Think tours are only for tourists? Not in Seattle. This city is full of quirky history that will surprise even the most seasoned locals. With the World Cup coming to Seattle in 2026, our hometown will be in the international spotlight next year. There’s no better time to learn the fun facts, local lore, and regional delicacies that make Seattle special. Especially in the low season, when it’s not as crowded! Splurge on a guided tour of these Seattle classics, from orcas to airplanes to secret underground tunnels. Learn about what’s been right in front of you this whole time. Just don’t ask for directions to “Pike’s Place.”
Age recommendation: Children are welcome on all of these tours, but because they require an hour or so of attention, we think they’re best for elementary school age and up. Younger children might find it challenging to stay with the group, but you know your kids best.
Underground Donut Tour
- Where: Tour starts at 2124 5th Ave., Seattle
- When: Daily at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
- Cost: Adults 11 and up $60, kids 10 and under $50
- Duration: 1.5-2 hours
Do-nut sleep on this guided tour in Seattle! The sweetest way to learn about Seattle is the Underground Donut Tour. Our tour started with lattes and old-fashioned doughnuts at the flagship Top Pot in Belltown, a local company started by two brothers. Our tour guide was friendly and efficient; her day job is in tech, and doughnut tours are her weekend passion. She neatly quartered the doughnuts while feeding us bits of doughnut trivia. Next stop: South American-inspired flavors at Doce Donut Co., “doce” being Spanish for “12.” The tres leches blew us away with its dark chocolate base and torched meringue topping. At Dahlia Bakery, we dipped beignets in mascarpone and berry jam. Not only did Tom Douglas beat Iron Chef Morimoto, but he also won the “Great Beignet in America” contest held by the Underground Donut Tour. The tour wrapped up under the iconic Pike Place Market sign near the beloved Daily Dozen. We watched, transfixed, as a robot churned out mini doughnuts at this stand. The best part of the tour is you get to skip the line!
Underground Donut Tour guide Bella Zhan stops at Dahlia Bakery for beignets. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Kenmore Air Scenic Flight
- Where: Lake Union terminal, 950 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle
- When: Daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., flights on the hour
- Cost: $119 per person
- Duration: 30 minutes
When my son was little, we’d walk to Lake Union and spend hours watching the seaplanes taking off and landing. Going up for a ride on one of those seaplanes was a total bucket list item. The logistics were surprisingly straightforward. Kenmore Air offers daily 30-minute scenic flights that soar to the Eastside and loop around Elliott Bay and the Space Needle. And this isn’t Sea-Tac: you need to arrive two minutes, not two hours, before your flight. It’s all ages — even babies can fly on a seaplane. You do need to climb a short ladder. I expected a bumpy flight, but it was like butter. We couldn’t even feel takeoff or landing. The views are jaw-dropping, naturally. This is Seattle: the green islands in Elliott Bay, our waterways crisscrossing the landscape, the towering buildings of downtown Seattle — we even spotted our house. It was a thrill seeing those familiar sights from a bird’s-eye view.
Kenmore Air seaplane coming in for a landing on Lake Union. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Beneath the Streets
- Where: 102 Cherry St., Seattle
- When: daily 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Cost: adults $26; seniors, military and students $23; children 7 to 12 $16; toddlers 2 to 6 $5
- Duration: 1 hour
All Seattle students should be required to visit Pioneer Square’s underground. Not just because it’s historically significant but because the Seattle guided tour is really weird and cool. Pioneer Square was Seattle’s first neighborhood, built on low-lying land that tended to get boggy and wet. The entire downtown burned down in the Great Fire of 1889 (thankfully, no one died), so it was a chance for a do-over. The city washed down the hills to lift Pioneer Square. If you think the hills downtown are steep, they used to be three times as steep before the re-grade. The old buildings in Pioneer Square have a sidewalk under the sidewalk. Today’s street-level entrance used to be a second-floor balcony. Tip: Look for purple glass tiles embedded in the sidewalk. Those are actually skylights to the underground, installed back before electric lights were a thing. You can only access the underground on a guided tour, and you will need to be able to climb stairs.
The purple tiles one the sidewalk are skylights to the underground. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Puget Sound Express Whale Watch
- Where: 459 Admiral Way, Edmonds
- When: April 12 to Sept. 21, 9:30 a.m. daily departure; additional 2:30 p.m. daily departure from June 14 to Sept. 1.
- Cost: adults $145, children 2 to 10 $115, infants free
- Duration: 4 to 5 hours
Seeing an orca in the wild has been a dream since I moved to Seattle. People spot orcas all the time, from Washington State ferries to West Seattle beaches, even smack in the middle of downtown Seattle cruising by the Great Wheel. I never seem to be in the right place at the right time. I finally bit the bullet and booked tickets to the Puget Sound Express whale watch. Whale-watching trips run most of the year, but your best chance of spotting an orca is in the summer, July, or August. Be prepared for a very long day on the water. The Swiftsure is a newer boat (circa 2022) and it’s comfortable, with restrooms on board. There’s a galley at the back where you can buy blueberry buckle and Dramamine. Unlike a plane or a car ride, you can get up and walk around the boat’s two levels, so you don’t feel cooped up. Puget Sound Express guarantees you’ll see whales, and they made good on their promise. After three hours of drifting in the fog, jackpot! We spotted a pod of transients celebrating a fresh kill.
Puget Sound Express whale watch tour, with T99 transient breaching. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Wing Luke Museum Historic Hotel Tour
- Where: 719 S. King St., Seattle
- When: Wednesday through Sunday, tours at 10:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
- Cost: Tours included in museum admission. Adults $17, seniors 62 and up $15, students $12.50, children 5 to 12 $10, children under 5 free
- Duration: 1 hour
If your kids ever complain about having to share a room, wait ’til they learn about sleeping in shifts. Rooms at the historic Freeman Hotel went for 25 cents, but to save money, men doubled, tripled, quadrupled up by sleeping in shifts. The two-story hotel could house as many as 500 boarders, with a grand total of two bathrooms for everyone to share. Touring the historic hotel in the East Kong Yick Building — the home of the Wing Luke Museum — is literally taking a step back into 1910. In addition to the hotel, you’ll see the Yick Fung Company store and Gee How Oak Tin Family Association, both frozen in time. It was a place for these early Asian-American immigrants to sleep, get food, receive letters, and socialize. No visit to Seattle’s Chinatown International District is complete without a great meal. When you return to the 21st century, try Tai Tung, Bruce Lee’s favorite restaurant; Jade Garden for classic dim sum at its best; or Kilig, Filipino comfort food by James Beard Award semifinalist Melissa Miranda.
Yick Fung Company store on the Wing Luke Museum historic tour. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
Boeing Factory Tour
- Where: 8415 Paine Field Blvd., Mukilteo
- When: Thursday to Monday, tours times 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Cost: adults $38, seniors and military $33, youth 6 to 15 $28, Boeing employees $20, children 5 and under free
- Duration: 80 minutes
It is not a Seattle-based guided tour, but it is worth booking, especially if you have a future pilot in the family. They don’t call it the Jet City for nothing. William E. Boeing founded the world’s largest aerospace company in Seattle in 1916. You can go inside The Boeing Company’s Everett assembly plant and see 777s being built right under your nose. The factory is the world’s largest building, with an internal volume of 472 million cubic feet. The Boeing factory is just over half a mile away from the visitor’s center, a short coach bus ride away. They’re strict about the security: absolutely all personal items need to be stowed in complimentary lockers and children must be at least 4 feet tall to go on the tour.
Boeing Future of Flight visitor center. (Image: JiaYing Grygiel)
