Seattle Monorail

Worth the trip. Easy, uncomplicated and quick. It's is satisfying to ride a fully functional monorail with Disney being my own other frame of reference. Riding the Monorail to the Space Needle gets you in the mood to experience retrofuturism at its finest. Visited 9/2024.

The Seattle Monorail offers a quick and scenic transit option between downtown Seattle and Seattle Center, home to the Space Needle and various attractions. It's an iconic part of the city's transportation system, providing a unique aerial view of the urban landscape. The ride is fast and convenient, taking just a few minutes to travel the 1-mile route. With its historical and modern convenience, the Seattle Monorail is both a functional and enjoyable way to explore the city.

Quick 3 min ride to space needle and Westlake center. Wait should be around 10 minutes. Love the scenery of the city life. Reasonable price for one way or round trip. You can pay debit/credit card at ticket vending machine for a ticket. No need to pay advance.

The monorail was fast and clean. I appreciated that we could go between downtown and “Seattle Center” daily for a relatively fair price. It also gave a quick, limited view of the touristy side of the city. The only downside was that the monorail seemingly was not air-conditioned, making it very stuffy inside in the summertime.

Simply amazing to see old tech like this maintained so well and operating. Relative cheap and fun it's a must do in the city. The ride is quick and the staff is fun. Definitely take a trip on this historical rail line!

Love it! Reliable, modern, clean, affordable. Conveniently runs from the airport north. Every station offers connections to bus routes to travel east and west. Coming from other major cities this is one of the best public transport offerings serving a metro area and its airport.

Such a cool form of public transportation. We took it from the museum to our hotel. It was only a few blocks from the station. It was cheaper than taking an Uber. Check out my profile for more great eateries and craft cocktail bars. ✌🏼

Unique historical part of Seattle, both fun and retro and the best way to get to mopop, the space needle, and all the other interesting areas here.

The Seattle Center Monorail is a quick and convenient way to get to, you guessed it, the Seattle Center! We were staying by Pike Place Market, so this monorail was just a 5-7-minute walk to the Westlake Shopping Center, where it is located. The morning we went it was a very chilly Tuesday morning and the place was practically deserted. I mean we were in the single digits of riders when we went there. It would have been nice to have some kind of form of heating in the waiting area, even if it's just a few space heaters. Damn, it was freezing! The station and train were both reasonably clean, so no complaints there. Fares are $3.50 one way and $7 roundtrip. Totally worth it, IMO. 4 stars.

Welcome to the World of Tomorrow!! Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the Monorail is still up and running to shuttle you to and from Westlake and Seattle Center. It's public transportation so it's not exactly exciting, and it's only about a mile, super walkable, but it is fun to enjoy a little piece of history and you can get some nice views since you're up on the track. If you're a local and have an ORCA card you can just tap on as you usually would for any other transportation system. Visiting? Go to the kiosk and you can get your ticket there.

I've taken the bus and I've tried the Free Waterfront Shuttle. I still think the Monorail is the fastest way back to Westlake (downtown Seattle). Sure it may feel touristy but we like to use it after concerts at Climate Pledge Arena and Kraken hockey games...hopefully in the near future Seattle SuperSonics NBA games??? ;) The platform is outdoors so dress appropriately according to the seasons. Access points to the platform are near the Armory building. A ramp is to the south of the Monorail platform, to the east of the Armory building is a skybridge, and on the east side of the Armory building are stairs to the skybridge. Just use your Orca card and tap the yellow card reader near the fare gate. If you don't have an Orca card, just pay at the ticket vending machine or pay online on their website.

Not the most exciting thing. It only has one stop. So if you're downtown going to the sspace needle, great. Beyond that, you may not need it.

The Seattle Center monorail was seriously a lifesaver getting from one part of town to the other. Although we didn't have our day totally planned out as we would've liked, getting on the tram to people watch and observed the new sights was pretty amazing

Monorail to link space needle and pike place market. It is a short distance monorail the view is awesome. The monorail is near to pike place market, just follow the sign to get to pike place market. An easy walk, flatland.

The Monorail is awesome but with a name like that, and it's history, how could it not be. Fun to ride and the fastest way to go between the Seattle Center and downtown. It has been running since 1962 and originally built for transportation to and from the 1962 Worlds Fair. You can get on at the Seattle Center Station at 305 Harrison Street and it goes to the Westlake Center Station (Westlake Center Mall @ 400 Pine Street at 3rd Floor) . That's it. Just goes back and forth. There are two tracks but either one or the other was running. We took it a bunch of times but never saw them running at the same time. We did the Orca card while on vacation and just kept loading money to pay for our public transportation. Easy and convenient and you can use it for the Monorail, light rail, street cars, and busses. The Monorail is a must do when in Seattle. For more info, you can check out their website at www.seattlemonorail.com.

