Candy Cane Lane in Ravenna
Stroll NE Park Road in Ravenna, where residents have turned their street into Candy Cane Lane every year since 1949. About two dozen homes fill their yards with lights, candy cane poles and signs that say peace in many languages, and the centerpiece is a carousel that spins around a holly bush at the center of the display. It is free to visit, and neighbors run a food drive for the University District Food Bank, so bring a few canned goods. Make an evening of it with a walk through nearby Ravenna Park before dark.
Seattle Center: Winterfest and the Seattle Christmas Market
Spend a whole evening at Seattle Center, where Winterfest runs for about five weeks from late November through New Year's Eve with seasonal decor, ice sculpting and weekend entertainment on the Armory stage. Inside the Armory, the Winter Train and Village, a late 19th-century model train and village display, has been a holiday tradition for 50 years, and visitors can take a turn operating the train.
Out on the South Fountain Lawn and Fisher Pavilion, the ticketed Seattle Christmas Market sets up a European-style Christmas village from late November until just after Christmas. Ride the carousel, step inside the walk-through tree, wander the Wishing Forest and Lovers' Lane, and browse more than 60 local and international vendors with a mug of hot chocolate or Glühwein in hand. Our Seattle Christmas Market guide has more tips.
Downtown: Westlake Park and Pike Place Market
Kick off the season downtown, where the Downtown Seattle Association hosts a tree lighting celebration at Westlake Park on the day after Thanksgiving and runs a holiday carousel in the park into early January. A few blocks away, Pike Place Market traditionally celebrates Magic in the Market with Santa photos, caroling and a Market lighting ceremony, and its holiday lights and decorations stay up across the nine-acre district through December.
Ride the Seattle Center Monorail between Westlake Center and Seattle Center to link the two areas; it has been the fastest way between downtown and Seattle Center since 1962.
Gingerbread Village
Admire the Sheraton Grand Seattle Gingerbread Village, a downtown tradition for more than three decades in which local architects design six-foot-tall gingerbread creations baked by the hotel's chefs. The display benefits Breakthrough T1D and type 1 diabetes research, and each year brings a new theme.
The Christmas Ship Festival
See the lights from the water on the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship Festival, a Northwest tradition since 1949. The Spirit of Seattle, strung with hundreds of white lights, sails to more than 40 waterfront communities around Puget Sound while an onboard choir sings to passengers and to crowds gathered on shore. Check the sailing schedule early, since tickets are sold by date and departure point.
On the Eastside
Garden d'Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden
Wander Garden d'Lights, a holiday tradition for more than 30 years that fills the Bellevue Botanical Garden with over half a million lights shaped like plants, flowers, birds, animals and cascading waterfalls. It typically runs from late November into early January, closed on Christmas Day. Tickets are sold online for a specific half-hour entry window, kids 10 and under get in free, and the garden also offers a quieter sensory-friendly night.
Snowflake Lane in Bellevue
Catch Snowflake Lane, a free nightly parade of holiday floats with toy drummers, dancers, festive music, dazzling lights and falling snow. It starts at 7 pm every night of the season along Bellevue Way between Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square, from NE 4th to NE 8th streets, and the City of Bellevue notes you can park in the Bellevue Collection's free garages. Arrive a little early to claim a spot along the route.
Worth the drive
Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo
Head south to Tacoma for Zoolights, held at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium since 1988. More than 800,000 lights in holiday and animal themes fill the park, usually from November into January, and you buy tickets to walk the grounds at night.
