Portland, Oregon

What to Do

• Powell’s City of Books is the largest independent bookstore in the world, and it is a massive location. It is similar to the Book Loft in Columbus, Ohio, but even bigger! Four floors of well curated and varied titles in 10, color-coded rooms divide 3,500 sections of over 1 million titles into a collection so vast that it definitely requires the maps you can collect at the entrance. If all of that is not enough to pique your interest, there is a cafe in addition to the bookstore that already takes up a full city block. If you are at all interested in reading of any kind, Powell’s should be on your itinerary.

• The Portland Art Museum contains regional and international collections with the normal rotating exhibits expected of a large regional museum. Though perhaps lacking the bona fides of an Art Institute of Chicago or a Louvre, the PAM is worthwhile, and has been known to attract the works of Monet and other eminently famous artists from time to time. If you want to spend some time inside or out of the rain, this is a good choice.

• The Gilded Gosling loves gardens of all kinds, so it is no surprise that the Lan Su Chinese Garden is on our list. An authentic Suzhou-style garden in the heart of the city, what could be better!

• The Pittock Mansion is a French Renaissance-style home, built in 1914 for a newspaper publisher and his wife, Henry and Georgiana. A beautiful house, it is now a museum and the grounds are one of the best places to view the city of Portland, and Mount Hood beyond.

• The National Sanctuary of our Sorrowful Mother, or the Grotto, is an altar and sanctuary of the Catholic Church ministered by the Servite Friars. The lower level is free to enter and walk around, and it is surprisingly peaceful for its location in the city. To ascend the cliffs and walk the rest of the area, there is a fee.

• Washington Park includes the Oregon Zoo, Portland Japanese Garden, and Hoyt Arboretum, as well as the International Rose Test Garden. If you want to get out in nature, enjoy a leisurely walk, or take a run without leaving the city limits, Washington Park is perfect. Over 450 acres of well maintained public space is available from 5am-10pm, and the park is free to enter. There may be parking fees and there are fees for the zoo, the Japanese Garden, and the Forestry Museum.

• Forest Park: Over 80 miles of trails in 5,200 acres, perfect for hiking and trail running, and abutting the Pittock Mansion, Forest Park is another natural feather in the urban cap of Portland. Many access points and 20 free parking points, many at or near trailheads, provide unfettered and easy access to this city forest.

• Mount Tabor Park: An extinct volcano with stunning city views, this park is not nearly as large as Washington or Forest Parks. What is lacks in size it makes up for in its more central location, the street cred of being an extinct volcano cone, and an excellent all around view of Portland.

• The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, or OMSI, is a great family activity and a wonderful choice for travelers with children. Science labs aimed at younger visitors, a planetarium, and the pièce de résistance, a Barbel class submarine christened the USS Blueback.

Nearby Day Trips

• Columbia River Gorge: Just 30-45 minutes from Portland; visit Multnomah Falls and hike scenic trails.

• Mount Hood: Skiing, snowboarding, and hiking.

• Oregon Coast: Cannon Beach is a 90-minute drive and ideal for a day by the ocean.

Where to Eat and Drink

• Food Carts: Portland has pods of food trucks serving everything from Thai to Ethiopian.

• Le Pigeon: French-inspired, creative fine dining.

• Pok Pok: Northern Thai cuisine (note: may be temporarily closed—check status).

• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Portland’s coffee pioneer.

• Voodoo Doughnut: Wild toppings and flavors and popular with visitors because of the crazy and sometimes inappropriate combinations, and the stories of donuts past, like the Nyquil donut.

Events & Festivals

• Portland Rose Festival (May–June)

• Portland International Film Festival (March)

• Feast Portland (September): A premier food and drink festival.

• Saturday Market (March–December): Arts, crafts, and food on the riverfront.

Local Tips

• Weather. It rains a lot—pack a rain jacket, an umbrella, and repeat the maxim:”There is no bad weather, just bad clothing.”

• Tax-Free Shopping: Oregon has no sales tax! That certainly takes the sting out of any kind of shopping you choose to do, or have to do as circumstances dictate.

• Portland can be… weird. It is a stereotype that the city is a little off, and a lot of that may be marketing, but it is certainly a free spirited place on the whole. You may see some billboards or signs that you wouldn’t see at home, or some street art or graffiti that may be shocking to more conservatives senses, but when in Rome you do as the Romans do, and when in Portland you keep it weird.

• The city has a homeless problem, worse than is usually the case for cities of a comparable size. Throughout downtown, though not limited to it, there are people without homes camped on the street and down alleys. Though we have never encountered any issues or had unpleasant experiences, the situation exists, and is disheartening. Be prepared for this reality, and if you feel the desire to lend a hand a quick search can find many organizations trying to alleviate the issue.