Olympic National Park
The wet tropical forest of Hoh, less than three hours from Seattle, boasts moss-draped fir trees and cedars as high as 90 meters, gardens of ferns, plants with sparkling flowers and carpets of mushrooms. It is one of the top attractions in this 5000 km² park, which occupies most of the Olympic peninsula between the Pacific and Puget Sound. The park receives annual average precipitation of 3.69 meters.

In the southern coastal region of the Olympic Peninsula, you will discover an area of seaside resorts, golf courses and long vast beaches. It's also a great place to rent a boat and fish for salmon.

In Grayland, be sure to sample the clams. In Long Beach, miles of splendid sands await you, and in Ocean Shores, Tokeland and Willapa Bay, you can take a motorcycle or dune-buggy tour or just relax in the sun on the beach.

Seattle
Seattle is the largest city in Washington state and the largest port on the west coast. For the best views, head to the top of the Space Needle. Take the monorail from downtown to Seattle Center. An elevator will then whisk you to the 180 m high observation deck.

Visit the piers, Pike Place Market, and the historic district of Pioneer Square. Interesting museums include the Pacific Center Science and Marine Aquarium.

The Seattle Air Museum with its new "Personal Courage" wing allows you to admire 28 rare restored fighters from the two World Wars. Representing both sides, the displays allow visitors to compare the technological advances and the evolution of the fighter planes. Among the aircraft on display are a Fokker Triplane and an Albatross from the First World War and, from the Second World War, the famous P-38 Lightning, Messerschmitt Bf 109 as well as the Soviet Yak-9U, the sole example on the American continent.

After visiting Seattle's downtown, leave time to explore the surrounding neighborhoods, each with a distinct personality.

Ballard, founded by Scandinavian immigrants more than a hundred years ago, preserves its Scandinavian heritage with its Nordic Heritage museum, the only museum of its kind in the United States. There are also many locks to visit in this area.

Capitol Hill, the chic trendy district where tattooed and pierced young people live alongside wealthy businesspeople who have restored the old homes, boasts one of Seattle's prettiest parks, Volunteer Park, as well as a splendid museum of Asian art.

In the International District, the heart of Seattle's Asian community, you'll have the opportunity to sample numerous Asian cuisines and browse in the many specialty shops.

Fremont is the new hip district. Its many mural-covered buildings, sculptures and retro shops give Fremont a distinctively funky character.

To the north of Seattle, between North Cascades and Rosario Strait, lies a marvellous and busy coast. Secondary roads will lead you to the mountain or the countryside.

The Anacortes ferry (124 km northwest of Seattle) crosses the archipelago of the San Juan Islands and goes to Sidney, British Columbia.

If you want to do a one-day excursion from Seattle, why not discover Kitsap, the homeland of the Indian tribe of Suquamish and of Chief Seattle who gave his name to the city. After a 35 minute ferry crossing, you will go across the island and over the Agate Pass bridge toward Suquamish. You will arrive at Chief Seattle's tomb (he died in 1866), a stone monument surrounded by traditional dugouts, located at the top of the hill. Further towards Poulsbo stands the Museum of the Suquamish Indian Tribe, named by the Smithsonian as the best tribal museum on the northwest coast of the USA.

Tacoma
Tacoma is an important center of industry and lumber production, with a port that once played a key role in the copper ore industry.

Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park lies about two and a half hours southeast of Seattle, offering hundreds of miles of panoramic roads. The park has the largest glacial system in the United States, localized on a single top, Mount Rainier, that reaches 4391 meters in elevation. The road of the Chinook collar leads to the immense Emmons glacier, almost 10 km long.

Grand Coulee Dam
Some 250 km to the east of Mount Rainier and not far from Spokane, the Grand Coulee Dam, 168 meters high, regulates the flow of the Columbia River. It forms Lake Roosevelt, 248 km long.