There are two Queen Annes, and both are worth knowing. Upper Queen Anne sits atop one of Seattle’s steepest hills — a quiet residential enclave where tree-lined streets are flanked by some of the most beautiful architecture in the city. You’ll find original Craftsman bungalows from the 1920s next to stately Tudor Revivals, and the occasional grand Queen Anne Victorian that gave the neighborhood its name. The streets are wide, the yards are real, and on a clear evening, the sunsets over the Olympics from Marshall Park, (a quiet alternative to Kerry Park just down the street) are among the most spectacular and photographed views in the Pacific Northwest.

Lower Queen Anne — increasingly known as Uptown — is a different energy entirely. This is Seattle Center territory: Climate Pledge Arena (and hopefully soon the Seattle Supersonics returning in 2028), the Space Needle, MoPOP, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Rep. It’s denser, younger, more urban. The restaurants are built for pre-show dinners and post-game crowds, and the walkability is excellent. But even here, turn one corner off the main drag and you’re on a quiet residential block with a century-old apartment building covered in ivy.

What both share is a fierce neighborhood identity. Queen Anne has never been a pass-through neighborhood — people come here intentionally, and they tend to stay. The commercial strip along Queen Anne Avenue N in Upper Queen Anne has the feel of a small-town main street: an independent bookshop, a neighborhood grocer, a coffee shop where the barista knows your order. It’s one of the few places in Seattle where you can live a five-minute drive from Amazon headquarters and still feel like you’re in a village.

Queen Anne’s dining scene runs deeper than most people realize. Canlis, perched on the south slope overlooking Lake Union, has been one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier fine dining destinations since 1950 — the kind of place where the view, the service, and the wagyu all compete for your attention. For something more intimate, How to Cook a Wolf on Upper Queen Anne Avenue delivers seasonal Italian dishes in a space that feels like a dinner party you were lucky enough to get invited to.

Toulouse Petit in Lower Queen Anne does New Orleans–style creole with an ambition that borders on obsession — their beignets with coffee glaze alone are worth the trip. Up the hill, Betty has been a neighborhood staple for over a decade, serving thoughtful, seasonally driven comfort food in the kind of spot where the chef actually walks the dining room. Grappa brings Mediterranean warmth with handmade pasta and a carefully curated wine list, and 5 Spot remains the go-to for anyone who wants a massive weekend brunch with a bloody mary that means business.

For morning coffee, Queen Anne Coffee Co. on upper Queen Anne Avenue does it right — good beans, no fuss. And if you need groceries at midnight or the best cookie in Seattle (it’s called “The Cookie” and it’s earned the capital T), Metropolitan Market in Uptown delivers on both.

Kerry Park is the postcard — the view you’ve seen a thousand times on Instagram, and the one that still stops you in your tracks in person. The Space Needle centered against the downtown skyline, Elliott Bay stretching west, and on a clear day, Mount Rainier floating impossibly large on the southern horizon. It’s a 1.26-acre park on W Highland Drive donated to the city in 1927, and it remains one of the most iconic viewpoints in the Pacific Northwest.

But locals know the quieter spots. Marshall Park, just down the street from Kerry Park on W Highland Drive, offers equally stunning views of the Olympics and the sunset without the tourist crowds — it’s our go-to when we want the view without the photo ops. Kinnear Park on the western slope has wooded trails, sports courts, and bluff-top views of Puget Sound that feel like a different city entirely. And Queen Anne Boulevard — the Olmsted-designed scenic loop around the crown of the hill — is one of the finest walks in Seattle, lined with historic homes, mature evergreens, and vintage streetlamps from the early 1900s.

Walk Score hovers around 73 for Upper Queen Anne and significantly higher in Lower Queen Anne. The hills are steep — the counterbalance that once powered the Queen Anne streetcar is a piece of Seattle transit history — but the payoff is that every walk comes with a view.

Queen Anne is bordered by Fremont and Wallingford to the north, Magnolia to the west, Belltown and South Lake Union to the south, and Capitol Hill to the east. From I-5, take the Mercer Street exit (Exit 167) and head west. King County Metro routes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 13 serve the neighborhood, and the RapidRide D Line connects Lower Queen Anne to Ballard and downtown with frequent service. The Seattle Center Monorail — a two-minute ride from Westlake Center — drops you at the base of the hill.

Commute times from Queen Anne are among the best in Seattle: downtown is 5–10 minutes by car or bus, South Lake Union and Amazon’s campus is practically next door, and I-5 access makes Bellevue reachable in 15–20 minutes outside of peak hours. Upper Queen Anne’s residential streets have better parking availability than most in-city neighborhoods, though street parking near Kerry Park on summer evenings is a different story entirely.

Queen Anne’s housing stock tells the story of its history. Upper Queen Anne is dominated by single-family homes — Craftsman bungalows, Tudor Revivals, and the namesake Queen Anne Victorians — many dating to the 1910s through 1940s. Homes that have been thoughtfully maintained or renovated hold their value exceptionally well, and this has been one of Seattle’s most resilient markets through every cycle. Median home prices in Queen Anne hover around $1.45 million, with larger estate-quality properties and view homes commanding significantly more.

Lower Queen Anne offers a broader range of entry points through condominiums and townhomes, many with views of the Space Needle or Elliott Bay. The proximity to Climate Pledge Arena has brought renewed energy and investment to the Uptown corridor, and newer mixed-use developments continue to add inventory without diluting the neighborhood’s character.

We’ve represented buyers and sellers on Queen Anne and know its micro-markets block by block — from the premium that view corridors command on the south slope to the quiet, tree-canopied streets north of McGraw where families put down roots for generations. If you’re considering a move to or from Queen Anne, we’d welcome the conversation.