Volunteer Park: Check out the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Volunteer Park Conservatory. Climb the water tower for sweeping 360 views of the city, the Cascade Mountains, the Olympic Mountains, Mount Rainier, Lake Washington and Lake Union, and the Puget Sound. You can also find the sculpture that inspired Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun at an overlook of the city, and on the other side of the park are the graves of Bruce and Brandon Lee.

Interlaken Park: This is one of those parks that makes you forget you're in the middle of the city. I like to make my morning coffee in a travel mug and walk the trails through the woods. There are some stairs so you can make it a little work out if you want.