From Wenatchee we tour through the beautiful Okanogan-Wenatchee National forest to Seattle, nicknamed 'Emerald city' because of the evergreen forests in the area.
Seattle is located on the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by rivers, lakes and forests. It is home to Boeing, the espresso machine, Starbucks and Microsoft. Seattle is known for its coffee culture. Sights of the city are the Pike Place Market or the Seattle Aquarium. A visit to the magical Space Needle is also worthwhile. The Washington State Ferries are a great way to discover the area. They depart from Pier 50 and 52 and 801 Alaskan Way in the center and connect the city with the Olympic Peninsula, Bainbridge Island and other parts of the region. Another travel option is the monorail. The 1.6-kilometer route connects Seattle city center with Seattle Center, the towering Space Needle, the Pacific Science Center, the Experience Music Project and a number of other entertainment venues.
The monorail was built for the 1962 World Exhibition and runs all week.

Seattle Center:
The Seattle Center covers 74 hectares of city park and houses the Space Needle, the Children's Museum Children's Theater, the Seattle Opera, Seattle Repertory and the Key Arena. Space Needle: The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World Exhibition and defines the characteristic Seattle skyline. De Needle is 184 meters high and the top has a revolving restaurant, among other things. You also have a beautiful view from the Columbia Center. The observation deck is slightly higher and also cheaper.

Pioneer Square:
Pioneer Square is the historic center of the city, where the first pioneers settled. You will find art galleries, cafés, book stores and a part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The park commemorates the important role that Seattle played in the nineteenth-century gold rush. At night, Pioneer Square is the bustling center of Seattle's nightlife.

The Original Starbucks:
Visit the very first coffee house of this world-famous chain and view the history of Starbucks while enjoying a 'sloppy joe'. The coffee house is located at Pike Place Market, the oldest farmer's market in the United States. Experience Music Project: An interactive music museum with advanced exhibitions about the history of American pop music and the legends of Seattle music, including Jimi Hendrix, who was born and raised there. You can also make music yourself in the museum. Ballard Locks: The Ballard Locks, officially called the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, form a lock between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal. The lock is a nice sight: on the quay, tourists are often watching all the boats waiting for the water level to be high enough to sail on. A fish passage for salmon has also been installed at the lock. Through glass panels under water you can see how the salmon make the crossing to the other water. Just north of the Ballard Locks is the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical garden.

Lake union:
Within the city limits of Seattle lies the large Lake Union, which is an ideal destination for recreation. On the shore lies the popular Gas Works Park, where many festivals are organized in the summer and a large fireworks show takes place during Independence Day. In addition, there are several smaller parks on the lake. Lake Union is known for the many floating houses, which together form one of the largest floating communities in America. Boeing factory: A few kilometers outside of Seattle you will find the factory of aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which has Seattle as its home port. Guided tours are given daily where you can see the development process of these huge devices.

In this 4-star route you will drive on beautiful good roads, and through beautiful surroundings, you will certainly stop 1 or more times in the beautiful Okanogan-Wenatchee National forest.

History:
Archaeological research has shown that people have been living in the Seattle area for at least four thousand years. Seattle was founded around 1850, when the Duwamish tribe inhabited several villages within the current city limits. Seattle is named after Chief Seattle, leader and prominent figure within the Indian tribe.

When the settlers entered the area not much later, they immediately saw opportunities for a thriving port city. Seattle became known for the timber industry and the transportation of timber to San Francisco. With the introduction of the steamwood sawmill, Seattle completely took over the timber industry in the US. In the following decades, the original lumberjack village developed into a city of considerable size. The economic success was so great that, after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the completely destroyed business center quickly rose to the same place. The economic boom extended into the first part of the twentieth century.
Many of Seattle's larger companies and products reaped the benefits.

The famous Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the nineteenth century contributed to the development of Seattle into a transit center of some size. Seattle became the largest transit and supply point for miners in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. While only a few miners found lasting prosperity, Seattle earned gold by dressing and feeding the workers.

During the Great Depression of 1929, Seattle was hit hard economically and the city lost much of its maritime traffic at the port of Los Angeles, thanks in part to the violent strikes of 1934. After the Second World War, the economy picked up considerably when aircraft manufacturer Boeing held a strong position on the airliner market. Seattle celebrated its restored prosperity with the Century 21 Exposition, the World Exhibition of 1962, for which the famous Space Needle was built. In 1962, no fewer than two million people visited the Space Needle, which still defines Seattle's characteristic horizon.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the economy fell into such a mess that many left the city to look for work elsewhere. Two brokers took up the migration trend and placed a billboard with the text: "Will the last person leave Seattle please turn out the lights."

In 1979, Microsoft settled in nearby Bellevue. Seattle and its suburbs became the home base for various technology companies such as Amazon and Realnetworks. In addition, the first branch of the world-famous coffee chain Starbucks in Seattle was opened. Seattle was only really put on the map in the early nineties, when bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains laid the foundation for the grunge rock.