Your Itinerary: A Weekend in Ballard
From the Hometown Series on Seattle, a reader’s (and eater’s) paradise.
You’ve seen Sleepless in Seattle. You know the city is blanketed in grey mist for eight months every year and that the seafood almost makes up for the “bad” weather.
You might even think you know enough about Seattle to omit the city from your 2025 travel wishlist.
I won’t allow that!
Seattle is a reader’s paradise with glorious public libraries, the best independent bookstore in the world (hello, Elliott Bay Book Company), and too many cozy coffee shops to count.
Since Seattle is my hometown, I couldn’t possibly cover everything worth seeing in a single post. So, I’ll be sharing a few ways to see Seattle, one weekend at a time, from hyperlocal perspectives.
Your first home base: Ballard.
Where You’ll Stay: Ballard
A short history of the neighborhood: mid 1800s, Scandinavian immigrants flock to the Ballard area to work in the logging and fishing industries. They’ve been there ever since, fishing and baking and roasting in the sun without SPF.
In this historic district you’ll find well-preserved shipyards, 19th century brick buildings lining Ballard Ave, and some of the best waterfront views in the city.
What to Pack
To inspire your own packing, take a peek at what’s in my suitcase to visit home in the spring.
Take note:
The key here is layers for wacky temps!
Patent loafies are water resistant powerhouses comfortable enough for 10k step days.
Locals don’t typically stress the rain because they have built their wardrobes piece by gore-tex piece. Unless gorpcore is your thing, just pack an umbrella and you’ll be fine.
Your Itinerary Fodder
To be fair, these Seattle Series posts aren’t really itineraries. Instead, consider the following recommendations made with love, organized by activity, to loosely guide your time in Seattle (while leaving space for mood and preference!).
Sleep
Hotel Ballard: stay at this early 1902 bank building-turned-boutique hotel and you won’t need a car to explore anything listed below. Hotel Ballard guests get access to the luxe Olympic Athletic Club next door as part of your stay. The club occupies an 1890s building with exposed brick, large windows, and lofted ceilings.
Sip
Miro Tea: my favorite place to read indoors! Miro is a bright tea cafe and bakery boasting over 150 tea offerings, groovy world music playlists, and some of the best reading (and people watching) spots in the city just inside their floor to ceiling windows. Maybe avoid on Sundays (Farmer’s Market crowd) unless you don’t mind waiting in a long line and taking your drink to go!
Skål Beer Hall: Aquavit! Mead! Lingonberry cocktails! This Nordic-inspired beer hall also serves pretzels the size of your head, fiskesuppe, pickled herring, pølse, and sometimes they have cardamom buns, too.
Victrola Coffee Roasters: usually busy, but if you can find a seat, it’s a great spot to settle in with a book and a coffee, feels like a time capsule to the grungier Seattle of the early 90s.
Shop
Twice Sold Tales: used bookstore heavy on the old paper smell. The resident cat may follow you around the stacks if you’re lucky!
Secret Garden Books: indie bookstore selling new books. They have a hefty, varied selection given their relatively small size.
Lucky Dry Goods: my favorite vintage shop in the city! Well organized selection of sweaters, coats, leather goods, jewelry, and shoes. Tags labeled with decade.
Keil Studio: a favorite art destination. Robert, the artist and owner of this space, makes incredibly beautiful “functional art” from wood, reminiscent of the Japanese Yakisugi technique. Robert is super sweet, swing by for a chat and an up-close look at his wares.
Woodland Mod: a few storefronts down from Keil Studio is a bright wooded space offering Japandi style home decor, kitchen supplies, books, stationery, and other gifts.
Snack
Dough Joy: handmade donuts in a Pink Pony Club (shh they’re vegan… but you’d never know!). Order the Vanilla Biscoff Donut or the seasonal Mexican Hot Chocolate Donut if you’re there later in the year.
The Other Coast Cafe: the Rajun Cajun and a bag of Tim’s Cascade jalapeño chips, that’s the order.
Hot Cakes Ballard: gooey molten chocolate cakes with ice cream. Vegan/GF option! Hits the spot on a cold or cloudy day.
Satiate
Un Bien: Paseo was home to the best Caribbean roast sandwiches in Seattle and named some of the best in the country years ago. When Paseo shut down, the owners’ sons started Un Bien using the same family recipes. There are always long lines on sunny days. Pro tip for the GF girlies: order any of their proteins with sides of rice, beans, and charred onions for a satisfying meal, sans pan! If you have access to a car, take your sandos down the road to Golden Gardens. Don’t forget to share with the seagulls.
