Welcome to Our City!!

Seattle is a collection of places, ideas and cultures. Take your pick: order up a nice serving of lutefisk, witness a pow wow, attend a Japanese tea ceremony, don a tux or gown and see Aida, or grab a latte and talk high-tech. A coastal city that lies equidistant from Tokyo and London, Seattle is truly a cultural melting pot. Seattle's natural beauty inspires even the most committed couch potatoes. Add the inherent heartiness of the natives, and it's obvious why REI and Eddie Bauer found their niche here. After all, this is home to the likes of twin brothers Jim and Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountain climbers of the 20th century, who stroll up and down Mount Rainier about as often as most of us go out for a latte. The best in urban recreation is at your toes and at your fingertips around Seattle--spectacularly scenic golf, kayaking and canoeing, fishing and clamming, hiking, urban parks including Discovery Park (Magnolia neighborhood), Seward Park (Lake Washington) and Woodland Park Zoo and Rose Gardens. A short drive out of the city leads to skiing, snowboarding, river rafting, hiking and some of the most scenic parks around: Mt. Rainier National Park, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park and Rainforest, and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.