Seattle's Famous Film Locations

We are always a little bitter when we excitedly sit down to watch a new show or movie set in Seattle and we see Vancouver, BC buildings and public transport show up in the scenes. It is decidedly cheaper to film in Canada, so most production companies take the discount thinking Seattle and Vancouver are basically interchangeable. Throw in a shot of the Space Needle and you're good, right? 

Nope. Because we know. And we are loyal to our city.

So, let's pay homage to the films and TV shows that spent the cash and used real Seattle locations to film. Let's take a little tour around Seattle to find all the spots in various movies and shows.

TV

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Frasier's tour around Seattle. Top Left: Famous "Public Market" sign at Pike Place Market, Top Right: Space Needle, Bottom Left: Pike Place Fish, Bottom Right: Riding the Monorail

Frasier

We are letting them on this list, but just barely. 99.9% of Fraser was filmed on a set in L.A but for one special episode they came and shot in Seattle. They make it on the list because they hit up all the big hitters in 20 minutes, which is pretty amazing. In Season 5, Episode 5, you can see The Space Needle, the Monorail, and Pike Place Market including Pike Place Fish and Don and Joe's Meats.

Meredith Grey's house from Grey's Anatomy located in Queen Anne. Photo Credit

Greys Anatomy

Again, most of this show was shot on a set in L.A., but they do use a couple of genuine Seattle locations in the show! Fisher Plaza, home of KOMO News, is used to represent some of the hospital shots, and Meredith's Queen Anne home is a real house located at 303 W. Comstock St. in the Queen Anne neighborhood.

MOVIES

The Singles apartment complex located in Capitol Hill

Singles (1992)

This cult classic brings together everything Seattleites want in a film: music, love, and a good coffee shop. Plus that HAIR and alllll the flannel and a young Eddie Vedder! It also takes in a lot of Seattle over the 99 minute long picture. Occidental Park in Pioneer Square is the site where Kyra Sedgwick and Campbell Scott take a stroll. Scott eats a meal at Chandler's Crabhouse. They visit Seattle famous dive bars Re-Bar and El Corazon for concerts and they live in an apartment complex in Capitol Hill (totally where they would live if this was a true story). You also get to see Gasworks Park again (filmmakers love Gasworks, huh?)!

Tom Hank's Lake Union floating house in Sleepless in Seattle

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Seattle's favorite film. Don't argue, this is Seattle's favorite film. We love this movie and no one can take it away from us. Tom Hanks is a movie god, and he walked around our city to film this movie, so it is the best Seattle movie. Period. You can see a lot of the places from this film. The Baldwin's house boat still sits on Lake Union and looks exactly the same. You can take a boat tour to see it or our preferred method is to rent a kayak and paddle over. (Agua Verde is a good option). 

Sit your butt in the same stool that Tom Hanks sat in at The Athenian in Pike Place Market.

You can also plant your butt in the same seat as Tom Hanks at The Athenian. This is the restaurant Sam Baldwin (Hanks) gets lunch with his friend Ray. You also spot other Pike Place Market landmarks like the fish market and Inn at the Market as they walk to The Athenian. 

The famous paint ball course at Gasworks Park in 10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Now Sleepless in Seattle might reign #1 for Seattle films, but let's be honest, it was a littttttttle creepy. 10 Things I Hate About You is a much more accurate and realistic love story. And it is when we all first fell in love with Heath Ledger, so brooding, so misunderstood, he just wanted someone to play paintball with! 

The Fremont Troll where Joseph Gordon Levitt filmed

This movie has our favorite Seattle spotting, the Fremont Troll. Young and still dorky Joseph Gordon Levitt has a hormone filled conversation with his love interest Bianca (such a 90s name).

Gasworks Park also makes an appearance when Heath and Julia have a crazy game of paintball, although we don't think that giant paintball course has ever been open to the public. And their prom is filmed at The Paramount Theatre, Balllllerrrrr! 

Left: I-90 Bridge, Right: Chihuly Garden and Glass

Laggies (2014)

We still can't decide if we liked this movie or not..but if you hate it you still get some decent Seattle shots. Chihuly Garden and Glass makes an appearance as a wedding venue. You really can rent this for a wedding, it costs $-- or your first born child, one or the other.

You also get a very pretty shot of the I-90 floating bridge since the main character (Knightley) lives on the Eastside.

Say Anything (1989)

Corey's house is real!! Gosh we love when this happens! It is in Ballard, located at 6507 Parker Court Northwest, Seattle, WA 98117.

