Washington State Recommendations

What time of year and for how long?

Have you looked at Leavenworth? Food, beer, wine and "Bavarian" architecture.

For massive architecture, try Grand Coulee Dam

Take a look at Port Townsend. We enjoyed the day there. I would recommend you book a table at Finistere for dinner. Cuisine and service were both terrific!

Why Cle Elum? 40 years ago it was just a place for hikers and fly fishermen. Then when Roslyn got famous due to Northern Exposure it turned into a long distance Seattle commute. If you're not into hiking there's not all that much architecture, food, or music locally. And Ellensburg and Yakima are places people want to get away from, not visit. There's the wine country (such as it is) around Kennewick. Leavenworth for fake Bavarian kitsch. You can take a ride up to the Okanagan, or take the long way to the backside of Mt Rainier. You're not quiet half way to Spokane. Lake Chelan can be nice.

Boeing Factory is awesome

KGC expressed my same thoughts.

Leavenworth downtown is kitchy, but there are a lot of wonderful outdoor things to do so we head over there often. On the weekends in the summer they have Art In The Park, and there are some performances such as the Sound of Music. Plenty of music at various places, and parks all over, including down by the river on Blackbird Island.

I had to laugh at the Yakima comment, only because I have lived there and don't return unless I absolutely have to.

Cle Elum is an area we go for hiking/backpacking. There isn't much there otherwise.

Depending on your dates and interests, on the other side of the state is the Omak Stampede which is very popular! You would need to secure reservations asap for that as even the dumpiest of motels miles from there sell out.

Have you looked at Bellingham?

There is a Facebook page 'Live Music in Upper Kittitas County '.
In spite of its name I don't believe it gives all the music happening in CE and Roslyn. It seems to concentrate a lot on events at The Brick and the Eagles #649 and #696.
I'm on another CE Facebook page daily and am sure I see quite a bit more than that happening, music wise.

If you look at the old visitor website discovercleelum.com you'll see about places to dine (and a lot more). But in the 3 or 4 years since the Visitor Centre closed I'm sure that has really dated with closures and new openings. I know I have a pretty long list from a city resident, far longer than I could give to someone visiting my own town in the UK, which is 12x the size.
The visitor centre has just re-opened (now at 117 West 1st), at weekends only, now run by the downtown association, but it doesn't look as if there is a new website yet.
There is a sparse website which someone did after the visitor centre closure which isn't much good IMO.
I doubt the city Historic Preservation Commission would agree at the comments about the Architecture. But then architecture is a very subjective thing.

“Architecture, food, music, parks” - Leavenworth has it all. You will feel like you are in Bavaria. We love it there and have probably visited two dozen times. There is always some kind of festival going on.

https://leavenworth.org/

Here’s a second vote for Port Townsend. It’s a gorgeous little city - right on the water, beautiful Victorian architecture, a few nice restaurants, good shopping. There’s Fort Worden State Park nearby, whale watching tours, and ferry boats to watch. It’s one of my favorite small towns anywhere.

Take a look at Tacoma. They have some excellent architecture. The University of Washington campus there did a great job of bringing back the old buildings. I don't know if they offer a campus tour that highlights this, but when I have been there, the buildings seemed to be unlocked. The old Union Station is across the street. There are also some lovely old homes north of downtown.
The Glass Museum is pretty cool, and there is a car museum (with a second location with more cars) and an art museum. There is a small zoo/aquarium. You can take a ferry to Vashon Island for a day trip.
There's a McMenamins there and some other good restaurants. I don't know much about the music scene there. I have been to Tacoma three times in the last few years, and I have been very impressed with it. I was only ever in the Dome before that.

I'll chime in again since my beloved hometown has been mentioned. Tacoma really does have some awesome things to do.

You haven't said how many days you have. If you have 5 or 6 days, you could fly into SeaTac, head to Tacoma for a couple of days, and then head out to the Olympic Peninsula to do Port Townsend for a few days. This would be gorgeous - especially in summer.

But to expand on Tacoma: the Museum of Glass is awesome. There is a small museum there and a live "hot shop", where you can watch glass artisans at work.

The LeMay Car museum is a beautiful purpose-built building with a great selection of cars. It's well-signed with car and historical information.

There's also the Tacoma Art Museum, the Washington State History Museum and the UW Tacoma campus.

All of these places are within a 20 minute walk of each other downtown.

Another wonderful thing Tacoma has is a waterfront promenade that's about 4 miles long. You can start at one end and finish up right at Point Defiance - 640 acres of trails and waterfront. The Zoo and Aquarium is there as well. As you walk, you'll see Mount Rainier, seals, sea lions, and if you're really lucky, a whale.

If you decide on Tacoma, the waterfront hotels are best. Downtown is not a lively place at night - but waking up on the waterfront is perfect. There are two Silver Cloud Inns on the water.

Oh I love the Tacoma idea! I am not sure why I didn't think of it since our daughter lives there, lol. It has so much more to offer than what most people realize.

Another yes for Tacoma! Take a look at Hotel Murano - a sweet boutiquey hotel with decor pieces from the Museum of Glass.

I will concur with the suggestions of both Port Townsend and Tacoma. Love, love, love the glass museum in Tacoma. Anthony’s at Point Defiance is a really good restaurant. Fort Worden in Port Townsend is a state park and if you saw the move An Officer and a Gentleman you will recognize it. I like Leavenworth as well. We spent a few days there for a wedding a couple of years ago and last December when we were in Washington visiting our daughter we all went to see Leavenworth decked out for Christmas. There was snow on the ground and it was very atmospheric.