San Fermo: In 2016, an old house with white shingles tucked between brick business buildings became a family-run Italian restaurant. San Fermo cooks with locally sourced ingredients and they make their pastas in-house. Cozy bar and patio, both great for reading!
Ray’s Cafe: watch paddle boarders cruise around Shilshole Bay while eating local seafood. The upstairs cafe is less formal than its downstairs counterpart, but with its river rock fireplace, wood beam ceiling, and panoramic views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains, I’ve never felt the need to dine downstairs.
Asadero Ballard: Northern Mexican style steakhouse, many wagyus to choose from!
Portage Bay Cafe: no one does breakfast like Portage Bay! The wait on weekends is long, get there early. They’re known for a fruity, whip-creamy pancake/waffle bar but their savory scrambles and egg dishes using local ingredients are always tasty, too.
Rupee Bar: Sri Lankan bites, tapas style, in a jewel toned space. Tiles and spices and some of the most interesting flavors to be found in Ballard.
La Carta de Oaxaca: Mole. That’s all you need to know about this spot. I’m also a fan of the the family-style seating along long timber slab tables and the thick terracotta tiles underfoot, as well.
Salmon Bay Cafe: nestled between a plastic fabricator and a boat repair shop stands Salmon Bay Cafe, serving standard diner fare. The interior has been untouched for who knows how long. I find it charming. It’s the kind of place where you can trust the hashbrowns.
See
Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks: such a fun and weird place! Free to enter. The nation’s busiest locks! It allows big boats to travel into—and be moored within—the fresh waters of Lake Union and Lake Washington from the salty Puget Sound. Alaskan Fishing Fleets moor their boats in Fisherman’s Bay and use the locks to set out towards the Northern Pacific, where they’re responsible for about half of the nation’s seafood catch. Sometimes, seals hitch a ride up to the lakes alongside boats, drawn into the area by the salmon gunning for the 21 step ladder enabling them to pass over the locks. During the summer months, you can traverse a narrow walkway to the locks’ south shore, enter the Fish Ladder building, and watch salmon make their journey up the ladder. To access all of this maritime fun, you must first walk through the verdant Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden. Did I mention this place is free?! Don’t miss the visitor center, if it’s open, for historical documentation of this project!
Sunday Farmer’s Market: year round, rain or shine! 9am - 2pm. Over 150 vendors selling locally produced groceries and sundries with are a few places to grab a bite of prepared food peppered throughout. I used to smash vegan/GF pizza wheels from Shambala Ancient Grain Bakery. Anything from Falafel Salam Co or Patty Pan Cooperative (tamales) is also a safe choice!
Nordic Museum: a fairly new museum, opened in 2018, housed in a zinc-covered, fjord-like building designed in partnership by Finland's Juhani Pallasmaa and the Seattle architectural firm, Mithun. The museum’s gift shop is well stocked with Scandi goods and Freya Cafe serves my favorite Danish snack, smørrebrød.
Seattle Public Library Ballard Branch: designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Pacific Northwest Architecture for the public! Take a few moments to enjoy the details: cedar beams, steel, and glass. Rest your feet, ask a librarian where the local books are, read about the neighborhood’s history.
Step
Golden Gardens: arrive just before sunset on a cloudless day to watch the sun disappear behind the mountains as you walk the path along the waterfront. Watch out for seals, jellyfish, eagles, and sea lions. Low tide might reveal crabs, starfish, or anemones. If the weather is warm, you’ll likely see beach volleyball games set up side by side in the sand. A 16-foot Leif Erickson statue also stands in the marina next door.
Serendipitously, while writing this, a few photos of Golden Gardens popped up on my phone with this message from my bestie, Tuilly, “Went to Golden Gardens for the sunshine and thought of you.” I told her I was writing about Golden Gardens at this very moment!
I asked if I could include her messages to give an idea of the Golden Gardens vibe. I truly could not have captured it better than her message to me, “All the birds were chirping too. And folks out there saying things like: (mom to kid) ‘you came out of my body, why are you littering,’ (quirky grandma) ‘I have a special kinship with crabs,’ (gen x motorcycle guy) ‘It’s just my disposition. I’m constantly elated but still an emo at heart.’”
Now I wanna go hang out with you in Ballard REAL bad!!!! Beautifully written 💕
You captured Ballard so well in this!!!! It makes me miss hanging out with you in this spots 🥲