西雅圖凹凸鏡

VISITORS and natives alike never cease to be amazed at how peachy summer in Seattle is, though it arrives reliably every year around the Fourth of July. Clouds lift, mountains and water come out of hiding, decks fill with flowers and bare limbs, and trendy menus promote a different local berry every week: strawberries, raspberries, marionberries. At noon, the light is so dazzling that the city almost looks like Provence: an illusion enhanced by the masses of lavender at farmers’ markets and the wonderful French restaurants popping up around town. At dusk, which lingers past 9 o’clock, a silvery Alpine wash suffuses the snowcap of Mount Rainier. Seattlites take to the hills and islands on weekends, freeing parking spots and restaurant tables for visitors downtown and in the nice old residential neighborhoods that are adjacent. No need to gnash your teeth in envy as software magnates wave from yachts and sailboats. For a $6.50 round trip you can hop a commuter ferry from downtown to Bainbridge Island and bask in the same spectacular view.

Friday

4 p.m.
1) MICROBREW, BUT MACROVIEW

Before hitting the water, admire it with cold drink in hand from a strategic vantage point on land. In Pike Place Market — downtown’s historic water-view bazaar — the Pink Door (1919 Post Alley, 206-443-3241) boasts the deck of decks. Grab a locally brewed Maritime Imperial I.P.A. or a Willamette Valley pinot noir and sit back and enjoy the show. If hunger strikes, assorted bruschetta, including an inventive spring pea, mint and bresaola combo ($12.50), should tide you over.

5 p.m.
2) NORTHWEST SHOWCASES

The food stalls will be closing, but you can wander through some of the galleries scattered around the market: Lisa Harris Gallery (1922 Pike Place, 206-443-3315; www.lisaharrisgallery.com) offers Northwest painting, photography and sculpture; Art Stall Gallery (97 Pike Place, 206-623-7538; www.artstallgallery.com) features the work of 13 Northwest artists; and Raven’s Nest Treasure (85-B Pike Street, 206-343-0890; www.ravensnesttreasure.com) carries art, crafts and jewelry by American Indians from the Northwest and Alaska.

7:30 p.m.
3) FALL HARD

Forget spontaneity and call a week or two ahead to secure a table at Crush (2319 East Madison Street, 206-302-7874), the hot restaurant du jour that’s tucked away in a funky old house on an otherwise dreary stretch of Madison Street. From the chilled sweet pea, cucumber and lovage soup ($8) to the melt-in-your-mouth braised short ribs ($21) to the buttermilk doughnuts with espresso sauce ($7), all is exquisite, subtle, creative, but not pretentious — and (aside from the wine) not that expensive. Beautiful food, beautiful people, beautifully stark décor of sea foam walls and bone leather banquettes, Crush is hard to get into and hard to leave.

10 p.m.
4) O PIONEERS!

Urban pioneers staked out Belltown, the blocks along First and Second Avenues just north of Pike Place Market between Virginia and Wall Streets, about 15 years ago. Restaurants, bars and condos followed, and now it’s the only downtown neighborhood with savory after-dark street life. Drop by the venerable — by Belltown standards — Queen City Grill (2201 First Avenue, 206-443-0975) for a nightcap under the soft apricot glow of the bar lights. If the Queen is somnolent, hike a couple of blocks to join the young and lively at the Black Bottle (2600 First Avenue at Vine Street, 206-441-1500) for fresh sardines namban and a glass of Waterbrook sauvignon blanc made in Walla Walla.

Saturday

9 a.m.
5) SIGHING IN THE CHAPEL

Nobody walks more than three blocks in Seattle, except to air the dog or power around Green Lake. But that’s no reason to pass up a 15-minute stroll from Espresso Vivace Roasteria (901 East Denny Way at Broadway, 206-860-5869) on Capitol Hill to the campus of Seattle University at the south end of the hill. (You’ll probably wait long enough at Espresso Vivace to hear the life stories of the people next to you in line, but it’s worth it for the artfully foamed latte and cappuccino.) By now, you may be inclined to agree with the urban connoisseurs who sniff that Seattle has scenery but no architecture. But don’t rush to judgment until you have spent time at the Chapel of St. Ignatius, designed by Steven Holl and opened in 1997, on the east side of the university’s campus (East Marion Street and 12th Avenue). Mr. Holl said the soaring, austerely luminous space was supposed to look like “seven bottles of light in a stone box.” The campus grounds, lovingly tended for years by a local garden guru, Ciscoe Morris, are filled with mature Japanese maples, hydrangeas and a superb weeping giant sequoia.

