Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour
4.5
BEST SELLER
Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour
By Beneath the Streets
Recommended by 91% of travelers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
Get to know Seattle's first established neighborhood, Pioneer Square, by walking its underground pathways as they existed in the 1890s in the company of a guide. Trace the city’s history, from an Indigenous dwelling to its Gold Rush days and up through its current state as a thriving modern neighborhood on this walking tour.
from per adult
$29.03
from per adult
$29.03
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 7-99, max of 20 per group
Duration: 1h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
English
Highlights
- Learn the history of Pioneer Square from a unique, below-ground perspective
- Walk the neighborhood's subterranean tunnels with a knowledgeable guide
- Trace Seattle’s history from an Indigenous encampment to the 1890s to today
- Seattle history tour covers the basics while leaving time for other sightseeing
- Professional guide
What's not included- Gratuities
- Meet your guide and group at 102 Cherry Street, near Pioneer Square, at least 10 minutes prior to your scheduled departure. Be sure to wear good walking shoes as this underground walking tour covers uneven terrain and involves ascending and descending about six flights of stairs. After a brief introduction from your guide, set off to explore one of Seattle's oldest neighborhoods and its subterranean tunnels on this guided tour. Listen to stories of Seattle's past, from the Klondike Gold Rush to Skid Row, as you wander dark passageways and then back up to street level. Over the course of three blocks, you'll cover a century of history, from the neighborhood's origins as a Coast Salish settlement to its modern iteration. It’s a perspective you can’t get by wandering on your own. The tour concludes at Occidental Park.
- Departure details
- 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.
Return details- 119 South Main St, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 36129P1- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Operates rain or shine, please dress appropriately
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- What you can expect during your visit
- Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
Community- Safety precautions are provided by the property and are not checked by Tripadvisor for accuracy.
- Which attractions will I visit with Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour?
- During this experience, places you will visit include:Discover and book Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour on Tripadvisor
- How much is Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour?
- Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour price starts from $29.03. Discover and book Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour on Tripadvisor
- What is the Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour cancellation policy?
- Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour cancellation policy: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. Discover and book Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour on Tripadvisor
- Which company provides Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour?
- Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour is hosted by Beneath the Streets. Read reviews, discover additonal experiences or contact Beneath the Streets on Tripadvisor. Discover and book Beneath The Streets Underground History Tour on Tripadvisor
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 36129P1
Reserve your spot
from $29.03
Itinerary
- You'll start at102 Cherry St102 Cherry St, Seattle, WA 98104, USALook for the black awning over the sidewalk; the stairs beneath will lead right to the check-in desk.See address & details
- 1Beneath the StreetsStop: 15 minutesSee details
- 2Pioneer SquareStop: 60 minutesSee details
- You'll end at119 South Main St119 South Main St, Seattle, WA 98104, USASee address & details
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator.
Deborah S
00Great tour
Fantastic tour Mike was great knowledgeable funny and energetic. My husband has trouble walking he was very patient…
veronicaaE265LP
00Great tour- a must in Seattle
Our tour guide Dave, was really good. It will be nice to have most Q&A brochure to read a bit about it. Other than …
Jorge M
00Great Tour
Mike was awesome! Funny and knowledgeable and a fellow drummer! Would recommend to anyone interested in seeing and …
crazymomg5
00Cool Tour!
Cool tour! Learns a lot and our guide, Patti, was the best! I wish we could’ve seen more, but understand the limi…
342trangn
00Educational and Entertaining!
Imogen was a fantastic tour guide! Not only was she animated and eccentric, she made the tour educational, entertai…
KayLo2022
00Great tour for history buffs (especially for urban environmental history buffs)
Really loved our tour with Chuck who was a great historian. Very fascinating! Definitely check it out.
alanhI4143HP
00So much more than a peek underground
Would love to have Jim Gall talk more about everything he covered. Four hours with drinks would seem l more like1…
V6765ISmattheww
00Excellent tour
Excellent tour that was informative and entertaining. Our tour guide Richard was fantastic and somehow knew everyon…
B8535TAjasonm
00Great Tour
This was a really great tour. Richard our tour guide was a lot of fun and gave us a lot of really good information.…
anotherworlddownther
00What's up underground
Dave, our guide was very knowledgeable, and enthusiastic to present the very interesting story of old Seattle. I h…
kristyl813
00Walk through time
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable & answered all our questions. Even the silly ones. We enjoyed the walk below.…
jadt2023
00Amazing!
