Parks
Cal Anderson Park
A newly renovated park near Broadway and E Pine St that is very popular on sunny days. It includes a signature fountain and pond, a basketball court, tennis and softball fields, and a playground. Great for peoplewatching, and you can often see groups of people doing activities varying from hackeysack to drum circles to freeze tag to bike polo to twirling around with colorful scarves.
Lakeview Cemetery
Incorporated in 1872, Lakeview Cemetery is set on a hillside with views of Lake Union, the Cascades, Lake Washington and the Olympic Mountains. The site holds the final resting places of Seattle's first families, many with diverse backgrounds. Many come to pay tribute at the graves of Bruce Lee and his son Brandon.
Volunteer Park
Designed by John Charles Olmsted and Fredrick Law Olmsted Jr, this is the largest park in Capitol Hill and is the site of a botanical conservatory and the Seattle Asian Art Museum above.
Water Tower
The 1906 tower at the highest point of Capitol Hill has an observation deck at the top, with views from the Cascades to the Olympics interspersed with a series of panels explaining the history of Seattle's Olmstead-designed park system. The views are somewhat obstructed by metal grates, but the clever photographer can work around them. No elevator - the only way up is the staircase wound around the water tank, seven stories high.
Washington Park Arboretum
The Arboretum is a 230-acre park additionally serving as a botanical garden and horticultural research center, with thousands of trees and plants from temperate climates represented. An extensive network of walking trails covers the park. The Visitor's Center, near the northeast corner of the park, is open from 10 AM to 4 PM daily, and has limited parking available. Guided tours are offered on the first and third Sundays of every month, and free trail maps highlighting the major parts of the collection are available at any time.
Seattle Japanese Garden
A small, formal Japanese garden within the grounds of the Arboretum, recently renovated.
Museums
Seattle Asian Art Museum
An offshoot of downtown's Seattle Art Museum, SAAM displays a portion of the permanent collection balanced with rotating, consistently well-curated special exhibitions. The focus is usually on Chinese or Japanese art, where the collection reflects long-established ties across the Pacific, but does include works from as far as India. The Art Deco building SAM's original home is an attraction in its own right.
Frye Art Museum
A small private collection on First Hill, always has parking and worth a visit.
Museum of History and Industry
mohai, 2700 24th ave. e, 206-324-1126, (http://www.seattlehistory.org/). open daily 10 am to 5 pm, first thursday of every month until 8 pm. the museum focuses on the history of seattle and the greater puget sound region, from pre-european settlement through the rise of today's major local companies such as boeing and microsoft. admission: $7 adults, $5 children and seniors.
Other
Jimi Hendrix statue
A Jimi Hendrix statue rocks out on the sidewalk at the NE corner of E Pine Street and Broadway, though there's no particular historical connection between the location and the man.
Museum of the Mysteries
Not so much a museum as a curio collection, featuring a hodge-podge of mysteries, from Bigfoot print casts to rare tarot card collections. Also has a gallery on Bruce Lee's days in Seattle.