Known for coffee, rainy weather, and grunge, Seattle takes pride in being a little offbeat. In fact, they take being quirky and ahead of the curve pretty seriously. The city did give us Starbucks and Nirvana, after all. Spend your 48 hours in the Emerald City exploring old Seattle favorites as well as looking for the next big thing.
Meet Seattle's most beloved citizen: The Fremont Troll! This massive public sculpture is located under the George Washington Memorial Bridge, and is a play on the classic Scandinavian Billy Goats Gruff fairy tale.
Tragically, Market Theater Gum Wall was scraped clean in November of 2015...but of course, The Man can't keep such an important piece of Seattle history down, and within hours, the first few wads of gum were back on this alley wall in Pike Place. When they cleaned it, though, they removed over 2,000 pounds of chewed up gum.
Pike Place Market is one of the city's most popular attractions, and for a good reason: it's a microcosm of everything that makes Seattle what it is. Views of the ocean, fresh seafood, locally-sourced goodies, coffee shops, great people watching, and other quirky offerings can be found here.
Still Liquor is a converted 1920's garage, and is a little quieter and more laid-back then Knee High Stocking Company, with a selection of awesome beers and wines to go with their cocktail menu.
Hotel Max is easily the most effortlessly cool lodging in the Emerald City. There's no doubt that the meticulously-designed and decorated hotel has a pretty keen sense of style, but it's all the quirky extras that really make this place stand out: a pillow menu, a free happy hour, and an entire floor dedicated to the legendary Sub Pop Records, are among the offbeat offerings.
Free admission and parking are great, but the exhibits in the little but still impressive Frye Art Museum are worth paying for. Their rotating offerings can lean more offbeat (they recently had Russian propaganda posters), and it's a cozy, intimate atmosphere.
It's hard to believe, but the Seattle you see today was literally built on top of the original city. Flooding, fires, and plagues caused the city to decide to regrade the streets a level above the original, and what was once the street level of the buildings became hidden. You can tour the Seattle Underground Tunnels and old basements, which have been decorated to look as they did in the 19th and early 20th centuries, for an interesting look at the city's history.
The best time of year for your 48-hour Seattle getaway: Spring is rainy, and winter can be pretty cold here (although there's some great skiing in the area), so summer and fall are ideal times to visit. The overall temperatures remain pretty mild, despite the fact that the city is known for its drizzly weather.