Seattle doesn't tend to top the wish-list as an American holiday destination, trailing far behind the bright lights of Vegas, the shopping heaven of New York or the sunshine of Miami.

But to ignore it completely is to malign this diverse, hip and culturally inviting city which was the birthplace of grunge music, Starbucks, Bill Gates and Amazon.com

Located in the Pacific Northwest, just 96 miles from Canada, Seattle feels like both a bustling metropolis and a small, friendly town.

Surrounded on all sides by the glassy waters of Puget Sound, which is an arm of the Pacific, and Lake Washington, it's easy to see why it's described as one of America's most "liveable" cities.

Without the daunting scale of New York's skyline, skyscrapers in Seattle become things of beauty against the snowy backdrop of the Olympic and Cascade mountains.

Described as "the beating heart of the city", there is probably no better place to start exploring than at the world-famous Pike Place Market, and no better time of day to take the plunge into the myriad alleys than at breakfast when the delectable aromas are sure to get your mouth watering and tummy rumbling.

If you want to uncover the deepest corners of this fascinating nine-acre market and sniff out the most sumptuous treats, there are tours. We visited with Michael Rogers from Pike Place Breakfast Tours.

Pike Place Market is a haven for foodies and at 100 years old it's America's oldest continuously running farmers' market. More than nine million visitors come here each year, and within seconds of setting foot in its colourful surroundings it's easy to see why.

From the wonderful Local Color Art cafe, our greedy footsteps took us to Piroshky Piroshky, which normally has a queue of hungry customers snaking out on to the main drag. Set up by a Ukrainian family in the early Nineties, Piroshky's offers a range of pastries with delicacies like leek, onion and cheese in sweet cinnamon-flavoured dough.

After visiting the original Starbucks, opened at the market in 1971, we walked through the oldest arcade, which is a host of small family-run craft shops, vintage stores and comic book stockists, to the Crumpet Shop.

It's weird that a shrine to a gentrified English delicacy exists here. But these aren't rubbery supermarket crumpets, they're doughy, muffin-style delights. We had ours dripping with butter and honey, smearing our chins and fingers.

We waddled back through the arcade to the award-winning clam chowder restaurant dubbed the best in America, to fresh fish stalls inside the main arcade, and onwards to pear gelatos and cheese from artisan cheesemongers Beecher's.

Before leaving the market, head to its major attraction at the fish counter, where employees throw 3ft salmon to one another rather than bother passing them by hand. Apparently, this tradition started when the fishmongers got fed up with having to walk out to the table to retrieve a salmon each time someone ordered one. Visit www.pikeplacemarket.org for an interactive tour and full list of businesses.

After Pike Place, there are many ways to explore the rest of Seattle, from boat cruises along Puget Sound and open-top buses to the monorail and flight-seeing from light aircraft. We chose an hour-long cruise with Argosy boat tours (www.argosycruises.com), which leave from Pier 54. If you get there early enough, there are several great waterfront restaurants serving cheap fare – fresh fish, glorious chips and good beers and wines.

On a clear day, there can be nothing more idyllic than cruising Seattle's coastline. Your guide will fill you in on the history of various marinas and skyscrapers, including the iconic Space Needle. If the clouds have rolled out to sea, this concrete and glass jungle is wonderfully framed by a huge volcano, Mount Rainier, and snow-capped mountain ranges.

After disembarking, we headed through the city on a hop-on-hop-off bus to the Space Needle, which is next to the Experience Music Project – both sights well worth visiting. Located at the Seattle Centre, the Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair but now operates as a major tourist attraction and restaurant. The panoramic views from here are unparalleled (visit www.spaceneedle.com).

If the weather holds, a highlight of any Seattle trip must be taking a little plane from Lake Union with Kenmore Air (www.kenmoreair. com). There is no need for in-flight entertainment – you become transfixed by the Lego-like city below.

From Seattle, we took an internal flight to the town of Spokane, where we stayed in a beautiful Italian vintage venue, Hotel Lusso. Its rooms have a relaxing boutique feel without being too opulent. Pop across the road to the Hotel Davenport to sip a martini beneath the gigantic peacock stained glass window ceiling.

Leaving the cityscapes behind us, it was time to take the plunge into rural Washington. And there was no better place to start than the conglomerate of 30 family- owned producers operating at Green Bluff (www.greenbluffgrowers.com). Growers work to draw punters into a range of seasonal activities including pick-your-own fruit festivals and apple harvests.