Bob's Java Jive from Say Anything is a bit worn down these days

Bob's Java Jive in Tacoma makes a drive-by appearance in Say Anything. Today this is a super strange coffee shop turned bar. We don't recommend it as a place to go unless we really hate the person. 

Waiting for Interurban. Photo by Xurxo Martinez

You can also catch a glimpse of the statue 'Waiting for the Interurban', a local favorite located in Fremont, Seattle, when Diane is on her way to graduation. On graduation day in Seattle this statue could very probably be decorated in the exact same manner. 

3 Seattle Houses We Love

Do you ever play that game where you walk around a city and try to pick out your favorite house? Money is no object (this is an important rule in Seattle), all you have to do is explore long enough to make sure you've check out every house and can make an educated decision. We play this game. We play while we drive, walk the dog, and go for our morning runs. Seattle is full of beautiful homes, but we have a soft spot in our hearts for the truly unique. Lucky for us Seattle also has some homes that are literally like no others on earth! 

Photo cred

1. The Flower House

From May to October Alki Beach is home to our favorite house in Seattle. We aren't the only ones either, this house is loved by people around the world. Owner Randie Stone bought the houses in 1989 and has since spent countless hours and dollars maintaining her beautiful garden so that others can come and enjoy it. It is a sight for sore eyes nestled in between two glass and concrete condo complexes, and we always make a point to stop and take it all in when we are in West Seattle. 

Photo cred

Photo cred: Alan Berner/The Seattle Times

2. Edith Macefield House

This house has lovingly been dubbed the "Up House" because of its owner's refusal to leave her 1,050 square foot home to let it be demolished for commercial use. It is rumored Edith Macefield once turned down $750,000 to stay put. And why would she? Macefield moved into this home in 1952 and died in it in 2008. Since then various organizations have been trying to make sure it is kept safe from demolition. Right now it is sadly in a bit of limbo. No one seems to know what the fate of this little beacon of hope will be right now, so we encourage you to visit it while you can!

Photo cred

Photo cred: Real Estate Gals

3. The Victorian

This home sits in one of Seattle's most prestigious neighborhoods, Queen Anne. You could spend hours strolling the sidewalks looking at the homes here. You would eventually stumble upon The Victorian, a normal craftsman turned into a turreted tribute to the Victorian era. The paint is striking, the garden is beautifully maintained. The turret has the latin phrase Quo Amplius Eo Amplius which roughly translates to more is more. And you can tell the house was designed with this motto in mind, the sunflowers, the little balcony, the porch, we just can't..this house is TOO amazing. 

Want to see what it looks like behind the door? Take a tour of the inside. 

Seattle Vacation in 48 Hours

We would like to start this post by saying you cannot do Seattle in 48 hours, you can barely do one neighborhood in that time, but realistically not everyone has time to spend months here exploring every nook and cranny. This post is for people who are coming to Seattle for a weekend and need to hit up only the best of the best. 

Friday

You will probably be arriving in Seattle in the late afternoon. We are going to immediately throw you a curve ball and send you up to Capitol Hill. This is one of the best neighborhoods in Seattle for a number of reasons, and you can't miss it. First check out Melrose Market, maybe have a few oysters at Taylor Shellfish Company to keep you until dinner. Then head over to Elliott Bay Book Company, the #1 bookstore in Seattle, to browse their amazing selection with awesome staff to help you find your next favorite book.

Photo source

After this you can go check out the Jimmy Hendrix statue (air guitar is encouraged). Now you've earned dinner! Here are three options you can pick from depending on what floats your boat: Stateside,  Trove, or Tavolata. Finish the night off with a drink at Unicorn, the wackiest bar in Capitol Hill. 

The Unicorn's decorations are only outshone by their crazy cocktails.

Friday's hotspots

Saturday

Rise and shine and put your walking shoes on! Get to world-famous Pike Place Market at 9:00 AM before it gets swamped. Grab a crumpet at The Crumpet Shop and then start exploring. Check out Pike Place Fish (hint: when someone buys a fish they do the famous fish toss), the gorgeous flowers stalls, and grab free samples from many of the shops, including our favorites Ellenos Yogurt and Britt's Pickles. If you grab any food (hint: Piroshky Piroshky or Pike Place Chowder) and want a quiet place to enjoy it we recommend the Urban Garden. It's a bit tricky to find (located down the hallway to the left of Don and Joe's Meats), but a great secret of the market. 

