxis in Seattle - I think it would be under $15 to $20 to ride one from the Space Needle to Pike's Place.



According to goole maps, it's about a 20 - 25 minute walk.  You could spend longer than that trying to get a cab.


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## LLW (Jan 26, 2012)

Luanne said:


> According to goole maps, it's about a 20 - 25 minute walk.  You could spend longer than that trying to get a cab.



In Seattle, you don't usually hail a taxi on the street, other than at the airport, hotels, or other taxi stations. You usually have to call for one. So sometimes it takes more than 20 minutes, sometimes less.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 26, 2012)

LLW said:


> In Seattle, you don't usually hail a taxi on the street, other than at the airport, hotels, or other taxi stations. You usually have to call for one. So sometimes it takes more than 20 minutes, sometimes less.


That's just because Seattle isn't quite as saturated with taxis as many other cities.  People can, and do, hail taxis frequently from the street in and around downtown.  At night around Belltown (north of downtown) and in Pioneer Square, there are usually lots of taxi drivers looking for fares.  

But in the neighborhoods outside of downtown a call is typical.


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## ronandjoan (Jan 28, 2012)

T_R_Oglodyte

Love your pictures!


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## bjones9942 (Jan 29, 2012)

I think there won't be a problem with motion sickness - it's very slow.  Food is 'good', not jump up and down fantastic, but 'good'.  I consider the $$$$ my price for sitting and spinning and getting the great view.  I'm pretty sure the kitchen would accommodate your teenager with a burger or grilled cheese - call them and ask!

As far as needle <--> market, I think you'd enjoy the monorail ride.  Much more fun than walking - and there's not all that much to see when walking.  Make sure you go early in the day though, there's a lot to see at/near the market.  The Pink Door is a little down the street in Post Alley and has very good italian (cioppino there is my favorite) - Pink Door website here.

If you want to do both, I'd do the market during the day with lunch @ the pink door, then dinner @ the needle.  Make reservations a little before sunset, get there early and tell them you'll wait for a window table if you need to.


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## Debbie0329 (Jan 30, 2012)

*Getting to the Space Needle*

Take the on-off trolley tour - you can get on just outside the Market and off at the Space Needle, have lunch, tour, etc. get back on and see some sights before arriving back in the original place.  It's a narrated tour and a great way to see the sights!

Deb


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## Icc5 (Jan 30, 2012)

*Breakfast*



presley said:


> I'll be in Seattle for a couple nights before I board my Alaskan cruise and wanted some info on the Space needle.  My husband gets motion sickness pretty easily.  Would the Space needle bother him?  Or, is it so slow that you can't really "feel" it.
> 
> Also, I saw the menu and it looks way too fancy for my teen.  I don't think he would eat anything there.  Is there ever a time (lunch, snack, whatever) that has more boring, basic type of food?
> 
> And, finally, about how far is the needle from Pike's Place?  Is it fairly easy to do both on the same outing without private transportation?



It has been years since we were there but we enjoyed breakfast there and it made it worthwhile to go up.
Bart


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 30, 2012)

bjones9942 said:


> I think there won't be a problem with motion sickness - it's very slow.  Food is 'good', not jump up and down fantastic, but 'good'.  I consider the $$$$ my price for sitting and spinning and getting the great view.  I'm pretty sure the kitchen would accommodate your teenager with a burger or grilled cheese - call them and ask!



IMHO - food is OK wouldn't be worth anywhere near the price if it weren't for the view.  So go for the view, and figure that the you're getting view + the meal for the price of the meal.


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## VanBlades (Feb 4, 2012)

presley said:


> I'll be in Seattle for a couple nights before I board my Alaskan cruise and wanted some info on the Space needle.  My husband gets motion sickness pretty easily.  Would the Space needle bother him?  Or, is it so slow that you can't really "feel" it.
> 
> Also, I saw the menu and it looks way too fancy for my teen.  I don't think he would eat anything there.  Is there ever a time (lunch, snack, whatever) that has more boring, basic type of food?
> 
> And, finally, about how far is the needle from Pike's Place?  Is it fairly easy to do both on the same outing without private transportation?



My wife and I are going to Seattle for 3 days before our Alaska cruise in May. 
Have you found a good place to stay in Seattle? We are on the Norwegian Pearl May 10th I believe.  Van


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## presley (Feb 4, 2012)

VanBlades said:


> My wife and I are going to Seattle for 3 days before our Alaska cruise in May.
> Have you found a good place to stay in Seattle? We are on the Norwegian Pearl May 10th I believe.  Van



We ended up booking the Sheraton near Pike Place.  It looks to be walking distance to everything that we want to see in Seattle and they had a club level room that comes with breakfast and some afternoon snacks.

I own Worldmark and originally thought I'd book there.  However, I thought I should choose a hotel that has food and nearby attractions.  

A travel agent friend told me to book a hotel away from the port.  There isn't much to do around there.  So, check out the Sheraton, Marriott and there is a hotel right in Pike Place, but I cannot remember the name.  It was more than I wanted to spend, which is the only reason I didn't book it.


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## Luanne (Feb 4, 2012)

We stayed at the Sheraton a few years ago.  Nice enough.....but we felt nickle and dimed to death.  Everything cost extra.  There was no free wi fi in the rooms, but there was in the lobby.  We had wondered why so many people were in the lobby area when we checked in, we figured it out soon enough.    When we were there we found it difficult to find places for breakfast that were close.  There is a restaurant in the hotel, quite expensive for breakfast though.  Our favorite breakfast place was in Pike's Market which is a bit of a trek.  Hope you enjoy your stay there more than we did.


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## bjones9942 (Feb 5, 2012)

Don't forget that Seattle has a bus tunnel that can take you a lot of places fairly easily - and it's free ('ride free zone').


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 5, 2012)

bjones9942 said:


> Don't forget that Seattle has a bus tunnel that can take you a lot of places fairly easily - and it's free ('ride free zone').



All off downtown is in the ride free zone, including the surface buses as well as the tunnel

The ride-free zone is roughly the area between the water and I-5 (west to east) and Jackson and Virginia Streets (south to north).


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## bjones9942 (Feb 6, 2012)

I posted the link because some people might think they're in the ride-free area and actually not be (some of the bus drivers don't even know the free zone).  It does have boundaries - please check the map before you go out.  

Also, some of the busses (the 358 in particular) are not ones I'd recommend tourists hop on, free or not - which is why I try to steer people into the tunnel and away from the surface.


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## easyrider (Feb 6, 2012)

VanBlades said:


> My wife and I are going to Seattle for 3 days before our Alaska cruise in May.
> Have you found a good place to stay in Seattle? We are on the Norwegian Pearl May 10th I believe.  Van



We like the Inn at the Market. Its the closest hotel to Pikes Street Market and my favorite Irish Bar called Kells. A portion of Kells is the old mourtuary from Seattles past. They have a decanter of Holy Water on the top shelf. I thought it was was some special Irish drink but was told that they sprinkle it in the haunted rooms on the west side of the bar.

http://innatthemarket.com/

http://www.kellsirish.com/seattle/index.php


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## SeattleKnitChick (Feb 17, 2012)

The Space Needle food is so so - really it is more of a for the view experience.  However I think brunch may be a bit more affordable and actually a bit tastier than dinner.  Also it may have more teenage friendly foods!  

Staying near the cruise port isn't where I would want to be  - it's not super far from downtown but whoever said there's not a lot going on in that area was correct!


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