Pioneer Square

Here, where the streets of downtown's business district angle down around Elliott Bay to the south, are the flatlands where Seattle was first built. Nightclubs, art galleries, tourist shops, design firms and restaurants dominate Pioneer Square. The area's First Thursday art walk draws huge crowds to the studios, galleries and street performers, and the nightclubs keep the neighbourhood buzzing with activity till wee hours of the morn'. The kitschy Underground Tour explaining Seattle's early history is a perennial tourist favorite, as is the more sober Klondike Gold Rush Museum, which details the Yukon gold fever that made Seattle richer. Yesler Way, which slices the neighbourhood in half, has a footnote in history as the original "skid row". There are also several small parks in the area, including the quiet Waterfall Park, the shady cobblestones of Occidental Park, and the totem-pole decorated triangle at First and Yesler, Pioneer Place Park. The neighbourhood also marks the popular shopping destination of the city, famous for all kinds of knickknacks such as tapestries, rare artworks, books and what-nots!