Cute pig welcomes you to the Urban Garden in Pike Place Market

After you have thoroughly explored the market take the short walk down to Seattle's waterfront. The best stretch is between the Seattle Aquarium and Ivar's Acres of Clams. You can take in all the street artists, beautiful views of the Puget Sound, ride the Seattle Wheel, and get some food if you are hungry again. We have details all the best waterfront spots in this post. 

Miner's Landing and the Seattle Wheel 

Once you have worked up an appetite grab the water taxi located at Pier 50 ($4.50 one way) and take a short 5 minute boat ride across Puget Sound to get to our favorite seafood restaurant, Salty's, for your quintessential PNW dinner. This place has a fun atmosphere and killer views of the city skyline. Plus the food will make your life complete. 

Saturday's route

Sunday

Sleep in a little today and then grab a coffee at one of Seattle's MANY coffee shops. Once you have caffeine in hand head over to the Olympic Sculpture Park. This is an extension of the Seattle Art Museum and is a beautiful place to spend the morning. Start at the top (entrance at the corner of Broad St. and Western Ave.) and then wind your way down the main path to the waterfront where you will find the park's newest sculpture (and our personal favorite), Echo. 

Sculptures that double as benches in the Olympic Sculpture Park

From here you can make your way over to Seattle Center, which is a short walk. This park is the most popular in Seattle because of that giant needle people come to see. We recommend getting the joint ticket deal to visit the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit because Chihuly is a mad genius (we did an entire post on this place here). Or if you are here around lunch you can get a free ticket to the Space Needle viewing deck if you eat at SkyCity, the rotating restaurant at the top of the Needle (spend a minimum of $25/guest).

One of the many spectacular Chihuly pieces in Seattle Center

We also love the EMP in Seattle Center. The EMP's exhibits pay tribute to all types of entertainment (think Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix, horror and fantasy films, and the Seahawks) and is well worth the $22 ticket price. 

If you haven't already, grab a quick lunch. Seattle Center's Armory building has lots of options so everyone in the group should be happy. Sometimes there are some pretty delicious food carts hanging out in the area too. You can then take your food and enjoy it by the International Fountain and listen to the music. 

From here head up Queen Anne hill to Kerry Park (you can walk, but be warned, the hill is gnarly). This park has arguably the best views of Seattle and the Space Needle. There also happens to be a delicious ice cream at Molly Moon's just up the street from it, so if you want to make a pit stop on your way we support that decision. 

The views from Kerry Park are phenomenal.

Take your photos, eat your ice cream. That's a wrap. Your 48 hours in Seattle is complete and you hit up all the best things! 

Sunday's route 

Volunteer Park

The view from the top of the water tower

You can't talk about Seattle parks without mentioning Capitol Hill's 48.3 acre Volunteer Park. It has an Asian Art Museum, sculptures, a dahlia garden, a conservatory, a water tower you can climb, a wading pool, tennis courts, lots of land to picnic, and plenty of squirrels (a main criteria when rating parks). There is so much to do here you could fill an entire afternoon wandering and sightseeing. And with Volunteer Park Café only a few blocks away, your day is set.

Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi

A peek of the space needle

One of our personal favorites of this park is the Black Sun sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, which sits on the edge of the reservoir and offers views of the Space Needle, Elliot Bay, and the Olympic Mountains. It couldn't be better for Instagraming the city and it also reminds us of a donut, so all the important things art should do (Noguchi would probably cry if he read that, sorry Noguchi). It has been credited as the inspiration for Soundgarden's famous 1994 song Black Hole Sun, sadly Chris Cornell has not confirmed this so we aren't sure if it's true, but next time we run into him we plan to ask. Feel free to sit by the sculpture and blast the song and reminisce about how awesome the 90s were, though.

We also recommend stopping in at the Conservatory ($4) and checking out the tropical plant collection. It's actually a perfect winter time activity too as they have to keep the temperature balmy to support the tropical plants. We like to go in the middle of winter and pretend we are in Costa Rica.

Tropical plants in the Conservatory

Lots of cactuses in the Conservatory too

Last stop is the Asian Art Museum. It costs $9 and the camels at the front entrance make for great photo opportunities. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays but opens at 10am the rest of the week. We like to go and look at the collection of Buddha sculptures, there is something so peaceful about them. The museum has been around since 1933 and is currently looking to be restored. You can learn more about that here.

Seattle's Asian Art Museum (source)