With his idyllic waterfront home In the classic rom-com Sleepless In Seattle, it’s no wonder Tom Hanks’s character Sam attracts Meg Ryan’s Annie.
The Hollywood movie, directed by Nora Ephron, was a box office hit 30 years ago and Seattle showed itself off as a fabulous location and place to live.
Sam works as an architect but, since the film was made, it’s software development that’s fuelled the affluent urban growth. Seattle’s become more diverse, vibrant, and very cosmopolitan.
This dynamic port in the Pacific Northwest is now big on the tech scene, with Microsoft and Amazon both headquartered here.
The largest city in Washington State, with plenty of parkland, there’s water everywhere and forests and mountains within easy access.
1. Cocktail cruise past Sam’s home
Seattle sits on Puget Sound, a huge coastal trough etched out by glaciers 12,000 years ago, east of the Olympic Mountain range. There’s a community of about 500 floating homes and 250 houseboats on Lake Union, which joins the estuary, and Sam Baldwin’s abode — where he lives with his son — is one of them.
Now privately owned, the best way to check out the Westlake Avenue North four-bedroom property is by boat. Canderé Cruising (visitseattle.org) offers private cocktail cruises for small groups or you can rent an inflatable dinghy to row yourself around.
It’s a bonus to sail with Captain Curt, as he can point out all the key sights on Seattle’s waterways. Sam’s house, which reportedly sold for $2million in 2014, is still easy to spot and you can also take in Gas Works Park and Fremont Bridge.
It’s from the bridge that Annie secretly watches Sam and son Jonah on their motorboat, determined to meet the lonely widower. (Let’s face it, she’s an unashamed stalker.)
2. The gateway to the gold fields
Several of Sleepless In Seattle’s multi-city interior scenes were shot in Seattle, too. The walrus-adorned Arctic Building, used for a sequence in ‘Baltimore’, was built with riches from the 1896-99 Klondike gold rush. Tens of thousands prospectors scrambling to the Yukon in Canada set off from Seattle, dubbed ‘the gateway to the gold fields’. Local merchants prospered by stocking up on survival supplies for the hardy pioneers and the city thrived.
Learn more at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park display in downtown Seattle, within the historic Cadillac Hotel (historicseattle.org). Said to be haunted, the hotel was constructed in 1889 and, after just about surviving 2001’s earthquake, the building has many tales to tell.
If you have the time to follow the gold trail yourself, cruises to Alaska set sail from Seattle, so it’s a great way to extend your trip.
3. Fresh seafood in Pike Place Market
Founded in 1907, Pike Place Market overlooks the Elliott Bay waterfront. It began as a farmers’ market and is now a labyrinth of stalls across multiple levels, with colourful flower displays, crafts, antiques, curiosities, fruit and vegetables and very vocal fishmongers. A theatrical display of packing up iced fish draws quite a crowd.
Sam meets mate Jay (Rob Reiner) in the Athenian Seafood Restaurant And Bar (athenianseattle.com), at 1517 Pike Place, to talk about dating over steamed clams. Sleepless In Seattle fans around the world turn up to sit on Sam’s stool, which is helpfully marked with a plaque saying, “Tom Hanks sat here”.
4. Hotels with big personalities
Cast and crew stayed at Hotel Sorrento (hotelsorrento.com) during filming for Sleepless in Seattle and it doubles as The Plaza in New York. Entering the lobby is like walking back in time, with dramatic rich Peruvian mahogany panelling unchanged since 1909. Try a cocktail in the elegant Fireside Room, which has long attracted poets, artists, and performers.
We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel (edgewaterhotel.com), and its convenient location on Pier 67 means the views are sensational. Plus the décor is quirky, with tangled antler lampshades, plaid carpet, and tree-trunk pillars.
The Beatles stayed here on their first world tour and hysterical fans jumped into the water to try to reach them. The Fab Four were photographed fishing from their window and you can buy a mug with the 1964 shot in the gift shop.
The Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle’s largest downtown green space, is right alongside the Edgewater and the Serious Pie pizzeria (seriouspieseattle.com) just 15 minutes away on foot. In Sleepless in Seattle, Sam is snapped at the restaurant (formerly called Dahlia Lounge) by the private detective hired by obsessed Annie. (Run, Sam, run….!)
5. Whales from West Seattle’s sandy beach
The King County Water Taxi from Pier 50 will take you across to West Seattle and sandy Alki Beach. Annie follows Sam and Jonah here and it’s a great area for cycling or strolling, with a two-and-a-half mile-long pedestrian walkway.
In summer, don’t forget your sunscreen (yes, Seattle is sunny!). Autumn and winter are the best seasons for sighting orcas from Alki, while grey whales are most often seen in spring.
Grab brunch-to-go at Marination Ma Kai (marinationmobile.com), a laid-back Hawaiian-Korean café serving delicious tacos and kimchi rice bowls.
And, before you cross back downtown, stop for a coffee and a browse at Easy Street Records (easystreetonline.com), an independent record store and cool place to hang out.
6. Bars, clubs, and music legends
Jump on the Link light rail to reach Capitol Hill for spirited nightlife and entertainment. It’s Seattle’s LGBTQ+ epicentre, alive with artists and musicians.
Honk! Fest West (honkfestwest.org), in June, is an energetic community-supported street band event and the Capitol Hill Block Party (capitolhillblockparty.com) follows in July.
Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle and the legendary guitar player is immortalised in a bronze statue on Broadway. He has his own park, too, next to the Northwest African American Museum.
Kurt Cobain’s Fender Stratocaster is part of the Nirvana: Taking Punk To The Masses exhibition at the Museum Of Pop Culture and Kurt’s fans still head to Viretta Park, next to Kurt’s former home, to pay their respects.
7. Sky-high towers for scenic views
You can’t visit Seattle without encountering the Space Needle. Annie passes the iconic tower as she’s driving around searching for Sam and it’s instantly recognisable in long shots.
Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the 184-metre structure’s futuristic design celebrates the Space Age. The panorama from the floor-to-ceiling windows on the circular flying saucer-inspired viewing level is a must-see.
Annie asks Sam to meet her at the Empire State Building’s Observation Deck in New York (actually filmed inside a Puget Sound naval hanger), but it would have been a whole lot easier if she’d chosen the Smith Tower in Seattle.
The stylish 38-storey skyscraper was completed with high-quality craftsmanship in 1914 and still runs beautiful brass lifts. On the 35th floor, the speakeasy-style Observatory Bar & Deck has an antique oriental Wishing Chair, said to have been gifted by China’s Empress Dowager Cixi.
Singletons who take a seat in it can expect to be married within the year. Annie, that’s all you had to do…
Getting to Seattle
Return fares with British Airways from London Heathrow to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport start from £429.
A stay at The Edgewater Hotel starts at £299.
For more information on Seattle, please visit visitseattle.org