This is a fun cheap way to travel from downtown Seattle to the Space needle, IMAX, museum of pop, culture, and more. DJ

It's a short ride, about a mile, on the monorail from Seattle Center to the Westlake Center. It's doesn't cost much either. However, it just seems like a fun thing to do.

It was part of our fun day in the Seattle, WA. Area. We did a round trip to make it easier to get back to the airport to go home. Nice ride and great views of the city! Also is very ADA friendly, which is a big plus!

Such a convenient way to get from the Space Needle area to the downtown Seattle area. Paid only $3 for an all day pass, (with military discount) regular all day fee is $6. Both stations were clean and felt very safe to be in. The monorail itself was also very clean and we saw cleaning crews cleaning once we got off. I also saw security walking around at several different times of the day! Glad this option is around and could take us from one point to the other, so we didn't have to get an uber.

It is vital to manage your expectations. For me, while it was cool and different to ride a monorail, this is something I only needed to experience once. It was more something touristy to try than use throughout my visit as transit. The monorail ride is two minutes, three-dollar trip, under a mile, with a top speed of 45 MPH (used to be 60!). The main reason this exists is due to the world fair. It was necessary to link downtown and the fair's amenities, so here it stands. Locals (allegedly) use it for sporting events and other festivities. Tourists can find value (at least once) given the area it arrives at/departs from. Hence I am not discounting its utility. At the same time, I did not find my mind blown. The train was clean and ran without an operator in the car. Kind of reminded me of the Las Vegas Monorail in that regard.

Yeah! This is a cool way to see downtown Seattle and worth it if you're visiting! It was a short ride for us from downtown to the Space Needle, which we were heading for, but it was a fun ride nonetheless. The station is clean and operations are orderly. The Monorail runs above ground and the station is on a second floor in a shopping mall. Tickets were affordable and next time I'm in town I'll ride around some more and explore the different spots in this fascinating city.

The monorail is a located at the Westlake Center and is a quick, convenient link between downtown Seattle and the Seattle Center which is home to the Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and so much more! The monorail departs every 10 minutes and one-way tickets costs $3.00 Adult (age 19-64) and $1.50 Youth (age 6-18). I find it costs around the same price for an Uber ride, but offers the fun, novelty of riding in a monorail for the kiddos. It's especially convenient if you have a stroller and would rather not pack the car seat and all the things like I did 5 years prior. Just make sure you're charged the right amount. We were charged for round trip tickets, but only needed one-way. We were able to get a refund on the other end though. With COVID and construction going on in the area, it seemed like there was a long line, but nothing drastic. The monorail holds a good amount of passengers, so while the line may seem long, once it starts moving (about every 10 minutes), you're good to go. I mainly just wanted to bring my son back for another ride on the monorail 5 years later :)

If you're visiting from a city with a subway, reset your expectations. The monorail is not a subway or metro. It was built in the 1960s for the World Fair to transport millions who came to see the newly-opened Space Needle and other wonders built for the fair. Today, it's a two stop above ground train that is used by mainly tourists. Here's what you should know: 1) Station: It's small, but it's clean and shaded (important during Seattle's only sunny months in July and August). There are benches to sit on as you wait for the train. 2) Price: It's only a few dollars per adult and kids under six are free. The train ride itself is short and takes you from the Seattle Center to downtown where you can walk to Pike Place Market.

The Seattle Center Monorail I feel is part of the spectacle of the Space Needle and the Seattle Center experience. Overall I think it's an additional feature for the tourists. But it does have more practical use for the locals as you can park in a downtown parking garage and take the monorail in for special outdoor events and for events at the Climate Pledge Arena and if your desire is to visit one of the museums there. For the longest time the metro Seattle commuter card, the Orca Card that can be used on the buses and light rail in the city was not available for the monorail but became available to use in 2019. The monorail just has the stop at downtown and the stop at the Seattle Center so it's not a very long ride at all. It still is fairly unique however as the United States doesn't really have a lot of different monorails. Some others are in Orlando and Las Vegas and a few others in which those too are primarily a feature for tourists but also assists transporting people up and down attractions that are fairly large walking distance. Unfortunately after a few searches I was unable to retrieve any pictures of this monorail from my photos I had. Perhaps I did not dig deep enough or looked in the wrong spots but other Yelpers have provided ample and attractive pictures of the monorail to enjoy on the entry.

