Port Townsend
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Port Townsend is a city in the Olympic Peninsula region of Washington.
Get in
By car
From U.S. 101 at the tip of Discovery Bay, SR-20 splits off and runs 13 miles to downtown. Traffic coming from the Seattle area will want to take one of the many ferries across Puget Sound to reach the peninsula. Driving the land route alone, Port Townsend is roughly a two-hour drive north of Olympia, and one hour east of Port Angeles.By bus
Both regional Jefferson Transit buses and the Dungeness Line conveys at , just north of the marina at 12th St & Haines Pl (next to the Safeway supermarket), from there one can continue by local bus to downtown.
- Jefferson Transit Connections to Sequim (Rt #8); Poulsbo (Rt #7) and to Brinnon (Rt #1). To get to Seattle take the #7 bus to Poulsbo and transfer to Kitsap Transit Rt#90 to the Bainbridge Island Ferry terminal and take the ferry into downtown Seattle. Take the Link Light Rail to continue from downtown Seattle to the airport. Take the #8 bus to Sequim Gateway Transit Center and transfer to Clallam Transit Rt#30 bus to Port Angeles. Takes longer but also the cheapest and more frequent option to travel between Port Angeles and Seattle without car. Take the #2 (Ft Worden) or the #11 (Port Townsend Shuttle) bus to get into town from the Haines Place P&R.
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Dungeness Line operated by Olympic Bus Lines
address: (bus stop) Haines Place P&R @ 12th St & Haines PlOperates the Dungeness Line route from Sea-Tac and Seattle to Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles. The bus goes across the Puget Sound on the Edmonds-Kingston ferry and is the most direct way to travel between Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula by bus. Connections with Amtrak, Greyhound, Sound Transit and other inter-city services are in Seattle.
By boat
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address: 1301 Water StThere is a ferry connecting Port Townsend and Coupeville, on Whidbey Island. The small ferries required by Coupeville's narrow harbor mean that vehicle space is often limited, and drive-up motorists may have to wait several sailings for a space. Guaranteed reservations can be made in advance online or by calling 511, and are all but essential on Friday afternoons, weekends and holidays; another alternative is driving south via SR-19 and SR-104 (Hood Canal Bridge) to the larger ferries at Kingston or Bainbridge Island. Pedestrians and bicyclists will never have a problem boarding the ferry.
Get around
Everything is in an easy walking distance. When you don't feel like walking it is easy to catch a bus to anywhere in the town.
See
Fort Worden Historical State ParkFeatures beaches, many trails, and abandoned military bunkers.
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address: 651 Cleveland StOn the National Historic Registry. Also one of the most haunted buildings in America.
Do
- See Port Townsend historic district, where there are still a lot of Victorian buildings in a "time capsule" atmosphere.
- See a movie at the Rose Theatre, which gets mostly indie films that only open in certain theatres, or at the Uptown Theatre.
- In mid to late September Port Townsend has its film festival where there's movies indoors and outdoors during the night. This is one of the biggest independent film festivals in the world.
- Stroll around on the downtown strip, visiting the interesting shops.
- In the summer, relax on the beaches at Fort Worden. (You can camp there too either on the beach or further inland.)
- Port Townsend also holds a Wooden Boat Festival also in September.
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phone: +1 360 379-1295address: 835 Water StRent a bicycle and pedal around town or on local trails! Many styles and sizes to choose from at The Broken Spoke bicycle shop.
Eat
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Fountain Cafe
phone: +1 360-385-1364address: 920 Washington StGreat little place up the hill from the fountain with mostly organic foods. -
Waterfront Pizza
phone: +1 360-385-6629address: 951 Water StThe best pizza in town! Buy it by the slice or order a full pizza with all your favorites and dine upstairs in the funky atmosphere. -
Lanza's Ristorante
address: 1020 Lawrence StLocated uptown has really great Italian food. -
phone: +1 360-385-5023address: 225 Adams StReally great Thai food, a favorite with the locals.
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Ichikawa Sushi Bar & Steak House
phone: +1 360-379-4000address: 1208 Water StJapanese cuisine from its sister city. -
phone: +1 360-385-6448address: 237 Taylor StGreat atmosphere and is known for their exceptional seafood dishes.
Drink
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1012 Coffee Bar
phone: +1 360 379-1012address: 1012 Lawrence StArtisan espresso with a cozy local feeling.
Sleep
In sharp contrast to many other American towns, Port Townsend has several historic downtown hotels.
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phone: +1 360-385-7909address: 330 Benedict St
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address: +1 360-385-3007
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phone: +1 360-385-0773address: 1004 Water StOccupying a historic Victorian building, this restored hotel is located right in downtown.
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phone: +1 360-385-5467address: 635 Water St
Go next
Port Townsend is connected to Coupeville on Whidbey Island via the Washington State Ferries. It is also relatively close to Olympic National Park and the Kitsap Peninsula.