Seattle Center and Belltown

Seattle Center (206/684-7200, www.seattlecenter.com [1]), sandwiched between Belltown to the south and the Queen Anne [2] neighborhood to the north, is an odd mishmash of attractions designed with the Jetsons-style architecture of the early 1960s. Although it attracts many adults, this legacy of the 1962 World’s Fair is also a favorite of children.

Seattle Center is in the first stages of a decades-long redevelopment project, so the rickety amusement park rides that surround the Center House [3] and the Space Needle [4] are no longer lit up. Visitors will see these rides dismantled in favor of more green spaces, as well as a splash pool and ice rink as construction moves on in the coming years.

Seattle Center also houses the Bagley Wright Theater, where the Seattle Repertory Theater performs, and the Opera House, home of the Seattle Opera, Seattle Youth Symphony, and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

The deceptively simple International Fountain (6–11 p.m. Mon.–Fri. and 2–11 p.m. Sat.–Sun.) never ceases to delight kids trying to escape the random jets of water and amuse adults when the inevitable happens. The fountain erupts in an on-the-hour frenzy of action complete with music pumped through loudspeakers.