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For a bird’s-eye view of the city of Seattle and its immediate environment, simply drive or take a bus up Admiral Way to tiny Belvedere Park. Take in 180-degree picture postcard views of the Cascade Range behind the high-rises of downtown, industrial Harbor Island and the Port of Seattle’s container yards, and Elliott Bay and Puget Sound. On clear days, distant and permanently snow-capped Mount Baker on the northeastern horizon looms above all else. If you’re in downtown, a 20-minute bus ride to Alki Beach drops you nearby on Olga Street SW.

The Burke-Gilman Trail passes under the Fremont Bridge and the Aurora Bridge. Both span the Ship Canal, although only the drawbridge opens for boat traffic.

If you can buy it, you can find it on Broadway, the nerve center of Capitol Hill. From East Pike to East Roy Streets, store-fronts beckon consumers on the hunt for food, vintage and new clothing, music CDs, and lots of coffee. On summer evenings especially, the sheer density of pedestrian traffic along Broadway matches that of midtown Manhattan.

In an entirely urban locale, Camp Long comes close to imparting the wild and natural experience usually found only during hikes in local mountain ranges. Once the 1941-era camp served only scouting organizations, but in 1984, the 68-acre compound opened to the general public. Inside the grounds, visitors can hike trails, learn about the environment from professional naturalists, or even rent rustic cabins for in-city camping. One of the most popular attractions is the 20-ft (6-m) high Schurman climbing rock, carefully designed to incorporate every climbing maneuver. Bats, Opossum, raccoons, chipmunks, and northern flying squirrels have been sighted in the camp. Weekly interpretive walks, rock climbing classes, and a golf course are also available.

Take a little time for a delightful promenade through the greenery of lush trees and rare and exotic plants that fill the garden’s seven acres, bordering the Locks on the north side of the Ship Canal. The gift shop, which also serves visitors to the Locks, makes a guide available to assist in identifying the plants.

Capitol Hill has a number of landmark places of worship, including the grand St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, which belongs to the Diocese of Olympia. Organ enthusiasts come from afar to play St. Mark’s 3,944-pipe Flentrop organ, installed in 1965. The Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, one of the oldest parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia, was founded in 1930 by immigrants who fled the 1917 Russian Revolution. The structure’s ornate turquoise lukovitsa (16th century “onion dome” style of cupolas) and spires rise high above the trees and neighboring homes.

This bustling shopping center is popular with Microsoft employees and vibrant ethnic groups, sometimes in traditional regalia. Free jazz, folk, and world music concerts on a professional stage and public art installations help make this a gathering place with personality.

An engaging way to travel up the lake to the Washington State wineries between Renton and Woodinville is on this vintage train that presents dinner and shows. The cuisine and scenery combine for a great but brief taste of the golden age of rail travel. The Spirit of Washington departs from Renton.