The trip gave us an unprecedented perspective of Seattle and our tour guide Mike was the best! Yeaaayoo!
ainsleightoth
00Totally worth it and so interesting!
Terry-Lynn was a wonderful guide! She had so much knowledge and passion about the topic and the city. We learned so…
JDVT86
00Cool informative tour
Jim was great! Funny and super knowledgeable! I would highly recommend for locals interested in learning more about…
Adventure671632
00Unique tour
Richard made the tour fun and was extremely knowledgeable. Highly recommend taking the tour. Don’t forget to bri…
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
3,283 reviews
Excellent
2,551
Very good
455
Average
152
Poor
68
Terrible
57
hippiechick99
San Diego, CA25 contributions
My sister and I had originally planned to go on another company's tour but the person at the front was less than kind so we decided to go with Beneath the Streets. We thought it would be fun to discover more about the "seedier" history of Seattle and decided on the adults only, red-light district tour. We started the tour underground and sat in a room with about 20 other people and learned about the earliest settlers in the region. We left the building with our tour guide Jennifer and walked through Pioneer Square as she told us about how the city was essentially built on vice. We went to two other underground areas and learned so much more about the city. Jennifer was engaging, funny and so informative. We would recommend this tour to anyone interested in the actual back stories of how the city came to be.
Written September 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James M
Pullman, WA1 contribution
Mar 2023
Dave was an excellent guide. He explained the history of the city in general as well as how the underground developed. The tour can handle a reasonably large group, but it seemed personal as it's encouraged to reach out for clarification or additional details between stops and Dave was accommodating. Four of our group were visiting from Japan and relied on Google Translator (or a similar app) to follow along with Dave and it could keep up well enough for them to learn during the tour. There are additional discounts available with your ticket at several local vendors which was an unexpected perk. Two in our party are architects, so they appreciated the insight into local buildings and the engineering behind the underground and streets. Wearing a mask during the underground sections was not an issue or inconvenience in the slightest.
Written March 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bryan L
2 contributions
Tour guide started with a 15 minute history lesson on the City of Seattle, which was relevant and funny. Then spent most of the tour underground putting eyes on the history that we heard.
Pros: funny tour guide, interesting if you like history, authentic scenery (no fake props).
Cons: tour group was rather large (about 30 people), was expecting more out of the tour considering the price.
Pros: funny tour guide, interesting if you like history, authentic scenery (no fake props).
Cons: tour group was rather large (about 30 people), was expecting more out of the tour considering the price.
Written April 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stallion V
16 contributions
Nov 2022
We have done underground tours at other places, where they literally walk you through the streets and you get to see a so many places in the city itself. So we expected much more of the underground portion.
The office is located beneath the street so it is indeed ground under.
The folks are pretty good and hard working.
The tour starts with a history lesson abut 10 mins and they take you in the next room about 20x10 feet which is like a basement and show you how the place was before the city was built and what it is now. It is basically another history lesson that lasts about 15 mins.
The tunnels are not connected so you then have to walk out and go 3 blocks down.
The guides mind you are hardworking and tell you about the stores and places overground as well as you walk through them.
But we were literally were 40 mins into our tour and we only spent about 10 mins in a 20x10 room underground and nothing more.
The next and last stop is a little bigger chamber may be a set of 3 rooms where you spend another few mins and that's about it.
The whole tour lasts for 60 mins and because there was not much walking to do and so much of listening involved the kids started getting bored.
