A Ferris wheel is the latest high-profile addition to the Seattle waterfront, where the aquarium and a variety of restaurants are just a few steps from the Pike Place Market.

The Pike Place Market Historic District covers 9 acres and includes more than 200 vendors. The heart of the place for most tourists is just beneath the big orange Public Market Center sign and clock. Do pose for a photo with Rachel, the bronze charity piggy bank. Keep an eye out for flying fish (Pike Place Fish Market is a short toss away) and listen for music; buskers love this spot.

Don’t rent a car to get around downtown Seattle. Since 2009, Sound Transit’s Central Link light-rail system has run trains from the SeaTac Airport to the underground Westlake Station at Fourth Ave. and Pine Street, about four blocks from Pike Place. It’s a 35-minute trip. Trains leave every seven to 15 minutes, $2.75 each way.

Don’t go looking for night life at the market. Although a few restaurants have busy bars (Pink Door and Radiator Whiskey, for instance), most of the market area is idle by 10 p.m., and surrounding blocks can be sketchy.

Don’t expect pristine solitude in Victor Steinbrueck Park at the north end of the market. The views and totem poles are impressive, but crowds are often thick, and panhandlers and dope dealers work the area hard.

Do spend a few minutes gawking at Pike Place Fish Market, where fishmongers holler and fling their salmon, halibut and other goods.

If you need some dead-tree reading — the latest Nome Nugget newspaper, for instance, or a European magazine — or a postcard or stamp, do stop at First & Pike News.

If you’d like to see brick walls bedecked with recycled chewing gum or you would like to see a show at the Market Theater, do head to 1428 Post Alley, which is beneath the market proper and across the alley from the Alibi Room bar. The gum bits started to accumulate in the 1990s and got a big boost when National Geographic gave the site a two-page spread in June 2010.

For Chinese food in a tight space with a big view, do consider Pike Place Chinese Cuisine. Most main dishes run about $15.95.

For a stylish dinner in a buzzing room, do try Steelhead Diner, where the menu is heavy on seafood. Excellent chowder. Main dishes $18 to $38.

Do climb up to Matt’s in the Market for a sophisticated meal and view of the market with Puget Sound behind it. Matt’s, which dates to 1996, is an elder statesman among upscale restaurants at the market. Dinner main dishes $28 to $47.

For a stiff drink (or half a smoked pig’s head, if you dare), do try Radiator Whiskey, an atmospheric bar that opened in 2013 across from Matt’s in the Market. Besides spirits, this place offers a short dinner menu, with main dishes typically $13 to $18. The half pig’s head, which feeds two to three, is $48.

If you need to sober up, year-old Storyville Coffee is down the hall.

To taste what the buzz is all about, do sample some of Rachel’s Ginger Beer. Some people step up for a sweet refreshment, such as the blood orange ginger beer float with vanilla soft serve that I ordered. (Excellent, $8.) Others choose the $8 Montana Mule. Rachel’s isn’t cheap, but lines often stretch out the door.

To understand where you really are (or to plan your next trip), do browse Metsker Maps. Great shop for travelers, hikers and geo-nerds. Maps, globes, books.

Don’t go looking for an early snack at De Laurenti Specialty Food & Wine. This beloved source for Italian ingredients and snacks doesn’t open until 9 most mornings, 10 on Sundays. But the long table in front is a great spot for strong coffee and tasty raisin croissants.

Do try Ghost Alley Espresso and Market Ghost Tours. Mercedes Carrabba converted a 147-square-foot closet into this snug caffeine haven and tour-guide headquarters. Coffee $1.75 to $4.25. Besides spooky stuff, her tours feature plenty of legit history. Adults pay $16.50 for a 75-minute tour.

Do have breakfast at Lowell’s (and watch a ferry glide through the Puget Sound. Opens at 7 a.m. daily. “Almost classy since 1957,” the signs say. Also open for lunch and dinner. Dining areas on three levels, big views and cinnamon rolls almost as big. Dinner main dishes $13 to $31; breakfast dishes $8 to $21.

If you’re young and pinching pennies, do explore the Green Tortoise Hostel. It’s reasonably clean, with a prime location. Rates typically $30-$36 per bed per night; private rooms $78-$82. Shaggy travelers from many lands share dormitory rooms (some single sex, some coed) with four to eight bunk beds. Breakfasts are free, as is dinner three nights a week.

Do look for Soul Cat Guitars among the market’s craft stalls. The cat in question is Dean Moller, a veteran woodworker and musician who makes guitars and ukuleles from colorful cigar boxes ($280 to $695).

If you need a quick bite and some prime people-watching, do dip into Sisters European Cafe. Best observation seats are the counter stools facing the alley. Breakfast and lunch. Most sandwiches $6.95 to $9.95.

Do try the first Starbucks, which always seems to have buskers outside and a line of people buying merchandise. The first Starbucks opened a block away (building now gone) in 1971, then moved here in 1976.

For boutique-hotel lodging a few steps from the fresh produce, do check out the 75-room Inn at the Market, which has been at the market (in a purpose-built building) since 1985. Rooms for two are typically $199 to $500. For an over-the-top evening, ask about renting the inn’s best unit. Beecher’s Loft (from $1,500 a night) is a 1,400-square-foot luxury apartment with a big kitchen, ample balcony and amazing views of the market and Puget Sound.

For breakfast with a French accent, do try Le Panier Very French Bakery, which opens at 7 a.m. and fills up fast. On the scene since 1983. Good people-watching, great raspberry croissants ($3.25).

For a romantic dinner, do head to the Pink Door, which dates to 1981. The menu is Italian. Enormous patio, frequent live music and sometimes you’ll find a trapeze artist, in burlesque attire, hovering over indoor diners. (It’s short act, but memorable.) Main dishes $17 to $28.

Even if it doesn’t rain, you do need to duck into the Seattle Art Museum. On view through Jan. 11: “Pop Departures,” featuring the works of icons such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana and Claes Oldenburg.