Portland

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Pioneer Courthouse Portland, Portland, Oregon, United States

RoseTestGardenPortland, Portland, Oregon, United States

Pioneer SquareDaytime, Portland, Oregon, United States

PortlandStreetcar5, Portland, Oregon, United States

About Portland

Portland is the largest city in Oregon, set where the Willamette River meets the Columbia, with Mount Hood rising on the eastern horizon on clear days. Founded in the 1840s and named after a coin toss with the founders' hometown of Portland, Maine, it grew as a port and lumber town at the end of the Oregon Trail. Its many bridges across the Willamette have earned it the nickname Bridgetown.

Today Portland has about 630,000 residents and is known for its independent spirit, food carts, craft breweries and coffee roasters. Compact city blocks make downtown and the Pearl District easy to walk, the MAX light rail and streetcar link the neighborhoods, and districts such as Alberta, Hawthorne and Mississippi are full of local shops and restaurants. Powell's City of Books fills an entire block and is one of the largest independent bookstores in the world.

Green space is everywhere. Washington Park holds the International Rose Test Garden, which gave Portland its other nickname, the City of Roses, along with the Portland Japanese Garden, the Oregon Zoo and Hoyt Arboretum. Forest Park is one of the largest urban forests in the country, Tom McCall Waterfront Park lines the river, and the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls and Mount Hood are all within about an hour.

Best seasonJune to September for dry, sunny weather and roses; spring for blossoms; fall for colors and fewer crowds.

Ideal stayThree days for downtown, Washington Park, a few neighborhoods and a day trip to the Columbia River Gorge.

ArrivingPortland International Airport is about 20 minutes from downtown on the MAX Red Line; Amtrak stops at Union Station.

12 Reasons to Visit Portland

Parks 4

International Rose Test Garden

Portland's nickname of the City of Roses is on full display at this terraced garden in Washington Park, established in 1917 to saf...

Portland Japanese Garden

Set on the hillside of Washington Park above the Rose Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden is widely regarded as one of the most a...

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Filling an entire city block in Old Town Chinatown, Lan Su is a walled Ming-dynasty-style garden built by artisans from Portland's...

Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Running along the west bank of the Willamette River through downtown, Tom McCall Waterfront Park replaced a riverside freeway in t...

Nature 1

Forest Park Portland

Covering more than 5,000 acres of the Tualatin Mountains in northwest Portland, Forest Park is one of the largest urban forests in...

History 1

Pittock Mansion

Perched almost 1,000 feet above downtown in the West Hills, Pittock Mansion was completed in 1914 for Henry Pittock, publisher of...

Landmarks 2

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Known as Portland's living room, Pioneer Courthouse Square is a brick plaza in the heart of downtown that hosts hundreds of events...

Portland Union Station

Opened in 1896, Portland Union Station is a red-brick railway station in the Romanesque Revival style, crowned by a tall clock tow...

Museums 2

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

OMSI sits on the east bank of the Willamette River in a building that incorporates an old power station, whose giant turbine hall...

Portland Art Museum

Founded in 1892, the Portland Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Pacific Northwest and occupies two buildings on the South...

Shopping 2

Powell's City of Books

Powell's City of Books occupies an entire city block in the Pearl District and is widely considered the largest independent new an...

Portland Saturday Market

Running since 1974, Portland Saturday Market is the largest continuously operating outdoor arts and crafts market in the United St...

5.0(4)

4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd #731, Portland

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