Seattle started here in the 1850s, burned to the ground in the Great Fire of June 1889, and was rebuilt in brick and stone almost immediately — which is why the whole district shares one architectural date. The city also took the opportunity to regrade the streets a storey higher, leaving the old shopfronts buried underneath.
It is a twenty-five minute stop for the pergola, Occidental Square and the totem poles, longer if you want the Underground Tour, which goes down into those buried streets.
What our drivers would tell you
- Occidental Square on a dry afternoon is the nicest square in the city.
- If you want the Underground Tour, say so when you book — it changes the shape of the whole day.
Great Fire6 June 1889
Time we allow25 min
Underground TourAbout 75 min extra
CostFree to walk
Where it is
On these tours
- ✓The Seattle City Tour — 3h, from $405
- ✓Seattle in a Day — 6h, from $810
Nearby, and often on the same day
What else fits around Pioneer Square.
1h 15mPike Place Market
Nine acres of fishmongers, farm stalls and the first Starbucks.
0h 15mKerry Park
The view on every Seattle postcard — a 15-minute stop, and worth it.
1h 15mSpace Needle
Built for a World's Fair in 400 days, and never taken down.
1h 15mChihuly Garden and Glass
Dale Chihuly's glass, indoors and out, at the foot of the Needle.
Build a day with Pioneer Square and see the price.
Tap the places you want on the home page. We work out the driving, tell you honestly if it will not fit, and show the whole vehicle price before you give us a name.