Kirkland [1] is a city of 50,000 in King County, Washington near Seattle.

Understand

Established in 1888 by Peter Kirk with a vision of being the "Pittsburgh of the West", Kirkland today is a charming town on the east side of Lake Washington across from Seattle. It is the home of Northwest University and the Seattle Seahawks.

Get in

By car

Like many American suburbs, by far the most convenient approach is by car. From the East or West, take Interstate 90 to Interstate 405, and turn north. From the North or South, take I-5 to I-405.

There are four interchanges on I-405 in the Kirkland city limits, but to get downtown take the 85th St. exit and turn West.

By bus

From Downtown Seattle, route 255 runs to downtown Kirkland 7 days a week. The fare is $2.00 during weekday rush hour, and $1.25 at other times.

Get around

See

• The Seattle skyline and Olympic Mountains from one of the many waterfront parks.

Do

• Explore Marina Park. Located in the pedestrian friendly downtown area, it hosts many small art galleries, coffee shops and restaurants.

Buy

Eat

• Larry's Market, 12321 120th pl NE, 425 820-2300. This branch of Larry's has great prices in their deli, especially compared to the Bellevue Larry's Market. You can get nachos for $4.00, or a slice of pizza and a pop for under $2.00. Their salad bar has tasty homeade croutons. Larry's boasts a spacious cafeteria with a microwave available to heat up a frozen meal from the supermarket if desired.
• Lynn's Bistro: excellent Sunday brunch
• Cactus
• 21 Steak House
• Zeek's Pizza: decent pizza in Kirkland

Drink

• Kahilia Coffee: Brand new, great independent coffee shop in downtown Kirkland. Serves Kona coffee! Best coffee on the Eastside.
• Kitanda Brazilian Espresso. 12700 124th St NE, (Between Les Schwab and Toyota of Kirkland). Skip Starbucks, and enjoy some of the best priced lattes in the area. They don't charge extra for soy and extra shots. Kitanda also sells groceries, Brazilian chocolates, hair products, etc. Their specialty is the Brazilian Mocha. Credit cards accepted.

Sleep

Get out