11. Seattle, WA

If you don't mind the rain, Seattle is an amazing city. I'm really getting sick of making lists of attractions for the cities that have such a large variety, and this city is no different, but I am going to try not to list everything here. Instead, I'll just go into a few of what I consider the more interesting attractions.When you think of the Seattle skyline, one thing that most likely comes to mind is the Space Needle. This is located in the area known as the Seattle Center, which is also home to a children's museum, a science center (including an IMAX), and the Experience Music Project. Between these attractions in the Seattle Center, you can find some decent shopping, a nice variety of restaurants, relaxing foundtains, and even a little carnival. It is not uncommon to find small cultural festivities occurring in the area on weekends. The Space Needle is smaller than I expected, but still impressive.From the Seattle Center, you can take the monorail to the downtown area. Pioneer Square is considered the cultural center of the city with great shopping for all tastes, great food, art galleries, and an amazing selection of bars in a relatively small area. I enjoyed the nightlife on Halloween and don't think any city could really out-compete Seattle for this particular holiday. Each bar and nightclub offered something completely different, and none of them were disappointing. The highlight was definitely the 80s cover band called "The Retros" who all dressed like the Clockwork Orange characters and played to a crowd full of similar 80s icons.For the sports fanatics, the Seahawks, Mariners, and Sonics all play here. The college sports are even more exciting. The Washington Huskies have competitive football and basketball teams, and the football games in particular offer an intensely exciting atmosphere (try to catch a game against Oregon).Pike Place Market is one of the more interesting areas I've seen anywhere. It basically thrives on the fishing industry, but it manages to make it interesting to the public. There is one area of the market that sells fish... as you order it, they toss your order across the room, and make no-look catches over their shoulder before serving it up. These employees just make the place fun. The rest of the market is made up of multiple floors of various stores and shops lining narrow hallways along the waterfront. It is worth spending a few hours there even if you don't plan on spending a dime.There is so much more that I could explain about the city, but these are the main attractions. Like any other place, take your time exploring and ask around for what is really happening on any given day or night. Seattle is a very fun and unique city, and the only thing that could really get you down is the weather. Wear your slicker.