Although not usually full of snow, winters in Seattle do have coolish temperatures and lots of heavy rain. The city's dreary winter weather makes some tourists weary about visiting the city during winter. However, Seattle offers plenty of healthy indoor activities that allow explorers to stay out of the rain, and it also offers outdoor sports that more adventurous people find fun even during winter.
Museums
Seattle offers some good museums that provide shelter from the winter rain, education and some indoor walking space for light exercise. Music lovers can check out the Experience Music Project, which sits in the same building as the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. Seattle's Pacific Science Center provides fun science-related education that both adults and kids enjoy, and art lovers can visit the Seattle Art Museum.
Winter Sports
Seattle's nearby mountains get plenty of snow for winter sports. The Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau recommends skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, hockey, figure skating, ice climbing, rock climbing and mountain climbing as healthy nearby winter activities. Kayak and bike rentals are also common around the city. Less ambitious athletes can enjoy walking around on easy park paths, walking along the waterfront and exploring the city on foot. Just remember an umbrella or raincoat.
Performances
Seattle has a variety of arts performances options for locals and visitors. The city's Convention and Visitors Bureau recommends seeing a theater performance as well as visiting the local Pacific Northwest Ballet company, the Seattle Symphony or the Seattle Opera. All of these performances have indoor options to help visitors get out of the rainy winter weather. Kids love seeing the ballet perform the Nutcracker each winter, while more grown ups tend to go to the opera.
Cruises
A variety of cruises leave from Seattle at all times of the year. According to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, many local Pacific Northwest cruises last between one and four days, and Seattle also has a couple dinner cruise options. Many of the cruises have fine dining on board and also pass by great natural sights, like whales and islands off of Puget Sound.
Tours
There are several guided tour options in Seattle, many of which keep guests out of the winter weather by spending lots of time in restaurants, museums, sports facilities, theaters, boats or airplanes. Lots of the tours are educational and at least slightly active with focuses on local culture, sports, history and nature. For example, Private Eye on Seattle offers tours of past crime scenes along with interesting stories; Quest Field Tours takes visitors through the Seattle Seahawks baseball stadium; Chinatown Discovery Tours explores Chinatown; and Seattle by Foot has a walking coffeehouse tour.
Walking Attractions
Seattle has many attractions that visitors and locals can enjoy on foot. Some of them, like downtown shopping areas, the Museum of Flight, restaurants and the Pike Place Market, provide shelter from rain and cold weather. Others, like the waterfront and parks, appeal more to slightly adventurous explorers during winter weather conditions. Walking provides great light exercise for people of many ages and fitness levels and is a healthy alternative to driving around town for sightseeing.
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