Duck into an alley for Cafe Allegro, which claims to be the city’s oldest espresso bar and still roasts its beans on-site. For almost 50 years it has been making classic coffee, and it was a study spot before that meant laptops and Wi-Fi. The local art and posters on the walls are the same kind of paintings and event posters that have graced coffee shops since the 1970s.

There are very few astronomical observatories in Washington, and most of the newer ones are in places where light pollution is not an issue. Which means the existence of the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory at UW is something of an anachronism. Right on campus and open to the public, the observatory holds free events in spring and summer, including talks and viewings. Built in 1895, it’s also a historical site, as its brass refracting telescope was designed long before electricity was used for stargazing, and back when the sky above Seattle wasn’t quite so lit up. 

Few neighborhoods in Seattle have changed as dramatically over the past decade. All it takes is a glance from the I-5 Bridge to see the glut of new (and sorely needed) apartment buildings. But some things never change, and thankfully that includes the menu at Voula’s Offshore Cafe, a family-owned diner that can defeat a hangover with the power of its hash browns and transport you back into another decade.

The U District can feel like its own little island in Seattle. But at its northern end, it fades into Ravenna—a peaceful neighborhood of Craftsman homes and steep hills. These borderlands are where you’ll find the Cowen and Ravenna Parks, two separate parks that join in the middle to create a surprisingly remote-feeling woods, with its own system of trails through a ravine that snakes under a pair of bridges. 

Tucked behind Husky Stadium on the edge of the Montlake Cut, the University of Washington’s Waterfront Activities Center offers a portal to our beautiful waterways and a from-the-water view of the Arboretum. Pack a picnic, grab a canoe; it’s cheap for everyone, and discounted further for UW students. The WAC shares a building with UW’s Gear Garage, with rentals of everything outdoors, fishing gear to bicycles to horseshoe sets.

Anyone who drives to the Ave can appreciate the free parking at the 125-year-old University Book Store—for two hours with a $5 purchase, 30 minutes without. No need to shell out for an econ textbook; the shop has Husky gear, stationery supplies, and local gifts, plus other books. It’s also plenty of time to stroll a block down to Bulldog News, where there’s an awe-inspiring collection of magazines.