The monorail is very purposeful to travel from downtown to the space needle. Built in the 60s it is still very efficient and a clean ride and quite cheap. You can get tickets for round-trip or one way. The one-way trip takes a few minutes.

Very clean and efficient way to get around to two locations in Seattle. Very smooth ride. Wheelchair accessible.

Experienced the Seattle Center Monorail before the start of Pokémon GO Fest. It transported my friends and I from the Westlake Center over to the Seattle Center in only two minutes. What was neat was the speakers from the Monorail was playing Pokémon themed music! The pricing is great and currently costs $3.25 (according to their site). It is convenient if you are at the westlake station and much cheaper than a rideshare service. It's interesting to see the history behind the Monorail too. It was built for the 1962 Seattle World's fair, which was a long time ago!

I have got to give a shoutout to Seattle's public transit. Coming from a city with terrible options for getting around without a car, it's pretty impressive to utilize theirs. We were staying in downtown Seattle and wanted to do what the tourists do and go to the Seattle Center area to see the space needle and visit Chihuly Gardens. We looked up the walk, which was only about a mile. Do able but a little far. Then we realized we could get there in an instant using the monorail (and for only $3). Score. The monorail just goes from downtown (near 5th Ave) to the Seattle center and back. The monorail waited a few mins before departing, which gave us enough time to grab our tickets and jump on. The ride was so quick and popped us out perfectly where we wanted to be! So convenient!

Thank you Seattle Center Monorail for being super convenient, and a quick way to get back and forth to Climate Pledge Arena. Did I also mention it's only $6.00/person to ride the monorail round trip for the entire day?! I didn't?! Yep, it sure is! I should also mention that I was thoroughly impressed that the money was so clean, and smelled like sanitizer upon entering.

Super affordable way to get to around Seattle. It does take to the light rail which is great! Sometimes that stop can be lengthy waiting for and rial could be packed upon entering so beware. Definitely love that it is great for tourists and locals to use and cut down on pollution.

Convenient & easy to use if ur near 1 of the 2 stops & saves u some walking up hills. Approx $3.75/each way for adults & slightly less 4 kids. Use ur cc to buy tickets at the kiosk & then go to the entry & tap the barcode to get through the gates. Very clean & felt quite safe. It's mostly all tourists. Can get quite crowded during cruise season. Ride is very short- only few min & train comes fairly frequently. If u get off at westlake, u can take elevator or stairs down. There r a lot of stairs so if ur not super mobile, consider the elevator. Also worth considering if ur good up to the monorail at westlake. It's a good leg workout.

Did I think this was a flashy new monorail that would get me from one side of the city to the next? Absolutely not! And if you're in that mindset you are going to be extremely disappointed. What this monorail does provide is a look into the past, of what people in the past thought the future would look like. It's worth the $3 one way ticket to get on this rickety scary 45mph tin can because it is. We likened it to a less scary roller coaster ride for a very small price. When it starts to go very sideways around the halfway point? Where you think it will fall off? Thrill ride. Where it enters the MoPOP and looks trippy? Fun!

Paul was the greatest.... It provided precise accurate information and made it very very easy to get to where we were going I highly recommend you guys seek Paula 5 stars

Update: Office staff reached out via email following my email regarding the incident of a gate closing on my toddler. They generously gifted us a Monorail bunny and assured me that they are working on the sensors.

$3 each way on the monorail it took us from the city center through Pop Museum & over the city quickly to th mall downtown. Air conditioning wasn't working it was very hot.

It looks cool and was featured in the TV series "Once". Fun to ride and the fastest way to go between the Seattle Center and downtown. It has been running since 1962 and originally built for transportation to and from the 1962 Worlds Fair...

When you need to get from point A to point B real quick, the Seattle Center Monorail is the perfect line of transportation for you! It basically has one stop so basically, this will save you some time getting across the city. You'll pay $2.50 for an adult at the booth and then wait for the monorail to show up. No one scans your ticket or anything like that because you'll pay at the booth and then enter through the turnstiles. The monorail station is near the Space Needle but closer to the museums. The platform that you stand on is about the length of the monorail train. Guard rails protect you from falling so you need to focus on your safety while waiting. The train will pull up nice and slow as it comes to a halt. Let others exit and then it'll be your turn to board the monorail. The interior is nice and clean! The bright red benches are a welcomed sight due to their colorful hue. You can sit on the bench next to the conductor and enjoy your quick trip along the track. The ride is smooth and effortless making for a comfortable trip! The monorail has one stop each way. You'll either exit at the shopping center or near the museums in the other direction. Once it stops, you have to exit because there's nowhere else to go. Plus, if you get off at the shopping center, you're near a lot of the popular stores as well as walking distance to Pikes Place! This is a great form of transportation to get to the popular tourist attractions in Seattle. We wouldn't hesitate to use this method of transcription again. It's efficient, clean, and quick!

