Some people call Seattle one of the best kept secrets in terms of vacation destinations. Seattle has a rich and vibrant history and is surrounded by natural terrain that would be hard for any other region or city to surpass, but here are 7 things you didn't know about Seattle.

1. There has been a Starbucks coffee shop operating at the historic Pike Place Market since 1971.

2. The Seattle General Strike of 1919 was the first general strike in the United States of America.

3. Many people think of Seattle as a Pacific coast city when it actually sits on a body of water called Puget Sound, and sits hundreds of miles from the Pacific Ocean proper.

4. Before being renamed Seattle, an anglicized version of the name of local Native American Chief Sealth, the local community had been called both "New York-Alk" and "Duwamps".

5. Nicknames that Seattle has been known as include: The Gateway to Alaska, Rain City, Jet City, the Queen City, and the Emerald City.

6. If you are from Seattle, you are known as a Seattleite.

7. The current professional baseball franchise in Seattle is the Mariners, though it isn't the first major league team to be located there. The Cleveland Indians almost moved to Seattle in 1965, this interest made Seattle a natural choice for an expansion team. The Seattle Pilots would play there for the 1969 season before a very controversial sale of the team ended with the franchise being relocated to Milwaukee where it would become the Brewers.

Seattle is one of those destinations that is easily more appreciated once you visit it. A visit to Seattle is filled with outdoor recreational opportunities and urban delights, a truly unforgettable place to travel to.