Landing at King County International Airport in Seattle gives you an easy home base, with nearby cities and getaways close by. Seattle stretches between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, a city of hills, water views, and coffee that still feels like the port town it started as. The mood is casual and a little moody, with ferries sliding past, a mountain on the horizon on clear days, and neighborhoods that each feel like their own small town.

Standout experiences around Seattle: - Tour the Museum of Flight, right beside the runway at Boeing Field - Watch the fish fly at Pike Place Market and grab a coffee nearby - Ride up the Space Needle and walk through Chihuly Garden and Glass next door - Explore Georgetown, the industrial neighborhood of breweries and art just north of the airport - Watch boats climb the Ballard Locks and salmon climb the fish ladder - Find the Fremont Troll under the bridge, then eat your way down Capitol Hill - Take the ferry to Bainbridge Island for the best cheap view of the skyline - Catch the Mariners at T-Mobile Park with a Seattle dog, cream cheese and all

Seattle makes a good base for a short loop around Puget Sound. Tacoma and its Museum of Glass are 35 minutes south, Bellevue and the Woodinville wine tasting rooms are a half hour east, and Snoqualmie Falls pours over its ledge about 45 minutes away. Olympia, the state capital, is an hour down I-5, and Mount Rainier's Paradise entrance is about two hours for a big-mountain day. Try teriyaki, a Seattle lunch staple, and a dozen local oysters, then watch the sun drop behind the Olympics and understand why people put up with the rain.