You can easily kill a couple hours in the art museum. They have a strange website, however, so I have no idea really what their current featured exhibits are. Pike Street Market is good for lots of really fresh fruits and veggies, not quite tourist expensive but more than Trader Joes. Elliott Bay Book Company is easy to reach via bus, but its selection is the usual for a place that caters to the sf/fantasy and mystery set. While in that neighborhood, you can hit Linda's at 707 East Pine for a drink, a burger, and some colorful locals.

I like walking east on 45th Street from Aurora Avenue into the University District for local neighborhood shopping/entertainment flavor. Start at Archie McPhee's and you can grab a bus anywhere along the way.

Thanks, Ardiril,I think I'm working near the University District so maybe I'll wander around when I get out.

See if you can get the space needle to launch. Into space.

The Experience Music Project at Seattle Center.

The ferry from Elliot Bay over to Winslow on Bainbridge Is. A great view of Seattle and Mt. Rainier (on a clear day) and some nice walking around in Winslow.

There was a Thai place on University called Veggie Veggie which I remember to be very good. . .

The Public Library, if for no other reason to see what has some people so in love with it and others so pissed off about the design.

In the U District, you could probably kill an entire weekend on The Ave and not feel like you missed anything by not going out into the rest of the city.

Oh yeah, I'd heard about the library! Thanks, danf.
Eid, I think that's going to be a little tough but I'll see what I can do.

Thumbs up on the Pike Street Market, look out for flying salmon. Snoqualmie Falls is pretty cool.

For food I think that Thai, Sushi and Vietnamese is better on average then what I've had in NYC. Which isn't to say you couldn't probably find the best there somewhere -its NYC afterall. But on average I think a random Thai, Sushi or Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle will be better. In the U-District there is an amazing Vegan Thai place Araya's Place which is amazing (if you like Thai food of course). It's one of those places you can take meat eaters to and they love it as well. The Avocado Green Curry is the bomb. On University Avenue ("The Ave") is numerous Pho places - Than Brothers being one of the most ubiquitous that is also totally good and has a vegetarian broth that is really good (there are definitely better Pho places but Than Bros. is all over and plenty good). Thai Tom which is a bit north of 45th on the Ave is a super busy, super tiny Thai place where every order is cooked from scratch right in front of you. Fun to watch and the freshest food I've had (and hot of the stove hot). Amazing to watch curry, noodles or Tom Yum soup made in a wok a couple of feet from you.

The University Bookstore is excellent and well worth going to. There are several used bookstores in the blocks around the U Bookstore as well. If you like poetry I'd go to Open Books on 45th which is just a few blocks walk up from the core U-Distric. Plenty of other stuff on 45th if poetry isn't your bag from the classic Dick's Drive-in (for the BF perhaps), the Golden Oldies records store and the Comics Dungeon to the Erotic Bakery. Further up on 45th you are into Wallingford proper and there is lots of great eats and shops. Like beer? Go to Bottleworks, Like gelato? Go to Fainting Goat. Bread? The Boulangeriemore. Ice Cream? Molly Moon's is your place. Tea? Teahouse Kuan Yin is my favorite teahouse in Seattle. It's a nice walk and there is so much along there that's its fun to just window shop or check out stuff to your fancy. When I lived in the U-District I walked up there a couple of times a week.

Back in the U-District proper Portage Bay Cafe is my favorite breakfast spot. The Henry Art Gallery is the place to go for contemporary art and while you are in the area the University Campus is quite nice to stroll around. There are of course tons of cafes, clubs, concert venues and such. Grab a free copy of the Seattle Weekly or The Stranger to see what's playing in and around you.

Here's what's showing at the Seattle Art Museum right now: Current Exhibitions. IMO the exhibitions should be the primary factor on whether it is must go or not. Their permeant collection is just not comparable to the many great art museums in NYC (there are some nice pieces in the modern and contemporary wing, but it's no MoMA). However the Native Art and the Asian Art collections are definitely worth seeing if that's to your taste or if you are curious to see some stuff you probably won't see elsewhere. Native art will be found in SAM Downtown (the primary museum) and their Asian holdings are so extensive they have a seperate museum on Capitol Hill dedicated solely to Asian Art (the SAAM).

I would definitely go to the outdoor Olympic Sculpture Park. There is some nice art there (The Calder, the Serra, the Neukom Vivarium). But there is also excellent views of the Space Needle, the waterfront, the city and on a nice day (which this weekend is forecast to be) the Olympic Mountains. Plus it will give you some nice out doors exercise - you can walk all the way down to the water and walk on the trails on the waterfront, on the beach or even all the way to the piers and the stairs up to Pike Place Market.

Lot's of great restaurants down in this area as well and here is where you'll find many of the great Seattle Seafood places. And definitely don't come to Seattle and not get some fresh seafood. Pacific seafood will be fresher then you can get in NYC (for obvious reasons) and there are definitely some top drawer chefs and such if that's your bag. But any seafood place that has a fresh sheet and does even basic cooking (cedar planked salmon is hard to mess up).

On the outdoorsy tip this is what I'd do: rent bicycles. In the U-District I'd go to Recycled Cycles to do so, great shop, close by and right on the trails. Then you can get on the Burke-Gillman Trail and ride West from the U-District to Fremont and Ballard. There is tons to do in each of these neighborhoods (hit me up if you want suggestions). You can also easily cross the Fremont Bridge and take the Ship Canal Trail all the way to the Aforementioned Olympic Sculpture Park. Alternatively you can ride east on the trail and go all the way around Lake Washington to Bothell where the trail becomes the Sammamish River Trail and will take you all the way to Redmond. Really nice and easy riding and looking like perfect weather this weekend (though the trails can be busy on nice weekends this usually isn't an issue if you are leisurely riding).

So you can get to plenty of areas in and around the City on easy and safe trails. There are parks, restaurants, shops, neighborhoods, public art etc all along the trails. If one is willing to stray from them there are good routes everywhere (though they can be hilly) throughout the city, though you definitely want to be comfortable with city riding (Seattle drivers are rather polite but there is always just a lot more to pay attention to).