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Seattle, Wash., is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. Located between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, and overlooking Elliott Bay, Seattle is nicknamed The Emerald City. The city is a damp green gem, with an abundance of evergreen trees throughout and spectacular views of the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic mountains to the west. Known for being the home of the Space Needle, Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon.com and Starbucks, not to mention grunge music and fashion, Seattle is also the home of a vibrant arts scene and an excellent park system.

Seattle boasts a number of museums including the Seattle Art Museum, Museum of Flight, the interactive Pacific Science Center and Experience Music Project, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The city is also home to many parks from Golden Gardens Park on the Puget Sound, which offers spectacular views of the sun setting over the Olympic mountain range on clear days and still allows bonfires on the beach, to serene Volunteer Park in Capitol Hill, home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum and a conservatory, to the 20-acre Japanese style Kubota Garden in South Seattle.

Pioneer Square is Seattle's oldest neighborhood, and it wasn't always a pleasant place to visit. The Underground Tour takes visitors around Pioneer Square above ground and also to a hidden Seattle that now lies underground. About 25 square blocks of Pioneer Square have hollow spaces under the sidewalks, thanks to peculiarities of the reconstruction after the great Seattle fire of 1889. Cash and traveler's checks only are accepted. ATM is on-site.

Seattle Art Museum is internationally recognized for its excellent collection of Asian, African and Native American art and for its fine collection of modern art produced by Pacific Northwest artists. The permanent collection includes 21,000 pieces and while it doesn't have huge collections of European art, it does have plentiful local art and wonderful visiting exhibits. The museum is centrally located downtown near the waterfront and Pike Place Market.

Explore the history of flight from the Wright Brothers to space travel. Collections at Museum of Flight include commercial, military and civilian crafts. See a 1929 Boeing 80A-1, the sole survivor of its type. The 1926 Swallow was used as the nation's first contracted airmail service starting in April 1926. For those interested in more modern aircraft, there are the dynamic M-21 Blackbird, the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever built and the VC-137B Air Force One, which flew President Dwight D. Eisenhower on a historic visit to meet with Germany's Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1959. Take a walk through the "Red Barn," a museum in its own right, where the Boeing Company manufactured its first aircraft. There is also a library with an extensive selection of aviation information, as well as a museum store and a cafe on the premises.

One of Seattle's most famous landmarks, this is the oldest continuously working public market in the country. Shop for fresh vegetables and fruits. Stop by Pike Place Fish to see fish fly. The market has numerous shops, including a health food and herb store, craft stores, and flower stands. Stop by Sur la Table, where you'll find tools with which to prepare your recently purchased ingredients. Don't forget to pick up fresh-baked pastries for dessert, and stop at one of the restaurants for lunch or an authentic Seattle latte before heading home.