SPRING comes early to Seattle and lasts long. By the end of February, the rains relent and pastel shades of plum and narcissus initiate a progression of color and scent that lasts months. But new flora is not the only thing popping out of the ground in Seattle these days. Seemingly overnight, whole swatches of downtown and close-in neighborhoods — notably South Lake Union and the Pike-Pine Corridor — have transformed themselves into vibrant enclaves of restaurants, bars and galleries. With so many converted and repurposed buildings, Seattle’s cityscape is starting to look as layered as the wardrobes of its inhabitants. The tarry pitch of the timber port never disappeared; it just got plastered over with grunge flannel, tech money, yuppie coffee, Pacific Rim flavors, and more recently the backyard chickens and chard of urban pioneers. Don’t let a passing shower keep you from entering the mix. This is one of the rare American cities where you can be outdoors year-round without either shivering or sweating.

Friday

4 p.m.

1) PARK TOWER VIEW

Volunteer Park (1247 15th Avenue East; 206-684-4075; www.seattle.gov/parks), a 10-minute cab or bus ride from downtown at the north end of Capitol Hill, has gardens designed a century ago by the Olmsted Brothers, a conservatory bursting with plants from regions around the world, and a squat brick water tower that you can ascend for terrific views of the city below and the mountains and water beyond. Rain or shine, it’s the ideal place for spring orientation. If hunger strikes, stroll a couple of blocks east through one of Seattle’s oldest and prettiest neighborhoods for a slice of lemon Bundt cake ($3) and a Stumptown coffee at the cozy, humming Volunteer Park Cafe (1501 17th Avenue East; 206-328-3155; alwaysfreshgoodness.com).

6 p.m.

2) COOLEST CORRIDOR

The Pike-Pine Corridor is Seattle’s happiest urban makeover: from a warren of shabby flats and greasy spoons to an arty but not oppressively gentrified hamlet just across the freeway from downtown. When the locally revered Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10th Avenue; 206-624-6600; elliottbaybook.com) abandoned Pioneer Square to relocate here last year, the literati gasped — but now it looks like a perfect neighborhood fit, what with the inviting communal tables at Oddfellows (1525 10th Avenue; 206-325-0807; oddfellowscafe.com) two doors down, and a full spectrum of restaurants, vintage clothing shops and home décor stores in the surrounding blocks. When it’s time for a predinner drink, amble over to Licorous (928 12th Avenue; 206-325-6947; licorous.com). Behind the shack-like facade is a soaring, spare, just dark and loud enough watering hole that serves creative cocktails (Bound for Glory, with Bacardi, allspice, lime juice and Jamaican bitters, $12) and bar snacks (salumi plate, $12).

7:30 p.m.

3) FRESH AND LOCAL

One of the most talked-about restaurants in town, Sitka & Spruce (1531 Melrose Avenue East; 206-324-0662; sitkaandspruce.com) looks like a classy college dining room with a long refectory table surrounded by a few smaller tables, concrete floors, exposed brick and duct work. But there’s nothing sophomoric about the food. The chef and owner, Matt Dillon, who moved the restaurant to the Pike-Pine Corridor last summer, follows his flawless intuition in transforming humble local ingredients (smelt, nettles, celery root, black trumpet mushrooms, turnips, pumpkin) into complexly layered, many-textured but never fussy creations like beer-fried smelt with aioli ($12), spiced pumpkin crepe with herbed labneh ($19) and salmon with stinging nettles ($23). Heed your server’s advice that entrees are meant to be shared — you will have just enough room for dessert (warm dates, pistachios and rose-water ice cream, $6.50), and you will be pleasantly surprised by the bill.