Introduction

Life at the University of Washington, despite its reputation for academic excellence and its high international rankings, is not all work and no play. In fact, what with the university being located in such a dynamic city, there is loads to do and see when you’re not at lectures or studying for your courses. Seattle does, after all, have the largest population in the whole of Washington, and it’s also where grunge music was born, and, for the coffee lovers amongst you, where Starbucks was founded. It’s such a huge exciting city that it’s almost impossible to be bored there.

Take in some culture

That’s something you will have plenty of opportunity to do in Seattle! The Fifth Avenue theatre is a good place to start, it was built in 1926, specializes in musical shows and is very famous and worth going to. There are also numerous other venues. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra, for example, is one of the world’s most recorded, so do make sure you go and see them – they often perform at Benaroya Hall. The Seattle Poetry Festival is definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in that kind of thing, because as far as huge festivals with great contemporary poets go, it doesn’t get any better. Or would you like to visit a museum? Five good museums and galleries to go to are the Seattle Art Museum, the Frye Art Museum, the Henry Art Gallery, Consolidated Works, and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. There is also a museum that’s actually on campus, namely the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. If you just want to catch a movie, that won’t be a problem since there are loads of cinemas, but do make sure you don’t miss out on the famous Cinerama.

Chill out outdoors

Are you more an outdoor sort of person? That’s perfect, because Seattle has a very mild climate that’s neither too cold nor too hot and just right for most sports and outdoor activities. In fact, the university itself proposes an athletic programme made up of eleven men’s sports and twelve women’s sports, so why not give that a try? Or you could just go for a walk or laze around in Discorery Park, the largest park in the city. There is actually a beach right in West Seattle, namely Alki beach, so if you want to relax and get tanned in summer, that’s a nice place to do so. And obviously, the place you cannot miss out on when you’re in the city is the Space Needle, the most famous landmark of Seattle. It was actually built for the 1962 World Fair, but up there you’ll find a gift shop and the SkyCity restaurant today, both of which you should go and see.

Get some shopping done

Seattle is home to one of the oldest public markets in the US, namely Pike Place Market. You can purchase almost anything there, ranging from food (fish from the famous Fish Market, maybe?) to comic books,  and it also offers numerous restaurants and places to grab a refreshment. There are also a lot of malls to choose from, like Westlake Center or Northgate Mall. There’s also entire shopping districts in Seattle, such as the downtown shopping district, which is full of stores of famous fashion brand names, or the more casual and less glamorous Freemont shopping district of Seattle. At the International District shopping, you can get food, drink and other products of the entire world if you feel like it. And if you’d like to grab a drink after, the original Starbucks store on Pike Place is still open!

Get out!

Whatever you choose to do, university should be an all-round experience and not just an opportunity to build up your knowledge. Make the most out of living in a great city like Seattle, get around and experience things that will be worth telling even your grandchildren about.