SEATTLE

Seattle remains one of the most original and appealing cities in the United States. At first glance, it appears as a traditional American city with skyscrapers, four-lane highways, an intense cultural life driven by magnificent museums. However, nature is never far away in Seattle. The largest metropolitan area of Washington State is surrounded by several mountain ranges - including the famous Olympic Mountains -, lakes and the Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. Locals and tourists regularly indulge in getaways to beaches, snow-capped peaks, or other extraordinary landscapes within an hour from the city centre. Winter or summer, Seattle residents nurture their passion for sports and the outdoors. Suffice to say, surfboards, sky equipment and kayaks rarely stay in the closet.

While the paradox is that the giants of American industry - such as Boeing, Starbucks, Amazon and even Microsoft - were developed there, Seattle is yet one of the best students in the world, environmentally speaking. Throughout the United States, it is cited as an example for its bike lanes, strict regulations on environmental protection and its public transport policy.

It terms of cultural life, it was mainly inspired by music. Great American legends like Jimi Hendrix and groups such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and even Foo Fighters have made Seattle known, which remains a key player in the alternative scene today. In terms of lifestyle, the city paves the way for the latest trends in gastronomy: the first organic restaurants were developed here, with chefs taking advantage of the wealth of products from the fertile soil of Washington State, or that of nearby Oregon. This city is one of the few to have maintained a traditional market: Pike Place, inaugurated in 1907, it has been a source of pride for Seattle, with its appealing stalls of farm produce and fish from the Pacific.

Nicknamed Emerald City, in reference to its surrounding green landscapes, it deserves its reputation as a city that is a great place to live.