The Woodmark Hotel, Yacht Club & Spa, on the shore of Lake Washington.

EASTSIDE SUBURBS BELLEVUE , Kirkland and Redmond have gone from quiet villages to thriving satellite cities that offer great shopping and dining to neighbours like Microsoft, Google and Boeing.

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Luxury shopping has always stayed in style here. This autumn the Bravern (11111 NE 8th St., Bellevue, 425-456-8780, thebravern.com) opened-a massive designer fashion, shopping and dining destination that features the first Pacific Northwest locations for luxury retailer Neiman Marcus, New York’s famed Artisanal Brasserie and Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Spa. Meanwhile, foodies can find not one but two outposts of Seattle’s well-stocked culinary mecca Sur La Table in Eastside, one in the Bravern and another in Kirkland (90 Central Wy., 425-827-1311, surlatable.com).

Kirkland’s funky downtown is also the place to discover unique treasures at charming home decor shops like the Paisley Cupboard (141 Park Ln., 425-828-2648), as well as the best of Washington state wines at the Grape Choice (7 Lakeshore Plz., 425-827-7551, thegrapechoice.com).

Check out the crafty displays at the Bellevue Arts Museum (510 Bellevue Wy. NE, 425-519-0770, bellevuearts.org) and the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art (1116 108th Ave. NE, 425-455-1116, dollart.com), or take in one of the lively shows at the intimate Kirkland Performance Center (350 Kirkland Ave., 425-893-9900, kpcenter.org).

You can peek at those other works of art-the fancy lakeshore homes of local high-tech pioneers, that is-from deckside on an Argosy Cruise on Lake Washington (departing daily from the Kirkland City Dock, 1-800-642-7816, argosycruises.com).

Join the rest of the two-wheeled folks in bike-crazy Redmond at the Marymoor Park Velodrome, the only one in the state (6046 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy. NE, 206-957-4555, velodrome.org/mva). Finally, for a little liquid refreshment, visit the more than 40 wineries and tasting rooms in Woodinville Wine Country, ranging from the giant Chateau Ste. Michelle to the petite Dusted Valley (woodinvillewinecountry.com).

Stay
Luxuriate at the Woodmark Hotel, Yacht Club & Spa (1200 Carillon Pt., Kirkland, 1-800-822-3700, thewoodmark.com), a romantic getaway on the shores of Lake Washington. Or kick back and enjoy the surprisingly plush comforts to be found along the Eastside high-tech corridor at the Heathman Hotel (220 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland, 1-866-997-5475, heathmankirkland.com) or the Bellevue Club Hotel (11200 SE 6th St., Bellevue, 1-800-579-1110, bellevueclubhotel.com).

Eat
Lots of restaurants claim to serve "farm-to-table" fare, but at Trellis (Heathman Hotel, 220 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland, 425-284-5900, trellisrestaurant.net), chef Brian Scheehser really means it: he grows much of the restaurant’s produce on his own farm and even serves a "two-hour" salad whose ingredients were in the ground less than 120 minutes earlier.

Award-winning chef Terrance Brennan’s newly arrived French boîte Artisanal Brasserie & Winebar at the Bravern Bellevue (425-372-2200, artisanalwa.com) was, in its original location, named by Gourmet as "one of the best bistros in New York" and its new home is just as terrific.
For a romantic night out, Bin on the Lake offers seductively simple seasonal dishes, 80 wines by the glass and an unbeatable lakeside setting at the Woodmark Hotel (1200 Carillon Pt., Kirkland, 425-803-5595, binonthelake.com).

And to sample the true homegrown taste of the Pacific Northwest, it’s a toss-up between the straight-from-the-ocean cuisine at chef John Howie’s Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar (205 108th Ave. NE, Bellevue, 425-456-0010, seastarrestaurant.com) and the acclaimed Pacific Rim flavours of Wild Ginger at the Bravern (425-495-8889, wildginger.net). wl

For more information, visit explorekirkland.com, experienceredmond.com, bellevuewa.gov and also seattleeastside.net.