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Built by Seattle’s water department in 1906, this 75-ft (23-m) brick tower with an observation deck was designed by the Olmsted Brothers. A short climb of 106 spiraling steps to the deck offers spectacular views of Puget Sound, the Space Needle, and the Olympic Mountains. Volunteer Park is also the site of the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Volunteer Park Conservatory.

Frozen in time, Richard Beyer’s celebrated 1979 cast aluminum sculpture – five human forms and a dog with a human face – preside at Fremont’s busiest intersection where a community trolley once stopped. Legend has it that the dog’s likeness belongs to Arman Napoleon Stepanian, an activist-hero who sparked the recycling movement 30 years ago. The work pokes fun at modern humanity’s ennui. It also represents one of Seattle’s earliest public art installations.

Boeing worker Milton Walker failed in his task to create an ornamental concrete lake in his yard between 1959 and 1980. Never one to give up, he redoubled his efforts to create an artistic vision that’s outlived the builder. Walker devoted much of his time to sculpting towers, mini-mountains, and trails using countless sea shells, crystals, Brazilian agate, and colored glass. Today, the work remains on the private property still owned by his family.

This Belltown hotel’s many 24-hour extras and the pool make it even more family-friendly.

Straddling Interstate 5 in a miraculous feat of engineering, the Washington State Convention Center is located within easy walking distance of the city’s best shops, hotels, and restaurants. Marvel at the center’s 90-ft (27-m) wide glass canopy bridge that frames views to Elliott Bay and to the historic Pike-Pine neighborhood. Adjoining is Freeway Park, where blossoms delight visitors in spring and waterfalls mask the sounds of traffic flowing on all sides.

From downtown, the fastest way to anywhere in West Seattle is via this highway, built in 1984. The bridge takes traffic from I-5 and other feeder streets over man-made Harbor Island and the mouth of the Duwamish River, and through to all the major streets in West Seattle. It’s visible from many vantage points in town.

The indoor pool is an all-weather plus.

As the longest island in the western contiguous United States, Whidbey Island’s ample waterfront real estate makes it vacation-home central. The island’s five state parks, historic forts, and tiny seaside villages attract weekend crowds. It is also the perfect location for the area’s largest US Navy air base. Their sign reads, “Pardon our noise, it’s the sound of freedom”.