We did like the tour but it was way overpriced for what it was worth it.
After taxes it comes to about $100 for 2 adults and 2 kids and it is definitely no where close to what you expect.
We did expect walking through streets seeing more rooms and how things were before, may be it was an expectation from our previous tours in other cities and that way this was very disappointing.
They offer 3 different kinds of tours and may be they are other tunnels shown there, but honestly it may be worthwhile if all were combined into one tour and you got more to see then hearing a history lessons for 45 mins out of 60.
Good concept but way overpriced and far less actual content to see.
Adding one more star for the guide and the staff.
The office is located beneath the street so it is indeed ground under.
The folks are pretty good and hard working.
The tour starts with a history lesson abut 10 mins and they take you in the next room about 20x10 feet which is like a basement and show you how the place was before the city was built and what it is now. It is basically another history lesson that lasts about 15 mins.
The tunnels are not connected so you then have to walk out and go 3 blocks down.
The guides mind you are hardworking and tell you about the stores and places overground as well as you walk through them.
But we were literally were 40 mins into our tour and we only spent about 10 mins in a 20x10 room underground and nothing more.
The next and last stop is a little bigger chamber may be a set of 3 rooms where you spend another few mins and that's about it.
The whole tour lasts for 60 mins and because there was not much walking to do and so much of listening involved the kids started getting bored.
We did like the tour but it was way overpriced for what it was worth it.
After taxes it comes to about $100 for 2 adults and 2 kids and it is definitely no where close to what you expect.
We did expect walking through streets seeing more rooms and how things were before, may be it was an expectation from our previous tours in other cities and that way this was very disappointing.
They offer 3 different kinds of tours and may be they are other tunnels shown there, but honestly it may be worthwhile if all were combined into one tour and you got more to see then hearing a history lessons for 45 mins out of 60.
Good concept but way overpriced and far less actual content to see.
Adding one more star for the guide and the staff.
Written November 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mark S
Calgary, Canada59 contributions
May 2022
Very dull and not what the reviews led us to expect. Only the first underground stop was interesting, the other two looked like basements being renovated; I have one of those at home. The guide's 'narration' seemed muddled with a lot of scattered information, delivered in a voice so shrill it became annoying to listen. Also, our guide could not find her key to access one of the intended underground stops so we never even saw that one. I would estimate that about 65% of our overall' tour time' was in fact above ground, not underground. At the end, we came away from this tour feeling that:
a) we had wasted our time and our money
b) 15 minutes spent on Wikipedia would have made us better informed about Seattle's underground history than this one-hour tour did
c) surely this could not be the same tour that had garnered decent reviews?
d) we wished we had gone to almost any other Seattle attraction instead of this dud.
My girlfriend who accompanied me on this tour concurs 100% with the above summary.
a) we had wasted our time and our money
b) 15 minutes spent on Wikipedia would have made us better informed about Seattle's underground history than this one-hour tour did
c) surely this could not be the same tour that had garnered decent reviews?
d) we wished we had gone to almost any other Seattle attraction instead of this dud.
My girlfriend who accompanied me on this tour concurs 100% with the above summary.
Written May 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Greg
San Diego, CA5 contributions
First. Jennifer was awesome! She is a native Seattlean/Seattlite? You know, born, live, lifer to the area. She is funny and has tons of knowledge about her city. While you can easily see she loves her abode, she’s very real about it’s unsavory side, past and current. We took the red light tour and it was no holds barred, language and content. We loved it! It really filled in so much about Seattle, I’d recommend to anyone visiting the city what wants to know about it’s real past.
Written September 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lauren ONeil
4 contributions
Aug 2022
When my husband and I told people we were visiting Seattle, one thing that kept coming up as something to do was an underground tour. We did our research, and found Beneath the Streets.
What drew us to this tour was that it was historical rather than comical (apparently another tour is based on and advertises as funny/adult humor). We did the Underground History Tour and had about 10 of us in the group. I appreciated that this tour company keeps the groups small.
