It’s both funny and fascinating, and it’s one of the very best ways to learn about Seattle’s past. Wonderfully entertaining guides lead visitors into a warren of underground tunnels below Pioneer Square, pointing out businesses that were once at street level until the great fire of 1889 wiped out the city and led to a massive rebuilding and releveling of Seattle. The anecdotes are hilarious and sometimes a bit off-color, but Seattle’s history is anything but genteel. You’ll learn about exploding toilets, “seamstresses” who never sewed a stitch (and sometimes didn’t wear one), city rogues, city fathers and mothers, early businesses, and how the city infrastructure and rebuilding required people to climb ladders to get from one street to the next. Go with a sense of humor and you’ll have a great time. There’s an intriguing little gift shop at the end of the tour.