Pike Place Market, Seattle, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Pike Place Market is a historic public market on the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, where farmers, fishmongers, craftspeople and food stalls have traded since 1907. It is one of the oldest continuously operating public markets in the United States and remains the city's best-known place to see local produce, seafood and street life in one spot.

The story behind it

The market began in 1907 as a way for local farmers to sell their produce straight to customers, without a middleman taking a cut. Farmers pulled their wagons up to the boardwalk along Pike Place, and shoppers came to buy directly from them. Over the years fish sellers, bakers, craft makers and small restaurants joined the farmers, and the market grew over several levels down the hillside toward the water.

The market has not always been secure. In the early 1970s Seattle voters backed a citizens' initiative to protect it from redevelopment, and the area became a historic district. That is why it still feels like a working market rather than a shopping centre. Hundreds of people still live in apartments in and around the market, so it is a neighbourhood as well as an attraction.

What to look for

• The large Public Market Center sign and clock at the main entrance on Pike Place is the market's best-known landmark and a popular spot for photographs.
• Rachel, the bronze piggy bank near the entrance, is a favourite meeting point, and the money dropped into her supports local services.
• The fish stalls are worth a pause, where staff are known for tossing whole fish across the counter to each other before wrapping an order.
• The lower levels and side passages hide small shops, bookstores and curiosities that most visitors walking straight through the main arcade miss.

Tips for your visit

• Allow at least an hour to wander the main arcade and a little more if you want to eat, browse the lower levels or sample from the stalls.
• Go early in the day when the stalls are setting up and the crowds are thinner, as the market gets very busy around midday and at weekends.
• Walking in is free, and you can browse the covered arcades and street stalls without buying anything. Check current opening hours, since individual stalls and shops keep their own schedules.
• The waterfront, Post Alley and the downtown streets are all close by on foot, so it fits easily into a longer walk of the area.

See it on a quest

Pike Place Market works well as one stop on a longer walk through central Seattle. On Seattle Gold Rush: Race to the S.S. Portland you reach the area on foot, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It draws on the city's gold rush era, and it is a good way to see the market and the streets around it with a purpose rather than just following the crowd. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like.