Portland
A perfect day in Portland
Portland is a great walking city with tons of public transport, an atmosphere that celebrates the arts, a culture of great food, artisan coffee, craft beer, wine and neighbourhoods full of shops with handmade clothes and crafts.
And as fantastic as Portland is to spend time in, it’ s one of the easiest cities to spend time outside. The mountains, waterfalls, wine country and other assorted outdoor goodies Oregon is famous for are all a short drive away.
The Portland Saturday Market( Mar-Dec, Sat-Sun) is alongside the river and is full of local artisans, it is a perfect starting point for a leisurely walk of the city. While you’ re in the downtown area, the Portland Art Museum has a large collection of northwest art from the 19th century to the present day.
The Pearl District is a trendy part of town which was formerly an industrial area, and is now home to boutiques, galleries, restaurants and bars. Many of which are housed in refurbished warehouses. It’ s also home to Portland’ s oldest brewery – with over 70 in the city, this of course means plenty of beer tastings are available at some fantastic breweries.
Next, you may want to savour the sights and scents of the oldest public rose test gardens in the USA. There are more than 8,000 roses, with the peak of the rose season late spring, but the gardens are lovely year round and have spectacular views over the city.
Our favourite places to stay:
• Hotel Rose
• Jupiter Hotel
• The Benson Hotel
Our favourite things to see and do
Breweries – Portland is home to more than 70 breweries and has been a hub for the USA craft beer scene since the 1980s. They say it’ s the fresh ingredients like Willamette Valley hops, barley and Bull Run water that makes their beer so good. There are plenty of brewpubs, beer themed events and brewery tours – you’ re bound to find a brew you love.
Bikes & Segways – There’ s around 400 kilometres of bike lanes and many of them run through downtown and past popular attractions, shops and restaurants. You can hire bikes and Segways or do a guided tour that will take you around the bridges, breweries, food carts and parks of Portland as well as further afield to explore the wine country and Columbia River Gorge.
Food Trucks – Portland’ s food truck scene is massive with over 600 in the city. They are generally grouped together in‘ pods’ around the city. Alder Street, Tidbit and Mississippi are a couple of great pods to visit. There are also food cart tours if you fancy a few hours sampling some delicious treats.
Powell’ s City of Books – This is the world’ s largest independent bookstore that takes up a whole city block. It has new releases and second hand books sharing the shelves and is a must for book worms.
Nob Hill – This is a fun area with some of the city’ s trendiest shops and eateries. Don’ t forget there is no sales tax in Oregon, so shopping is definitely worth considering.
Columbia River Gorge – Starting around 50 kilometres from Portland this scenic area has amazing views, more than 90 waterfalls and heaps of hiking trails.
Wine Country – Less than an hour’ s drive is the gorgeous Willamette Valley, home to more than 250 wineries, quaint towns, rolling farmland and delicious pinot noir.
Voodoo Doughnut – There are lots of crazy( and delicious) doughnuts – like bacon maple walnut, Captain My Captain, Memphis Mafia and Apple Fritter. But be prepared to wait, there is often a queue just to get in the door.
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