The farms attract thousands of tourists with their homespun, old-fashioned farming. Most people time their visit to coincide with the Apple Festival described as a six-week "all-out apple frenzy".

At Knapp's on Green Bluff, we got to experience a really quirky sport, "pumpkin chunkin", using a hydraulic cannon to fire pumpkins at a target a quarter of a mile away. Nobody in the owner's memory has ever hit it, and it's hard to even keep your eye on the pumpkin as it shoots out of the cannon.

From Knapps, we went to the stunning Little Spokane River for an afternoon's kayaking. The waterway bends through a national park, and although it sounds like an afternoon of exertion it's really relaxing, reclining and being carried along by the ripples.

The Wild Sage Bistro was my favourite eatery. It's hip, relaxing and edgy. Every dish has a unique blend of flavours. I ate the sausage gnocchi gratin and heavenly hand-made potato dumplings.

The next part of our tour took us to the heart of Washington wine country. When people think "American wine", they think California, forgivable as the state produces 90 per cent of the country's wine. But Washington is the second largest producing state and its wine industry has nearly doubled in size in the past five years.

The state now has more than 400 wineries and contributes more than $3 billion to the economy. Leading varieties are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillon.

Our tasting trip took us first to Richland, where we visited Tagaris, Barnard Griffin and Bookwalter wineries in one afternoon. When wine tasting, it's often possible to group wineries together to cut down on the travel. Of the three, Barnard Griffin has been going the longest and was recently named Pacific Northwest Winery Of The Year. It produces dry table wines and tasting takes place on the patio or in the cosy alcove. Next door, Tagaris couples its winery with a lively bistro and Mediterranean-style patio where guests can easily while away an afternoon. The winery is the result of three generations of grape growers and produces red and white from its 200 acres of vineyard.

Bookwalter is the smallest of the three and describes itself as a "Starbucks-style" winery because guests are greeted in a relaxed lounge and they pair each wine with a vast array of cheeses, cured meats and breads.

We headed to Walla Walla – a popular holiday spot for wine-lovers. This kooky town is quiet after hours, but boasts a great mix of cafes, galleries and shops, and is scattered with brightly-coloured sweet onion sculptures celebrating the vegetable for which it has become famous. We stayed at the opulent Marcus Whitman hotel which, with its extensive ballrooms, banquet halls and mirrored corridors, convinced many of our party that it was haunted.

We had a truly memorable day with our fabulous guide Chris Erickson from Walla Walla Tourism at Three Rivers Winery. We tasted a selection of their award-winning wines in a splendid setting that boasts three holes of golf. The extensive grounds also include an outdoor amphitheatre which acts as a music venue.

Then it was on to the Cougar Crest Winery. The vineyard makes wine from Estate Grown Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Viognier, but this year it's branching out into Petit Verdot and Malbec.

It's worth a trip out to Monteillet Fromagerie – the first artisan cheese-makers in the region. Run by a friendly couple, home-produced fresh goat and sheep cheese are served in an intimate tasting area, as well as local wines.

We went to the Whoopemup Hollow Cafe where the owners had teamed up with several wineries to offer us a delectable meal of authentic "Southern Comfort" food. The cafe's in Waitsburg, a tiny, quiet town with antiques shops and old-style hardware stores.

Other highlights of our tour included a trip to Chukar Cherries – a Washington institution which sells a range of tasty treats, from chocolate-coated cherries to gourmet preserves – and Apres Vin in Prosser, which makes grape-seed oils, flours and soaps.

In Washington, there are various ways to enjoy wine country first-hand. Our favourite was riding on horseback through the vineyards to a winery where producers met to showcase their wares.

We mounted our horses at the wonderful Cherry Wood Bed And Breakfast in Zillah, run by Pepper Frewel. Guests can stay in luxury teepees decorated with a flavour of the Wild West, retro-style trailers or wonderfully decorated rooms in Pepper's farmhouse.

If you visit the Pacific Northwest, Seattle will show you a different America where political conscience and culture are every bit as vibrant as in San Francisco or New York. But also head off the beaten track to Washington's wine country to sample world-class wines in a glorious setting.

POLLY March's trip to to Seattle and Washington State was courtesy of Seattle and Washington State Tourism. Call 0207 978 5233 or visit www.visitseattle.org or www.experiencewa.com

She flew with KLM, who fly to Seattle Tacoma Airport from Bristol International via Schipol, Amsterdam, from £483 return. KLM and Northwest Airlines also offer direct daily flights from Heathrow to Seattle with fares from £419 return. Call 0871 222 7474 or visit www. klm.com