Pleasant experience! It was a brief but pleasant ride. AC, but there was still decent air circulation. I enjoyed it and would do again :-)

So, some jackass decided that my previous review didn't clearly relay a personal experience. Let me clear that up. "This will lead to death and destruction, mark my words." I've been on it. It's rickety. It gets stuck half-way to nowhere. It's chock-full of assholes from everywhere on their way to spend a small fortune to see the world from the top of the Space Needle. The previous review was likely more generous but now I'm irritated so this is what you get trying to weed out the negativity. It just gets worse. Personal enough for you?

Quick and easy transportation from downtown to the Space Needle. The $3 price tag seems kind of expensive for the short, non stop trip. Would be nice if it was round trip. Unfortunately for us, it was closed for maintenance for 3 of the 4 days we were visiting. We got to take one ride from DT to the SN and it was perfectly fine. Fancy? No. Does the job. Yes. Makes a 15-20 minute walk into a 2 minute ride. Pro tips: Payment via card only, no cash. Masks are required. No AC, so it gets hot, but at least its a short ride. If you are entering from street DT, and are a bit lazy, take the elevator. There are more stairs than you think. Departures every 10 minutes, and there will be a line, so be prepared to wait. My only real gripe...I wish the hours were extended. We did not walk to walk "home" in the dark, so we ended up leaving earlier than we wanted to because the monorail was closed.

What can I say? It went from one station to the other. Just under a mile, easy walk to Pike's Place Market and $3 for adult.

An amazing piece of history and a must do for anyone visiting Seattle. This monorail track was originally built for the World's Fair (same as the Space Needle) and it is awesomely retro! The train only goes from the Space Needle to a downtown mall and back, but it does so in style and gets you about 1/2 way to Pikes Place if that is your destination. The mall on the one end is also a great place to recharge, use the restroom, etc. Lines can be long and trains can be very crowded during peak times, so be prepared to possibly stand or wait for the next train. It's cheap to ride and an awesome piece of history, why wouldn't you do it!

Very easy, fast and efficient! My cousin and I were done touring the Seattle Center and wanted to go shopping in Westlake. Lucky for us, we were at the Armory and I spotted the Monorail sign prominently displayed by the Starbucks by the entrance. We walked over, paid our $2.25 for a one-way fare, waited ten minutes, and up came the monorail! It really takes two minutes with great views and drops you off at the mall which is also in walking distance of Pike Public Market. Check it out either way to the Market or to the Space Needle!

Must do. Super cute rail. You get a very different view of the city. And cuts down the need to walk from Pike's place to Space needle. We did the round trip and would recommend doing it to everyone who wants to wander around Seattle.

Since I live in a part of California that doesn't have many transportation options, we had to ride the Monorail to and from the Needle. It was quick and easy. I loved the city feel of going through the buildings. It cost only $2.25 each way, per person. If you're visiting the area, it's a great way to get around.

We got the CityPass so I have to try the monorail in Seattle lol! The whole experience was rather fast. I started at the Seattle Center (inside Westlake Shopping Center, 3rd floor) and the monorail took about 5 minutes to reach Chihuly museum. The scenery was good, but not great as I expected. I would not spend my own dollars to get on the monorail.

I've lived in Seattle (fine, Redmond) for almost a decade and this was the first time I took the monorail. It's *very* affordable and a quick ride to the Seattle center from downtown or back. We took it to make heading to the international district less of a trek on foot. :)

They took the terrible skins off the windows! View restored and it no longer gives me a headache looking out the window, thank you!

It's a nice monorail, roomy and reasonably quiet. It's only a few dollars for a ride, but there are only 2 stops. It helped us get a little closer to where we needed to go after we saw the Space Needle, so it is useful. I was hoping for a longer ride, but it's functional and only takes a few minutes. One of those things you can say you did at least once in your life.

Amazing mode of transportation. For a layover in Seattle, I paid for luggage storage, hopped on the light rail at the airport and took the monorail from Westlake to the Chihuly Garden. The round trip on the monorail was $5. It was an enjoyable ride that lasts just a few minutes, but it gives. A nice view of many of Seattle's attractions.

