Two hours in Pike Place Market, Seattle

I arrived back to Pike Place Market after my half day trip to Snoqualmie Falls. Upon arrival I wasn’t quite sure how much there would be to do here – turns out there’s a lot! Here’s how I spent two hours exploring this bustling market.

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See the infamous Fish Market

Established in 1907, Pike Place Market is home to 275 businesses and is actually pretty big! Of course, the main star of the show is the Fish Market. When enough of a crowd gathers or they make a sale the fishmongers will sing and throw a fish to one another. It’s quite the spectacle as you can see! If you’re really impressed you can even purchase some merchandise.

 

Support some local businesses at Pike Place Market

Other than fish-throwing, there are lots of stores and vendors selling all sorts, from yarn to flowers, to fresh fish to glow in the dark clothing. Near the market there are also some cool stores too – I loved Metsker Maps which had all things maps and travel. The Market is big and bustling and is on several floors. If you need a bit of a breather you can make your way to the Pike Place Market Sundeck, which has fantastic views of the sea.

 

Look at (but don’t touch!) the Gum Wall

In the depths of Pike Place Market is the Gum Wall. Before I visited I had just thought it would be a small piece of wall that was, as the name suggested, covered in gum. What I wasn’t expecting was a whole ALLEY to be covered with the stuff. 

 

I was in two minds about the Gum Wall. On one hand, it was kind of cool to see this community ‘art’ and see all the colours and the sheer scale of it. However, the pervading smell of bubble gum and the realisation of what you’re looking at…is also kind of a bit grim. The floor, whilst not sticky underfoot, looks as though it could be and after a few minutes I was done, although I was glad to have seen it at least.

Visit the original Starbucks

Starbucks originally started out selling whole bean coffee and spices, rather than the coffee shop we know it as today. Here you can visit the original shop that started it all, although be aware that there is often a massive queue to get in. It looks pretty cool inside, though. You can find the original Starbucks a few minutes walk from the Pike Place Market entrance.

If you’re spending a few days in Seattle and looking for more inspiration, you can find my full 4 day Seattle itinerary post here.