Discover Seattle’s original neighborhood, Pioneer Square, on this guided walking tour. Explore the underground pathways that were built in the southwest corner of the Emerald City more than 120 years ago. Learn about Seattle’s history and the events that transformed this once-small Indigenous dwelling place into one of the most popular and thriving cities in the United States. Each small-group tour is unique, with insider tips from a professional, local guide.

Enjoy a walking tour of old Seattle
Discover Pioneer Square, the Emerald City’s original neighborhood
Learn about Seattle’s history and the events that led to its beginnings
Compare modern-day Pioneer Square with that of yesteryear
Small group ensures a personalized experience

What's Included

Professional guide

Gratuities
Disposable masks available for purchase at $1.00 each for guests unable to provide their own mask

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

102 Cherry St
102 Cherry St, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Look for the black awning over the sidewalk; the stairs beneath will lead right to the check-in desk.

End point

119 South Main St
119 South Main St, Seattle, WA 98104, USA

What To Expect

Get ready to discover the original Emerald City, the city of Seattle, Washington, from its inception in the 1890s. This entertaining and educational underground voyage travels beneath the streets to uncover three blocks of historic, old Pioneer Square. Explore not only the underground passageways that were built more than 120 years ago, but also the modern Pioneer Square that exists today.

Hear tales from the past, like the story of the stampede to the Yukon gold fields and Seattle's crucial role in what would become the Klondike Gold Rush. Find out about Skid Row, a dilapidated urban area that served as the main street in Pioneer Square. And get to know the history of a group of people called the Coast Salish, the ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples that first settled here.

Beneath the Streets

Beneath the Streets focuses on factual, historical information that details the birth of our city, 1890’s architecture, and several other stories including the Klondike Gold Rush, Skid Row, and the Coast Salish Peoples that first inhabited the area. Our tour guides participate in workshops on cultural traditions and history with special guest historians and Native Tribal members as continual professional development.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Pioneer Square

We cover four city blocks of historic Pioneer Square and explore three underground passageways originally constructed in the 1890's. You'll see and hear the history of the neighborhood from both the original and current street levels.

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Operates rain or shine, please dress appropriately

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

about cancellations.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Q:What is the policy on face masks and attendee health during Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour?

A:The policies on face masks and attendee health are:

Face masks required for travelers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas

Q:What is the policy on sanitization during Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour?

A:The policies on sanitization are:

Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas

Q:What measures are being taken to ensure staff health & safety during Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour?

A:The policy on staff health & safety is:

Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

It was raining the day we went so there were some puddles to deal with so wear comfortable shoes that are appropriate for the weather.

The tour is only one hour, so great for kids.

Reviews

4.5

3,855 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 3,855 reviews

The tour guide was the...

Alexsis_A, Sep 2022

The tour guide was the best part. He was very informative, charismatic, and friendly. However, I did not realize that there were multiple tour locations and assumed this was the one I had taken about 23 years ago. Compared to the one I took before, this one was very short with not much walking through the tunnels. The tour was partly above ground and mostly involved talking. Again, the tour guide was great, but I was really looking forward to walking quite a while in the underground like I had before.

Greatest experience in Seattle

Per_O, Sep 2022

The tour guide Mike was just fantastic. His way of telling stories facts and fun was just excelent. Wonderful way to get the background story of Seattle.

Time well spent

Jacquie_B, Sep 2022

Very informative and knowledgeable guide. I appreciated his genuine approach. Thank you for a fun experience!

History tour

Anonymous, Sep 2022

The guide was very knowledgeable about Seattle history. I just thought there were would be more to the underground experience. I had heard of street markers that you can see from below and we didn’t see any of that. But overall I learned a lot.

1 traveler found this review helpful

Great tour!!! Learned...

Matthew_W, Sep 2022

Great tour!!! Learned about the side of Seattle most tourists don’t know about. Our tour guide Dave was funny and very knowledgeable.

Mostly above ground

jerry_m, Sep 2022

Well, we all enjoyed the tour, our expectations were totally different. The majority of the tour takes place walking around the city and talking about buildings in the history of the area. We did go to three separate small areas underground, but I believe the tour is a little misleading. Knowing that there are 20 square blocks of underground in the area, it was interesting, but only seeing three little sites was less than we had anticipated. The tour size is also quite large, so we felt it was a little bit over priced for a walking around tour.

1 traveler found this review helpful

The underground experience was a joy

Arthur_B, Sep 2022

Our tour guide was so passionate and knowledgeable about the underground. We saw some amazing sights and got a true taste for what’s below Seattle’s streets.

Great historical tour

Leeanna_R, Sep 2022

This tour was great! As was the tour guide Mike! He was funny and very informative. Loved learning about Seattle history.

Fun tour!

Melody_M, Sep 2022

Great guide! Learned a lot about Seattle’s history above and below ground. It is a short tour but the right amount of time.

Great tour! Learned a lot...

Jasmine_N, Sep 2022

Great tour! Learned a lot about the history of the city! Tour guide was very informative and friendly!

Beneath the Streets

Jenn_H, Sep 2022

Mike was our guide and he did an amazing job. The entire group enjoyed learning the history and tales he told us. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in learning the city history and seeing some interesting sites

Great way to present Seattles early history

Valerie_A, Sep 2022

Lots of early Seattle history presented in an entertaining, engaging way by our tour guide. (Ours was Andy) Some current information about the town is also included. Very enjoyable!

Rob was Great!!!!

Lindsey_C, Sep 2022

Rod was a great guide!!! He had so much fun history and even better jokes. We had a large group and he managed us so well.

Enjoyed the Beneath the Streets tour.

Russell_R, Sep 2022

Learning about the history of the Pioneer Square area of Seattle - the fires and how they dealt with raising the grade.

Highly recommend!

Elias_M, Sep 2022

Our tour guide was very nice , funny and knowledgeable ! We learned so much from this trip! Must see highly recommend!

The excellent...

ChristineMacCallum, Sep 2022

The excellent descriptions of the rebuilding of the city and the creation of the underground. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and easy to understand

Great tour!

Christeen_R, Sep 2022

Great tour and very engaging and Knowledgeable host! Would recommend to anyone interested in a slightly different activity to do while in Seattle.

Would recommend.

Tom_D, Sep 2022

Tour guide was very knowledgeable and engaging. Tour and history of “the underground” was interesting and informative.

Very informative and...

Patrick_W, Sep 2022

Very informative and detailed timeline of events which created Seattle. Beneath the streets tour focused on the architecture growth and historic value of the city. Tour guide Dave was great!

Dave the tour guide was...

Jim_B, Sep 2022

Dave the tour guide was great and we found the tour extremely informative. Would highly recommend especially if you want to learn about the history of Seattle in the early years

...

Questions?

Product code: 36129P1

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