Even if you think you know Seattle, weguarantee that by your next visit, the city will have changed. Because that isthe nature of Seattle, always marching unashamedly towards the future. This isthe city that gave us Starbucks, Nirvana and Fraser (plus numerous other celebritiesfrom music legends to retail giants). It’s a city that knows how to surf thenext wave with aplomb and grace. It is the city of the future. That is not to say that it doesn’t treatits past with respect. Settled by five pioneer families in 1851, the townquickly grew after the Northern Railway was extended to meet the coast in 1893.The Gold Rush of 1897 sealed the city as one of the great places on the westcoast. The history of the city’s 100 Mercer girls –  girls that were brought back by pioneer AsaMercer who deemed the city had shortage of marriageable women – is just one ofthe quirky facts that makes the Seattle impossible not to love. Seattle is the largest city in the state ofWashington, yet there is a village vibe that is uncommon in metropolises. Ifyou truly want to enjoy the unique hybrid of tradition and progression, thentake a tour of Pike Place, Seattle’s famous farmer’s market. This was where theterm “locavore” was coined, and local producer-customer meetings are not onlycommonplace, but are encouraged. Go hungry as the huge indoor market is ladenwith tasty options of food options, from fresh vegetables and fruit from toprepared food that can be eaten whilst enjoying a great view of the bay.

Seattle is a scenic seaport city in western Washington, situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east. It is the largest city in Washington. Five pioneer families from Illinois first settled the area in 1851, and named the town after a friendly Suquamish Indian chief. It was incorporated as a city in 1869, and grew quickly after the Great Northern Railway arrived in 1893, especially during the Alaska Gold Rush of 1897. When the Panama Canal opened in 1914, Seattle became a major Pacific port of entry, and today it is the region's commercial and transportation hub and the centre of manufacturing, trade, and finance, with an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015.