Harbour Air’s new Victoria to Seattle flight (Petti Fong photo for Vacay.ca)
Thousands of World Cup fans now know a big reason why Vancouver and Seattle are consistently ranked some of the most walkable places in North America.
Add Victoria to that list, as some global visitors did recently, and it’s clear that the three cities are so livable because their downtown core is so easy to navigate.
West Coast Cities Lead in Walkability
For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which wraps up tomorrow with the final match between Spain vs Argentina, the largest edition of the tournament has been in 16 cities across three countries. Those cities include Guardalajara and Monterrey in Mexico, Houston and San Francisco in the U.S. While great spots to visit, (read our stories here about Mexico, California and Texas), all of those spots were given low marks when it came to accessibility for fans.
Vancouver and Seattle Ramked #1 and #2 for Accessiblity
The two winners? Seattle, at #2 and Vancouver #1, according to a ranking from SI.com. All the venues are easily accessible.
In Seattle’s case, Lumen Field is also known as the loudest sports venue in the United States. Excited fans plus metal bleachers equals volume. It made for one of the best and boisterous atmospheres I’ve seen at World Cup fan viewing sites.
Harbour Air’s Victoria-Seattle Route
A new Harbour Air flight from Victoria to Seattle was well used by soccer fans and international visitors including many visiting the west coast for the first time.
Miranda Ji, executive vice president of business development at Destination Greater Victoria, says the new flight to Seattle supports cross-border visitation, business exchange and short stay travel.
“These are all very key to our visitor economy,” she said. “Sattle, the Pacific Northwest, is a key source market for us for tourism.”
New Cross-Border Flight for Tourists and Business Market
The largest number of visitors from the U.S. to Victoria come from the Washington State market.
As a resident of the west coast, it’s easy to forget how stunning our geography is. One family from Mexico told me the flight to Seattle was a last-minute decision to take and quickly became the highlight of their visit to the west coast.
Even with ear plugs, it was easy to hear other passengers’ excitement as the red coloured Harbour Air plane splashed then soared into the air from Victoria Inner Harbour towards Washington State. In 30 minutes, it touched down at Lake Union in Seattle. It’s probably the only flight I have taken recently where it felt too easy. I wanted the journey to last longer as the clear blue sky and glistening water below made this getaway a shortcut that was maybe a bit too short.
A City in Motion: New Waterfront Park and Renewed Downtown
Arriving was worth it. If you haven’t been recently, the city has taken on a sheen that has been missing for the last few years.. That may be partly due to the FIFA World Cup, but I also saw a renewal that makes this familiar destination to Vancouver residents feel different. There are new reasons to visit.
New waterfront park in Seattle (Petti Fong photo for Vacay.ca)
An expansive new 20-acre public park in downtown Seattle includes playgrounds, bike lanes and public community areas. With wide walking spaces, the park promenade was full with thousands of spectators on the day of my visit which, happily, coincided with the first match in Seattle between Mexico and South Africa.
The Seattle energy felt electric, deeply Pacific Northwest and global. At Pike Place Market, Hellinika, famous for its Greek yoghurt, has a revolving menu and that day, it included Karak Tea from Qatar with saffron and cardamom, a Tim Tam Slam version to celebrate the Australian team with flat white coffee and c and my favourite, the Biscoff with the famous spiced cookie from Belgium.
Greek Yoghurt celebrating the World Cup different flavours (Petti Fong photo for Vacay.ca)
The walkability of Seattle’s downtown is enough reason to go. What made this trip worthwhile was seeing it with a new perspective. Seattle has changed and is changing. For a while, it seemed like there was nothing new about Seattle that I hadn’t seen before.
This recent visit made me realize Seattle’s creativity and confidence were reasons to go before. How it is constantly in motion today makes it a city that rewards wandering and rediscovery.
