If you’ve been looking at my Seattle posts recently, you’ll notice that I experienced a lot of them using the Seattle CityPASS. Using the CityPASS saves you almost half on Seattle’s biggest hits, like the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Chihuly Garden and Glass.
Since Seattle is a popular stop/starting point for many cruise lines, it’s well set up for tourists and utilizes the CityPASS system very well. Every ticket taker is very familiar with it and every website is set up to deal with it. It is so easy to use that I might look into using CityPASS tickets in other cities!
I’ll walk you through my use of the Seattle CityPASS and how I fit it into about 3 days of Seattle touring. (And how you could fit it into possibly one.)
Buying the Seattle CityPASS
While you can buy the CityPASS at any of the participating attractions, I think you should buy it online beforehand. Most of the attractions require reservations and making a rough plan of attack before you start is the best way to make sure you get the most out of your ticket. Currently, the Seattle CityPASS costs $119 for adults aged 13 and over, or $89 for children 5-12. (Children under 5 are admitted on a per-attraction basis.)
Once you hit purchase online, the website will walk you through making all the reservations you need. You can do this on the website, through a browser on your phone, or through the CityPASS app. (Though I will say, the app and using a web browser are basically the same thing.) I started by buying and making my reservations online at my computer, then downloaded the app to display my ticket barcode and check off attractions as I went.
You do need a smartphone to display your ticket, though there may be a way to print everything off. If neither option is available to you, ask at your first attraction to see if there is a way to get a physical ticket to use at all the attractions.
Seattle CityPASS Attractions
The Seattle CityPASS gives you admission to five of six available options. The Space Needle and the Seattle Aquarium are always included. Then you choose three of the following four: Argosy Harbor Cruise, Museum of Pop Culture, Woodland Park Zoo, and Chihuly Garden and Glass. Let’s go through all the options below.
Each section contains a link to a longer description of each attraction.
Space Needle
The ticket for the Space Needle that comes with the Seattle CityPASS isn’t the most basic ticket you can get. With the CityPASS, you get the day/night ticket, which allows two visits to the top – one during the day, and again in the last three operating hours of the day. It’s the perfect way to bookend your day in Seattle! Arrive in the morning while crowds are low, then return to watch the sunset.
This day/night ticket alone can cost almost $70 at peak times, so considering it’s on a $119 pass makes it feel like an incredible deal. Basically, you’re paying for the Space Needle and the Seattle Aquarium and getting everything else for free.
A Note about Timing
Every attraction can take as long or as little as you want. I would say that walking up the ramp and skimming the museum signs, taking the elevator to the top, exploring the two levels, taking the elevator back down, and even looking around the gift shop takes only about an hour to an hour and a half. More, if you really want to do some heavy souvenir shopping. The Space Needle gift shop is the largest and most Seattle-centric of all the gift shops you’ll encounter at the CityPASS attractions. Even items made at the Chihuly glass show next door are sold here and not at Chihuly’s gift shop.
You might want to budget more time for your return trip at night. If you’re timing it around sunset, just know that everyone else is too. It’s a good idea to arrive early to get ahead of most of the crowd and settle in with a drink from the bar. Plus, if you’ve been walking around Seattle all day, it will feel good to sit down, and for that, you definitely need to arrive early! I’d say 2-ish hours for the whole experience.
Seattle Aquarium
The Seattle Aquarium is a bit more of a tourist trap. If I could drop it from the lineup, I might consider doing so. But it’s a static feature of the Seattle CityPASS, maybe to force you all the way down to the waterfront and not just Pike Place Market.
Even so, I ended up really enjoying it. There’s an octopus and seals, river and sea otters, and tide pool touch tanks of colorful starfish. I really enjoyed the ’70s-era underwater dome. And when they finish the new expansion and park, it will be even more worth it.
If you have the time, it’s definitely worth it to see any of the feedings or keeper presentations. But outside of that, I’d budget around two hours. Make it closer to three when the third section opens.
Museum of Pop Culture
The Museum of Pop Culture is HUGE. This is the wavy-looking modern building next to the Space Needle. Inside are three floors of movie and music memorabilia. There’s an emphasis on fun Sci-Fi, horror, and fantasy props and Seattle-based musicians like Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, and Nirvana. There’s even a whole room to play video games in.
One of the 11 galleries isn’t included in your CityPASS, but I highly recommend paying extra for it. The large special exhibit on the Laika stop-motion movie studio is only about $7 more. But it’s an easy sell when you’ve basically gotten the rest of your visit for free.
I took my time in the MoPop, watching all the videos and looking at everything, and it took me almost 6 hours. If you don’t have that kind of time, try to budget at least 3-4 hours to see it all.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
I consider Chihuly Garden and Glass one of the not-to-be-missed attractions in Seattle. I would definitely include it in your CityPASS options. It’s much more commercial than your average art museum, but it’s so beautifully lit that you can’t help but be wowed by it. Each room seems to open with a moneyshot of the artist’s large-scale works.
