Seattle's largest art museum was founded in the 1930s by a collector of Asian art. Today most of the Asian collection is housed at the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park, but at this downtown location, you'll find changing special exhibitions as well as collections from around the world and dating back to the Roman Empire—though the greatest strength is still the Asian collection. At this location there's also a cafe and restaurant, a bookstore, and an extremely welcoming lobby where you can just hang out and watch First Avenue go by free of charge. Plus, check out shows happening at SAM Gallery.