The route is short but fast. One end conveniently stops in the middle of Seattle Center, accessible at the Armory (the food court!) There was no line to get in. Probably because it doesn't really go that far...

Decades ago there was a dream. A dream that we would ride the skies above and through a city. We can fly, but we can't fly through the city. We can drive through in our vehicles and get into a gridlock. Imagine if there was a complete system above the streets of your metropolitan city. This is a dream that can be finished or simply have to wait. We take a quick tour on the Seattle Center Monorail. Depending on which direction you may be taking, there are only two stops that you can take from: Seattle Center and Westlake Center. One Way Fare is $2.50 for Adults, $1.25 for Kids and Seniors, and kids are free. You can buy a Monthly Pass for $50 for Adults, $25 for kids. You will purchase tickets from the booth and simply wait for the monorail to arrive. While you are up above the ground, there is no sliding gate that prevents you from falling. There is one gate to allow a line to form, but still a safety hazard. The monorail is guided by a train engineer. While we love autopilot, I would still prefer having some human hands on the navigation even if we are headed on one direction. I know it may change in the future, but for right now...Keep it Historic! While the name says, "Monorail" there are two trains that do share one main track and splits tracks when it reaches the station. If you ride the front or back, you will have a great view of the many people walking around while you are traveling at 45 miles per hour. A lot of comfortable seats and just a sight to behold without holding the wheel. Westlake Center stops at the hustle and bustle of Seattle. There is a small mall at this entrance and there are a lot of stores on the street level that is willing to accept your wallet. At the Seattle Center Stop, this is where it leads you to the famous, Seattle Space Needle. The Seattle Space Needle is surrounded by a lot of museums making this stop a popular way to get through downtown. Seattle Center Monorail is definitely special. I think I have a baby photo of me riding. It was spectacular then and still is today. Although the ride was short, it will give anyone moments to see how incredible this service/ride is. Not many cities have monorails that glide through the cities. Most of us go into tunnels and rarely see what is above or around us. I wish there were more monorails in every city. That alone would change how we travel. The Yelp Journey you take is an inspiration for others. Whether it is for them to try or to be in the footsteps of your experience. With every Yelp Story, it gives another day of bright light from the hidden shadows. Yelp Today and be heard!

Taking the monorail to the fish market. Fun way to travel for a short ride. Monorail was fast and got us to our destination quickly. The only downside was I kept slipping on my seat

The Monorail is a fun, inexpensive way to get from Westlake Plaza downtown to Seattle Center. The ride is pretty quick since it is only a couple a miles away, but you can enjoy a scenic view of the city while riding. People on the Monorail are friendly. I chatted with other tourists and locals showing their visitors around.

Ride the Seattle Center Monorail once, if you want, but there really is very little purpose beyond tourist appeal. The peaceful, above-ground train connects the Seattle Center (Space Needle) with the Westlake Center (mall) about 9-10 blocks away. The total distance covered is just under 1 mile and takes only 2 minutes. * Opens at 7:30a on weekdays and 8:30a on weekends * Service runs til 9:00p or 11:00p depending on season/day * Adults $2.50; Youth (5-12) $1.25; Seniors $1.25 * Monthly passes: $50 (adult) or $25 (other) * Closed Thanksgiving & Christmas * Dogs on a leash that behave are allowed * The Monorail is owned by the City of Seattle * Opened March 24, 1962 for the World's Fair * The track goes "through" the Museum of Pop Culture * There are two trains (blue or red), each on its own rail * The trains are powered by 4 750-HP motors * 700 volts DC electricity provide the energy * The top speed on the short route is 45 MPH * About 450 people can ride each trip * The Monorail is designated a Seattle Historical Landmark Since, the monorail runs every 10 minutes, it is a fairly easy check mark on your Seattle tourist bucket list. You won't be alone as about 2 million people ride the Seattle Center Monorail each year. Next stop = the only stop.

This ride is a piece of history... when monorail mass transportation was cutting edge. Dirt cheap for seniors... $1.25 one way. It's a short ride to Westgate from the Space Needle but is a "must do" for visitors to Seattle. There is usually a large crowd but they run the train very frequently.

Great Price for a one way or round trip ticket. We toko the LINK from SEATAC airport and connected at Westlake station to get to Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located.what an trip awesome. Just make sure you watch you time on the last train operation when connecting. Nice and Clean ! lots of seats open on a late Sunday night.