Bellevue's main attractions lean toward parks and gardens, with the Bellevue Botanical Garden as the standout — 53 free acres of cultivated beds and wetland trails east of downtown. The city also has a growing arts scene centred around the Bellevue Arts Museum, which focuses on craft and design rather than fine art and sits in a striking Steven Holl building.
For outdoor space in the urban core, Bellevue Downtown Park provides 20 acres of lawns and a reflecting pool a short walk from the transit centre. South of downtown, Mercer Slough Nature Park is Lake Washington's largest surviving wetland and one of the best urban nature walks in the Eastside. The Lake Washington waterfront has public beaches at Newcastle and Chism parks, and the SR 520 bridge trail connects cyclists and pedestrians to Seattle.
Bellevue's neighbourhoods reflect its diversity. Crossroads is the most culturally varied — a strip of East Asian restaurants and markets that is arguably the best eating area in the city. Old Bellevue along Main Street has the most pleasant walkable streetscape, with independent restaurants and cafés in a low-rise setting near the lake.