Pike Place Market

The Quick and Easy:

What: Hundred-year-old street market and perennial tourist attraction
When: Year round, hours vary by merchant
Where: Centered around Pike Place, just east of the Viaduct and waterfront, Downtown Seattle
Why: A massive open-air market with flying fish you can’t miss and some of the best busker's in town.

Pike Place Market has the bustling feel endemic in exotic street markets halfway around the world, though it’s tucked right in the heart of downtown Seattle. Meandering through the stalls, one is accosted with the sights and smells of artisan cheese, fresh produce and wild fish. Consumers are exhorted to sample and purchase from workers and owners. Inquires such as, “You sir! Wouldn’t you like to try this”—pause for effect—“dark chocolate pasta? That’s right—you heard correct! How about you young lady?” are commonplace and to be expected.

The Market began in 1907 to meet the growing demand from Seattle consumers to “meet the producers” of their food. At the time, produce prices had skyrocketed due to meddling from middlemen. The same philosophy remains at the market today, though the 9-acre site has moved beyond its role as a service to local buyers to become a major tourist attraction. It is estimated that the market receives around 10 million visitors annually.

Pike Place Market is home to 300 low-income housing units, 240 street performers, 200 year-round businesses, 190 craftspeople, and 120 farmers renting tables day-to-day. The most notable is probably the Pike Place Fish Market, an institution whose celebrated fishmongers send salmon flying through the air on the way to be packed and shipped around the world. The fishmongers have achieved such notoriety that they give motivational presentations on how to embrace work and stay positive—this from a group of guys slingin’ fish around all day. One wonders.

If you’re coming to Seattle, don’t miss the Market; once there, don’t miss Pike Place Fish.