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Things to do in Seattle

Seattle coffee

Where Seattle's coffee story starts: the original Starbucks at 1912 Pike Place, reopened in 2026 as a reservation-only coffee experience, and how a bean shop in Pike Place Market became an espresso bar.

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Illustration of Pike Place Market with its big Public Market sign above fruit, fish and flower stalls

The useful answer

Should this fit your day?

Best for
Coffee lovers, Starbucks fans and first-time visitors who want a taste of Seattle history with their Pike Place Market visit.
Time to protect
Allow about an hour: book your time at the door, explore the Market, then come back for your visit and a coffee. Add longer for a full Market morning.
Cruise-day fit
Pike Place Market is on the downtown waterfront, a short walk or ride south of the Pier 66 cruise terminal, so the original Starbucks is an easy stop the day before or after a Pier 66 sailing. The store is tiny and the Market is crowded, so drop your luggage first. From Pier 91 it's a ride downtown.
From the terminals
Pier 66 is the closer terminal, about half a mile north along the waterfront. Pier 91 is several miles north, and no public transit serves it, so plan a ride.
Before a flight
From SEA, the 1 Line runs to Westlake Station downtown, a few blocks from the Market. Because entry is by reserved time, book early in your day and leave a generous buffer before a flight.

How a visit to the original Starbucks works now

No more waiting in a long line on Pike Place: you book a time and come back.

  1. 1. Book a time at the door

    A host at 1912 Pike Place books you an entry time, up to 48 hours ahead.

  2. 2. Explore the Market

    Use the wait for the fish stalls, flowers and shops of Pike Place Market.

  3. 3. Come back for your coffee

    At your time, order from the history-themed menu, try a pour-over, or take home beans and something you can only buy here.

Have the whole morning? Pair it with a guided food walk through the Market.

Read the Pike Place Market guide →

What to know before you go

  1. 01

    Starbucks began in 1971 as a narrow shop in Pike Place Market that sold fresh-roasted whole beans, scooped by hand into bags for customers to brew at home. The name comes from Moby-Dick, a nod to the seafaring early coffee traders, and the logo is a twin-tailed siren.

  2. 02

    The espresso part of the story came later. Twelve years on, Howard Schultz visited the cafés of Milan and came home wanting to bring Italian coffee culture to Seattle. In 1987 Starbucks became a coffeehouse, and the Pike Place store got its espresso bar that year.

  3. 03

    Today's store at 1912 Pike Place, on the Market's cobblestone street, is the one Starbucks calls its original. Look for the vintage brown sign in the window with the siren and the words Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices. Inside it's tiny, about 960 square feet.

  4. 04

    In June 2026 it reopened as the 1912 Pike Place Experience, with reserved entry instead of the old line that could stretch for hours in summer. A host at the door books you a time to come back, up to 48 hours ahead, and at the reopening that booking was in person only. Meanwhile you can explore the rest of the Market.

  5. 05

    Inside, staff trained in coffee and Starbucks history act as guides; look for the Rachel the Pig pin on their aprons. The menu is cut down to about 30 espresso drinks that tell the company's story, from the latte, cappuccino and espresso macchiato to the Caramel Macchiato, created in 1996, and the original coffee and mocha Frappuccino from 1999.

  6. 06

    The store brews pour-over by the cup again, and fresh-roasted beans arrive every week from the Starbucks roasting plant in Kent, scooped by hand to take home. You'll also find merchandise sold only at this store.

  7. 07

    The Market around it has run as a working public market since 1907 and draws more than 10 million visitors a year. The Starbucks staff are happy to share their favorite spots in it.

  8. 08

    Looking for the big Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill? Starbucks closed its Seattle Roastery and its Starbucks Reserve store in SoDo in 2025, so the Pike Place store is the place for the Starbucks story now.

Starbucks may change how reservations work at Pike Place. Check Starbucks' own news before you go.

Tours and activities

Tours that visit the original Starbucks

Entry itself is free. These well-reviewed tours include it, with current prices. Check a date to see open start times, then book with Viator.

Tours are sold and run through Viator; booking opens viator.com in a new tab, and Viator confirms the final price and time. Seatac may earn a commission.

Free to visit, with tours nearby

There's no ticket for the original Starbucks: just go. If you'd like a guide, a harbor cruise or another stop the same day, start here.

  • Tickets and tours

    Capitol Hill coffee tasting walk

    A small-group guided walk to Capitol Hill cafés and roasteries with three tastings, starting at the Jimi Hendrix statue on Broadway.

    See times and tickets

  • Tours and activities

    Seattle tours and tickets

    Guided tours, attraction tickets and day trips around Seattle, including options near the original Starbucks.

    See tours and tickets

Opens a booking partner in a new tab; Seatac Connection may earn a commission. For current notices, see the Starbucks story on the reimagined Pike Place store.

Get a ride there

Drop-off: Seattle coffee: the original Starbucks and the city's espresso story, 1912 Pike Place

Starting from

Your fare is worked out for the exact trip on the next step, before you pay. Want the car to wait while you visit? Book by the hour.

Cruise day: the original Starbucks between the ship and your flight

Off the ship with a few hours before your flight? Book the ride from the pier and the ride on to the airport now, so each driver knows where you are going.

  1. Step 1

    Ride from the pier

    Pier 66 is the closer terminal, about half a mile north along the waterfront. Pier 91 is several miles north, and no public transit serves it, so plan a ride.

    From Pier 66From Pier 91

  2. Step 2

    Visit the original Starbucks

    Allow about an hour: book your time at the door, explore the Market, then come back for your visit and a coffee. Add longer for a full Market morning.

    Tours nearby

  3. Step 3

    Ride on to Seatac Airport

    From SEA, the 1 Line runs to Westlake Station downtown, a few blocks from the Market. Because entry is by reserved time, book early in your day and leave a generous buffer before a flight.

    Seattle coffee to the airport

Big bags

  • Pier 66: Same-day bag storage is available. Pick bags up by 3 pm to avoid a late fee.
  • Pier 91: Same-day bag storage in the Crew Center, north of the Ground Transportation Center. Pick bags up by 3 pm to avoid a late fee.

Stored bags mean a stop back at the pier before the airport. To keep them with you instead, book a car by the hour and the driver waits with your luggage.

Planning the whole cruise trip? Keep the original Starbucks on it with the rides around it.

Plan the whole cruise trip

Not sure which pier? Find your ship and pier or compare Pier 66 and Pier 91.

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