That being said, it’s not large. And it’s a one-way path through the indoor galleries and pretty much the outdoor space too, so there’s not a lot of wandering off to do. Definitely try to catch a glass-blowing demonstration, especially if you’ve never seen one before. And unless you plan on sitting in the theater to watch all of the videos, you can plan to spend around one and a half hours here.
The gift shop is on the artsy/museum-y side. If you’re looking for more basic souvenirs, or even the items made on-site, go next door to the Space Needle.
Woodland Park Zoo
The Woodland Park Zoo is the only attraction outside of Seattle’s city center. So if you don’t have access to a car during your Seattle trip, this might be the attraction you skip. I really enjoyed my visit, however! It’s a large park with a world-class zoo and amazing habitats and animals. It’s easily the best zoo I’ve ever been to. And just a lovely park beside, with wide-open lawns and woods. It’s a lovely way to get out of the city for a bit.
If you don’t have a car but want to make the effort, I’m sure you can get there using the Seattle bus system, and definitely with a ride-share service. It’s about four miles directly north of the Space Needle, or roughly a 10-minute drive. It’s also the cheapest option of all the attractions, so if you do everything else on the pass, this would be the cheapest to add on separately.
I recommend taking at least half a day here. I spent 4 hours during my visit, and I think it would be hard to see it in much less time – it’s one big circle. Set aside a whole day if you want to try to catch some of the excellent keepers’ talks or shows.
Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour
The one-hour Argosy Cruises Harbor Tour is the attraction I chose to skip. It gets really good reviews, so it sounds like a great way to get the overall history of Seattle, a chance to get out onto the water, and offers a different view of the city. The tours are narrated by a real guide and not a canned recording. It also makes a good option if you’re shorter on time since it’s limited to the one-hour tour time.
Touring Suggestions
The Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and the Museum of Pop Culture are all right next to each other. The Seattle Aquarium and Argosy boat tours are down on the waterfront, behind Pike Place Market. The two sections are connected by the Seattle Center Monorail, so it’s easy(ish) to get between the two big tourist areas without a car or bus pass. (You do have to walk a few blocks from Pike Place to the monorail station, and there are currently lots of steps from Pike Place down to the waterfront.) And then, of course, the zoo is a bit north of the rest.
I’m not sure if it’s possible to do everything in one day, but you could try if you rush. I’d start at the Space Needle, then do the Chihuly gallery, and then see as much of the MoPop as you can fit in before and after lunch. (Eat at the Armory food hall and NOT at the MoPop cafe.) Take the monorail, then walk down to Pike Place Market, past the gum wall, and down the steps to the waterfront and visit the Seattle Aquarium in the afternoon. Then take a late harbor cruise from a few piers down. Find dinner in the market or any of the surrounding restaurants. Then take the monorail back to city center, and watch the sunset from the Space Needle. This obviously cuts out the zoo, though you could add it on to a second day.
Or, thematically, you could do the zoo and the aquarium on the same day, tack on more time at Pike’s Place Market, and a sunset ride on the Seattle Great Wheel. Then make the Space Needle area its own day.
How I Toured Seattle Using the CityPASS
I’ll tell you, I crammed a lot into a day or two of Seattle touring, but I didn’t do it quite like I describe above. Since I was housesitting nearby, I had a little more time. The Seattle CityPASS is good for 9 days starting from the first use, so you can use it over a couple of weekends if you need to.
I spent most of one Sunday at the Woodland Park Zoo. Then the following Friday, I pre-paid parking at the KOMO plaza garage (through SpotHero) and had my Big Touring Day. I started at the Space Needle, then Chihuly Garden and Glass. (I should have had lunch at the Armory or Pike Place, but I didn’t.) Then, I took the Monorail and walked through Pike Place Market, and visited the Seattle Aquarium.
By this time, I was super hot and tired and needed a place to sit down in the air conditioning, so I bought an (overpriced) ticket to the Seattle Art Museum. I don’t love the collection, but it did the trick and got me through the hottest part of the afternoon. Then I went back to the waterfront to visit Miner’s Landing and the Seattle Great Wheel. After dinner in the market, I took the monorail back to the Space Needle and waited at the top until sunset.
The next day, I spent almost the entire day at the Museum of Pop Culture. When it closed, I walked down to the Olympic Sculpture Park (lots of park, little sculpture) and down to the waterfront paths for a while. There is certainly a LOT MORE to see in Seattle, but I feel like I covered the basics, mainly with the help of the CityPASS.
Conclusion
And there you have it. The Seattle CityPASS is a fantastic deal and it’s easy to use. Most people who use it seem to really like it – it’s absolutely NOT a scam or not worth it. So the next time you’re in Seattle, think about using the CityPASS to knock off some items on your travel bucket list and save up to 47%!
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