Noon
6) SIP, NIBBLE, PADDLE

Don’t be put off by the cafeteria-style service of Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club (1301 Northeast Boat Street, 206-545-8570) on Portage Bay at the edge of the University District (five minutes by car from downtown or Capitol Hill). The tacos — smoked salmon, shrimp and cabbage; yams with chilies and avocados — are divine ($8.95 for three tacos with beans and rice), and the margaritas aren’t bad either. But don’t have too many. After lunch, you’ll want to be in shape to rent a kayak ($18 an hour for a double) and ply the calm waters of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the wetlands surrounding the Arboretum or the houseboat-lined margins of Lake Union.

4 p.m.
7) OF FUCHSIAS AND SALMON

If you prefer to keep your toes dry, you can watch weekend speedboat warriors rub prows with Alaska-bound fishermen at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (on the Ship Canal at 3015 Northwest 54th Street at the south end of the Ballard neighborhood west of the University District). The surrounding botanical garden has huge shade trees and a glorious bed of fuchsias. Be sure to cross the canal on the pedestrian bridge to the fish ladder viewing area to gape at mature returning salmon struggling upstream.

8 p.m.
8) RUSTIC FRENCH

If you’re staying downtown and you’re tired of zipping around the neighborhoods, you can’t go wrong by dining at the old standby Cafe Campagne (1600 Post Alley in Pike Place Market, 206-728-2233) for classic French bistro fare. The more energetic should pile back into the car and drive 10 minutes east of downtown to the French newcomer Crémant (1423 34th Avenue, 206-322-4600) in the pretty Madrona neighborhood beside Lake Washington. Work up an appetite by cruising Lake Washington Boulevard, a leafy waterside motorway designed by the Olmsted Brothers in 1903 as part of an urban master plan. Now you can enjoy Crémant’s hearty rustic fare of mouth-watering roasted marrow bones served with grilled bread ($12), Roquefort and endive salad ($12) and rosemary-infused côte d’agneau ($22).

10:30 p.m.
9) FUNERAL PARLOR CHIC

A former funeral parlor may not sound like a promising place to kick back to D.J.-spun tunes of danceable Brazilian, techno and hip-hop and enjoy fancy drinks like cantaloupe-infused vodka or a ginger Cosmopolitan (vodka, triple sec, ginger and cranberry), but the Chapel (1600 Melrose Avenue on Capitol Hill, 206-447-4180) manages to be chic, young, foxy and fun. Ask the tender of the imposing bar made of mausoleum stones about the ghost sightings and be sure to check out the sinks in the disco-theme unisex bathrooms.

Sunday

10 a.m.
10) PENANCE AND HASH

Blond wood, high bright windows, a cheery outside deck, big bowls of fresh fruit, yogurt and granola: Portage Bay Café (4130 Roosevelt Way NE, 206-547-8230) is the perfect place to do penance for sins committed at the Chapel. You can also keep on sinning with Swedish pancakes with lingonberry compote ($9.95) or corned beef hash topped with three scrambled eggs ($11.95). Work off the vapors with a brisk walk along the nearby Burke-Gilman Trail, a 12.5-mile paved biking-walking path that snakes through the city.

11 a.m.
11) GOODBYE, WITH ALTITUDE

Say farewell to Seattle atop the squat water tower built in the first decade of the 1900’s that rises above the lawns, fountains, museum and conservatory of Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. On a clear day you can snap your final photo of the Space Needle as the Olympic Mountains loom behind.

The Basics

If you want the flexibility to hop from downtown to surrounding neighborhoods, it’s best to rent a car at SeaTac Airport, about a 20-minute drive from downtown.

The Alexis Hotel (1007 First Avenue, 206-624-4844; www.alexishotel.com) is a nice downtown boutique hotel — soft colors, subdued lighting, attentive service and spacious rooms (though few have views and some face walls). Weekend rates are $319 to $449.

The dowdy Vance Hotel metamorphosed last October into Hotel Max (620 Stewart Street, 206-728-6299; www.hotelmaxseattle.com) and is now among the toniest places in town, with eye-popping contemporary art (lots of nudes) in the lobby and WiFi and flat-screen TV’s in the sleek bedrooms. Weekend rates start at $159.

The Watertown Hotel, in the University District, (4242 Roosevelt Way NE, 206- 826-4242; www.watertownseattle.com) offers a clean, bright alternative to downtown. Weekend rates for double rooms are $155 to $185, including breakfast.