3 fascinating seattle-based museums​

BEST SEASON TO VISIT: Some visitors like to plan around neighborhood events, such as the autumn Night Market and spring Lunar New Year. Both celebrate Asian cultures with street food, market

stalls, taiko drumming and traditional lion and dragon dances. ACCESSIBILITY: An elevator provides easy access to all the galleries. Walkers and wheelchairs provided at no charge (first

come, first served). Courtesy National Nordic Museum 3. NATIONAL NORDIC MUSEUM The story of Seattle’s immigrant-driven strengths continues at the National Nordic Museum in the former

Scandinavian fishing village of Ballard, now a trendy neighborhood six miles northwest of downtown. The museum showcases the history of Scandinavian cultures from 12,000 years ago to

contemporary times. The collection also explores core Nordic values such as a connection to nature, innovation, social justice and sustainability, according to Leslie Anne Anderson, director

of collections, exhibitions and programs. “We give you a taste of the major points of each Nordic country, but in recent years, we’ve really broadened our focus. We look at the cultural

region of Sápmi, home to the Indigenous Sámi, as well as the autonomous regions of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands. We’re also moving forward and finding connections to

tell the stories of those who have Nordic heritage but maybe also, say, Caribbean heritage. For example, we opened an exhibition with artist La Vaughn Belle responding to the legacy of

colonialism, specifically the transatlantic slave trade in the Danish West Indies.” Founded in 1979, the museum occupied a surplus schoolhouse for nearly 40 years. But in 2018, it debuted a

world-class LEED Gold-certified home, a blocky modernist structure sheathed in vertical planks of zinc. Inside, West Coast architect firm Mithūn evoked a glacially carved fjord with sky

bridges connecting the Old World and New World galleries, intensifying the “experience of migration.” A skylight illuminates a flock of glass seabirds frozen mid-swoop between the two

spaces, adding to the symbolism. As their creator — Faroese artist Tróndur Patursson — told the nonprofit news site Crosscut: “They bring nature inside. They give the building a soul.” You

undertake a journey from “sea level,” exploring objects and oral histories from the Nordic countries, everything from rune stones to reindeer-milking bowls and an ABBA CD. Temporary

exhibits, such as Edvard Munch’s photography, also shine here. “You get to see objects that don’t typically travel to the United States,” says Anderson. Head upstairs and immerse yourself in

the landscape — literally. Birch trees stand sentinel over a film theater that’s dotted with pillows shaped like giant, sea-smoothed cobblestones. Fortified by a rest, you cross a skybridge

to a gallery that chronicles the Nordic mass emigration in the 19th century, when roughly a third of the population fled famine and political instability. Among the artifacts you’ll see:

fishing equipment and a 1914 timberwork jacket from Filson, a local company that started by outfitting Klondike Gold Rush stampeders. Outside, you’ll want to see a replica Viking ship and

Seattle’s oldest working Finnish sauna. Note that this is also a center for genealogical research, where visitors can have a one-on-one consultation with a professional genealogist.

Appointments are available on weekdays, but book up quickly. Andersen recommends reserving a session at least a month out.   POST-VISIT TIP: Get some fresh air at the Hiram M. Chittenden

Locks, an easy six-minute walk southwest. Here, Puget Sound’s saltwater meets the Ship Canal leading to Lake Union. Boats — including most of Alaska’s fishing fleet off-season — rise 20 to

22 feet above sea level. Glass panels reveal salmon species migrating back and forth, and the botanical gardens host free summer concerts, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Three-quarters of a mile east

of the museum, stroll Ballard Avenue, a hotbed of boutiques, eateries and galleries. PLAN YOUR TRIP​  LOCATION: 2655 NW Market St.; 206-789-5707; nordicmuseum.org GETTING THERE: Access the

museum’s parking lot from the corner of NW Market Street and 28th Avenue NW. Metro buses 17 and 44 run past the museum. VISIT: Wednesday–Sunday (closed on major holidays), 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

ADMISSION: $20, $16 for adults 65 and older (free admission for all the first Thursday of each month). Buy online or in person. BEST TIME TO VISIT: Wednesday-Friday between 1-5 p.m., when

it’s less crowded BEST SEASON TO VISIT: Any season, but it's most crowded in summer. ACCESSIBILITY: Park on the building’s south side and stroll up the short flight of stairs or roll up

the entrance ramp. Inside, easily access all floors via elevator. Wheelchairs available at no charge (first come, first served). ​​WHERE TO STAY​​ NEAR THE WING LUKE: Just a six-minute

stroll from the museum, check into the Panama Hotel and Tea House, in a 1910 building designed by Sabro Ozasa, thought to be Seattle’s first architect of Japanese ancestry. The 102 simple,

pleasant rooms feature antique furniture. A must-see: The hotel displays the country’s only intact sentō (public bathhouse), which sheltered the belongings of some of Seattle’s 7,050

Japanese American residents imprisoned in World War II camps. Rooms from $99​ NEAR THE NORDIC MUSEUM: At the luxurious 29-room Hotel Ballard, savor views of the snow-gilded Olympic Mountains

from some rooms and the elegant rooftop terrace. The property overlooks the main drag in the heart of this Scandinavian-settled neighborhood. Rooms from $149​. NEAR MOPOP: Splurge at one

of the world’s best hotels, the Inn at the Market, an ivy-draped, red-brick property a mile southeast of the museum. In some of the 79 rooms, floor-to-ceiling windows frame the neon Pike

Place Market sign and deliver views across Elliott Bay to the Olympic peaks on the horizon. Rooms from $161. ​​WHERE TO DINE​​ NEAR THE WING LUKE: Maneki, which dates back to 1904, is

Seattle’s only Japanese restaurant to survive the internment era. Feast on sushi dishes such as unagi donburi (grilled freshwater eel over rice) and miso-marinated black cod.​ NEAR THE

NORDIC MUSEUM: Don’t miss the fresh oysters with champagne mignonette at the Walrus and the Carpenter. Or dig into a gloriously messy Caribbean sandwich from Un Bien, a Pepto-pink fave with

counter service and some outdoor seating. Go for the pork shoulder, caramelized onions and pickled jalapeños on an aioli-slathered roll from the city’s famous Macrina Bakery.​ NEAR MOPOP: 

Catch a quick bite at No Anchor, a Belltown beer bar that landed on the 2017 James Beard Best New Restaurant semifinalist list. The must-try dish: smoked and pickled mussels.​ Seattle-based

writer and photographer Amanda Castleman covers culture and adventure for BBC Travel, National Geographic and Sierra. _Seattle-based writer and photographer Amanda Castleman covers culture

and adventure for _BBC Travel_, _National Geographic_ and _Sierra_._ ​