Olympia serves as the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and functions as the county seat of Thurston County. Situated at the southern end of Puget Sound on Budd Inlet, it anchors the South Puget Sound region of western Washington. The city lies approximately 50 miles southwest of Seattle and borders the municipalities of Lacey and Tumwater. Its geographic position is defined by the Deschutes River estuary entering the Sound, where the river was dammed in 1951 to create Capitol Lake.

The site has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Stechass people, part of the Squaxin Island Tribe, before European arrival in 1792. Olympia was declared the capital of the Washington Territory in 1853 and incorporated as a town on January 28, 1859, becoming a city in 1881. The name was selected in 1850 for its view of the Olympic Mountains. Historical developments include the Treaty of Medicine Creek in 1854 and significant infrastructure changes like the construction of Interstate 5 in the late 1950s.

The city is recognized as a countercultural hub in the Pacific Northwest, particularly for its music scene that emerged in the 1990s with punk rock movements. It is home to The Evergreen State College, known for its non-traditional curriculum. Much of downtown Olympia sits on reclaimed land created by the Carlyon Fill in 1910–11, which dredged sediment to form a deep-water port. The area also features active artesian springs, including one at Artesian Commons park.

Olympia draws visitors with its role in the emergence of riot grrrl and grunge music scenes. The city offers fare-free bus service through Intercity Transit, which provides high per-capita public transportation use relative to other cities of its size. Cultural attractions include the historic significance of the site for Coast Salish peoples and the modern educational institutions that contribute to its liberal arts environment. The city's layout reflects its history as a customs house and territorial capital.

The population was 55,605 at the 2020 census, with the metropolitan statistical area estimated at 300,000 residents. Olympia experiences a warm-summer Mediterranean climate with cool summers and rainy winters from November through January. The monthly mean temperature ranges from 38.4 °F in December to 64.1 °F in August. Annual precipitation averages 50 inches, with extreme temperatures ranging from −8 °F to 110 °F recorded between 1948 and 2021.