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We've compiled the best of the best in Downtown - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Even if you don't plan on seeing anything here, this Asian fantasia is worth a peek—it's one of the most beautiful venues in the world. The 5th Avenue Theatre opened in 1926 as a silent-movie house and vaudeville stage, complete with a giant pipe organ and ushers who dressed as cowboys and pirates. Today it has its own theater company, which stages lavish productions October through May. At other times it hosts concerts, lectures, and films.
The acoustics are good from every one of the main hall's 2,500 seats. Great news if you want to check out the Seattle Symphony, which is based here, or any of the numerous world-class speakers, musicians, and other performers who appear throughout the year. Benaryoa Hall's four-story lobby features a curved glass facade that makes intermissions almost as impressive as performances.
The symphony performs from September through July in the stunning Benaroya Hall. The group has been nominated for numerous Grammy Awards and is well-regarded nationally and internationally.
This 1963 cinema, restored by the late Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, seamlessly blends the luxury of the theater with high technology. Behind a standard-size movie screen sits an enormous, 30-foot by 90-foot restored curved panel used to screen old three-strip films like How the West Was Won, as well as 70-millimeter presentations of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The sight lines throughout are amazing. Rear-window captioning, assisted listening devices, audio narration, wheelchair access, and other amenities ensure that everyone has an outstanding experience. Beyond blockbuster screenings, the space hosts festivals, events, and arthouse cinema.
Dedicated to launching exciting works by emerging dramatists, ACT Contemporary Theatre has four staging areas, including a theater-in-the-round and an intimate downstairs space for small shows. In the 2025–2026 season, ACT and Seattle Shakespeare Company came together as Union Arts Center with contemporary spins on classic stories.
