What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Seattle

If you're planning a trip to Seattle in the near future, you've probably already discovered that Frommer's Seattle is an invaluable planning tool. Here, in this online update to our book, you'll find recent changes and other up-to-the-minute information.

There are a few more options now for people flying into Seattle. Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.com), now flies from Calgary, Alberta; American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) now flies direct from Austin, Texas; and Midwest Airlines (tel. 800/452-2022; www.midwestairlines.com) now flies from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as from Kansas City, Missouri.

Where to Stay

If your travel plans make a stay on the east side of Lake Washington a possibility, be sure to check out Kirkland's new 91-room Heathman Hotel Kirkland, 220 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland (tel. 800/551-0011 or 425/284-5800; www.heathmankirkland.com), which is located just a couple of blocks uphill from the waterfront in downtown Kirkland. There are lots of art galleries and restaurants within walking distance.

By early 2008, you should be able to check in to the 120-room Arctic Club Hotel, 700 Third Ave., Seattle (tel. 800/457-4000 or 206/340-0340; www.arctichotelseattle.com), in downtown Seattle. The hotel is in a newly restored and remodeled former social club that was built in 1917 as a gathering place for men who had struck it rich during the Alaska gold rush. Among the most distinctive features of this historic building are the terra-cotta walrus heads that gaze down at the sidewalk from the building's façade.

Where to Dine

Quinn's, 1001 E. Pike St. (tel. 206/325-7711; www.quinnspubseattle.com) is a new Capitol Hill gastropub from the owners of Restaurant Zoë, one of my favorite Belltown restaurants. Definitely worth checking out. Joule, 1913 N. 45th St. (tel. 206/632-1913; www.joulerestaurant.com), in the Wallingford neighborhood, is another hot new restaurant worth a trip out from downtown. It serves an unusual fusion of Korean and French cuisine.

Oh yes, and, as a Portland resident, I'm glad that I can now get my favorite local coffee even when I'm in Seattle. Stumptown Coffee, 1115 12th Ave. (tel. 206/323-1544; www.stumptowncoffee.com) is the first Seattle outpost of Portland's favorite counter-culture coffee company.

One last thing, foodies may want to check out the tours offered by Savor Seattle Food Tours (tel. 800/838-3006; www.savorseattletours.com). These two-hour walking tours wander through Pike Place Market highlighting the market's many culinary treats.

What to See & Do

The Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave. (tel. 206/654-3100; www.seattleartmuseum.org), has two not-to-be-missed special exhibits for spring 2008. "Roman Art from the Louvre" runs from February 21 to May 11 and will display 180 pieces representing 300 years of imperial Roman life. Many of these pieces have never been exhibited in the United States. The other spring show of note is "The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece." This show features three gilded bronze panels created more than 550 years ago for a baptistery in Florence, Italy. These panels have also never been displayed in the United States.

Admission to the Seattle Aquarium, 1483 Alaskan Way (tel. 206/386-4300; www.seattleaquarium.org) has gone up to $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 4 to 12. The aquarium's admission price is just one more good reason to get a CityPass (tel. 888/330-5008 or 208/787-4300; www.citypass.com), which is still a great deal even though it, too, now costs a bit more than it did ($39.50 for adults and $24 for children).

The Wing Luke Asian Museum, 407 Seventh Ave. S. (tel. 206/623-5124; www.wingluke.org), in Seattle's Chinatown International District, is temporarily closed as it moves a few blocks away to the renovated East Kong Yick Building at 719 S. King Street. The museum will reopen in this new space in May 2008.

The Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave. (tel. 206/622-9250; www.fryeart.org), has long been known for its rather conservative collection of representational art from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. However, in the past couple of years, it has been expanding its focus to appeal to a younger audience. To that end, the museum is mounting the "R. Crumb's Underground" exhibit from January 26 to April 27, 2008. The exhibit features the work of underground-comic artist R. Crumb, who founded Zap Comix in the late 1960s. Keep on truckin', man.

After Dark

Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St. (tel. 206/802-0015; dreams.zinzanni.org), Seattle's circus and cabaret inspired dinner theater, has moved its antique Belgian spiegeltent from it's old Belltown location to a spot in the heart of the Lower Queen Anne theater district. With the reopening, there's also a whole new show.

If you're in search of some new places to imbibe while you're in town, check out the following places. The Local Vine, 2520 Second Ave. (tel. 206/441-6000) is a chic Belltown wine bar with a long list of wines by the glass. There's good food, too. In the Pioneer Square area, you can sample sakés at Saké Nomi, 76 S. Washington St. (tel. 206/467-SAKE; www.sakenomi.us). While this is primarily a saké shop, it does have daily free sake tastings and also offers sakes by the glass.

Side Trips from Seattle

Note that the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau (tel. 888/468-3701; www.guidetosanjuans.com) has a new web address.

The best rooms on San Juan Island are now the 12 new Quarryman Hall Suites at Roche Harbor, 248 Reuben Memorial Dr., Roche Harbor (tel. 800/451-8910 or 360/378-2155; www.rocheharbor.com). This resort on the north end of the island has also added a beautiful full-service spa.

Accommodations options on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula are limited, but there's a great new option for anyone wanting to explore the wilderness shorelines of Olympic National Park. The Quillayute River Resort, 473 Mora Rd., Forks (tel. 360/374-7447; www.qriverresort.com), has only five rooms, but the former motel-style fishing lodge has been updated and offers large suites with full kitchens. The 1950s Scandinavian-modern retro look is unique out in this neck of the woods.

Anyone planning a trip to Mount Rainier National Park (tel. 360/569-2211; www.nps.gov/mora) this summer should be sure to look into getting a room at Paradise Inn (tel. 360/569-2275; rainier.guestservices.com), the park's premier historic lodge, which is reopening in the summer of 2008 after being closed for two years for a major restoration.

If you are planning on visiting Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (tel. 360/449-7800; www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm), note that the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center has been permanently closed. The Johnston Ridge Observatory, at the end of Wash. 504, is now the main visitor center within the national monument.

Talk to other Frommers.com readers on our Washington State Message Boards.