Our tour guide was very informative and we learned a lot about the history of Seattle and how the "underground" came to be. I quote the word underground because, like our tour guide said, it is technically not underground - this was the original Seattle that was literally built on top of to what we see today. He made the tour interesting and appreciated how he did it more "off the cuff" than just reading from a script. Also he had a good knowledge of the area, so got some advice for places to eat and things to see (like The Central bar where Seattle grunge came to be) as well.
I would recommend this tour for anyone looking to learn about a not well known part of Seattle history, and be able to step inside it too.
What drew us to this tour was that it was historical rather than comical (apparently another tour is based on and advertises as funny/adult humor). We did the Underground History Tour and had about 10 of us in the group. I appreciated that this tour company keeps the groups small.
Our tour guide was very informative and we learned a lot about the history of Seattle and how the "underground" came to be. I quote the word underground because, like our tour guide said, it is technically not underground - this was the original Seattle that was literally built on top of to what we see today. He made the tour interesting and appreciated how he did it more "off the cuff" than just reading from a script. Also he had a good knowledge of the area, so got some advice for places to eat and things to see (like The Central bar where Seattle grunge came to be) as well.
I would recommend this tour for anyone looking to learn about a not well known part of Seattle history, and be able to step inside it too.
Written August 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kim Smith
1 contribution
Mar 2022 • Friends
The tour was great fun. Mike, the tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about the history hidden beneath the streets of Seattle. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the city for a day or two, or fit anyone who lives there it nearby. Fascinating aspect on one of the USA's less highlighted cities.
Written March 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Missy C
Los Angeles, CA4 contributions
Apr 2023
Jerry was our guide and he was very knowledgeable and interactive. He gave a thorough history of the Underground Tour, but what was also very impressive was his response to general questions about the history of the area. I would definitely recommend this tour to everyone who is looking to learn a bit more about Seattle.
Written April 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joanne F
2 contributions
Oct 2022
We learned so much early history on this tour with John who was a fantastic tour guide. His presentations were lively and informative.. We strongly recommend the tour to anyone who wants a better understanding about how Seattle grew as a city.
Written October 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Do they still require to be vaccinated or negative pcr test to enter in June 2022?
Hans L
1 contribution
No. Masks are required when in cramped spaces, which they provide
I have a 5 years old child does she need to buy a ticket?
traveller270890
London, UK112 contributions
Chad tkts from 7 years old
mobopolo
Palmer, AK73 contributions
Are masks still required for the tour? We’ll be there in June 2022?
LizandTony
West Point, VA23 contributions
We were there in April and masks were required indoors as well as proof of vaccination/negative test
Ana M
1 contribution
hay alguna posibilidad de hacerlo en español? gracias
Ana
somos de argentina, mi esposo y yo
we are traveling and are wondering how far in advance can the negative test b to join the tour?
drshearerss
southern california20 contributions
I think you will need to call them if you are unvaccinated, and need to provide proof of a test. It has to be a PCR test, within 72 hours.
My son is 5 years old, is he allowed to participate.
If so is he free or do I buy a child ticket (7 to 12) age group?
Where does one park for this?
Dennis S
4 contributions
There are also several parking ramps nearby. We parked in a parking ramp on James Street, just east of 1st Ave. Super easy.
Kashif A
Sammamish, WA4 contributions
For someone with anxiety or slight claustrophobia, is this a manageable tour? The person's symptoms are triggered if we're talking more than 1 level down. Basement ok, but not below basement. Also if too long of a stretch with narrow walls and no light from outside. Thoughts?
Dennis S
4 contributions
I think you’d probably be fine…everything was a single level below street level. No super narrow passageways. Most of the underground spaces do not have outside light, but are pretty well lit, and most ceilings were fairly high. Hope this helps!
Hi, so what are times available for the tours, I don't see it listed anywhere? Thank you
Kuay S
Coppell, TX34 contributions
Click the date that you want for the tour. Then, it will show time availability.
