See Seattle Walking Tours (tel: (425) 226 7641; website: www.see-seattle.com) offers half- or full-day tours of the city's main sights, all year round from Monday to Saturday. Walkers meet at the outdoor seating area of Westlake Plaza, Fourth Avenue and Pine Street, at 0955 for 1000. Underground Seattle (tel: (206) 682 4646; website: www.undergroundtour.com), discovered by chance in the 1960s, is a street of subterranean storefronts dating from the late 19th century, before the Pioneer Square area was elevated above the tide flats. Guides give a racy, three-block walk every day, departing from 608 First Avenue. Tours take an hour and a half.

Bus Tours
Gray Line (tel: (206) 624 5077 or 1 800 426 7532; website: www.graylineseattle.com) offers many different day tours within Seattle, including a full-day (approximately six hours) Grand City Tour and various three-hour tours. Gray Line also offers multi-day tours to the San Juan Islands and Victoria, BC. Seattle City Tours (tel: (206) 768 1234 or 1 888 293 1404; website: www.seattlecitytours.com) offers a variety of city tours and a full-day tour to Mt Rainier.

Other Tours
Argosy Tours (tel: (206) 623 1445 or 1 800 642 7816; website: www.argosycruises.com), at Pier 55, does sightseeing cruises around the harbour, as well as brunch, lunch and dinner cruises.

Show Me Seattle (tel: (206) 633 2489; website: www.showmeseattle.com) does a funky tour that includes the regular ‘must see' stuff, the Sleepless in Seattle floating home, quirky neighbourhoods like Fremont, the Ballard Locks and Chinatown. It also runs a tour to the Boeing plant. BeeLine Tours (tel: (206) 632 5162 or 1 800 959 8387; website: www.beelinetours.com) does custom tours.

Seattle Seaplanes (tel: (206) 329 9638 or 1 800 637 5553; website: www.seattleseaplanes.com) offers 20-minute flights over the city, focusing on its main landmarks and wealthiest homes. Flights depart from 1325 Fairview Avenue East, Lake Union.

Ride the Ducks of Seattle explores city sites on both land and water. This wacky sightseeing craze, a WWII amphibious duck, is a bit silly (visitors get whistles that make quacking sounds) but it covers land attractions and then takes a splash into Lake Union (tel: (206) 441 3825/DUCK or 1 800 817 1116); website: www.ridetheducksofseattle.com).