Portland is Oregon's largest city (660,000 in the city, 2.5 million in the metro) and one of the most distinctive American cities of the late 20th and early 21st century — a city that became globally famous for its self-conscious cultivation of eccentricity, progressive politics, craft culture and bicycle infrastructure, crystallized in the phrase "Keep Portland Weird" (borrowed from Austin, Texas). The city sits at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, 112 km from the Pacific coast and 80 km west of Mount Hood (3,429 m, an active stratovolcano and the most climbed glaciated peak in North America after Mount Rainier), in a metropolitan area that includes the Columbia River Gorge (a spectacular 130 km river gorge through the Cascade Range with 77 waterfalls, the highest concentration of waterfalls in North America) and the coast range. Portland is consistently ranked as the best cycling city in the United States, with 500+ km of bike lanes and more cyclists per capita than any other American city; it has the smallest and most walkable city centre of any US city of its size (the city blocks are exactly half the size of standard US city blocks, 200 feet square); and it has more microbreweries per capita than any city in the world (70+, earning it the title "Beervana"). The city's food culture was nationally influential: the food truck pod (Portland pioneered the food cart/pod format that spread across America), the farm-to-table movement (Zupan's markets, the New Seasons cooperative grocery), the single-origin coffee revolution (Stumptown Coffee Roasters, founded Portland 1999, is credited with the US specialty coffee movement), and the artisan doughnut (Voodoo Doughnut, founded 2003, the bacon maple bar doughnut shop that inspired an entire American artisan doughnut industry). Powell's Books (the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world, covering an entire city block with one million volumes) is both the finest bookstore in America and the social centre of Portland's literary culture.
Powell's City of Books (1005 W Burnside) covers an entire city block with one million new and used books across 3,500 sections — the rare books room, the Orange Room (literature and poetry), the Blue Room (science and technology) and the Rose Room (art and architecture) each have distinct characters; the store map is essential; plan 2+ hours and still miss half; coffee at the in-store Peet's.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Pearl District (the former industrial warehouse district, 10 blocks north of Powell's) is Portland's most concentrated art gallery district — 30+ galleries cluster around NW 9th-13th Avenues and the monthly First Thursday event (first Thursday of each month) draws 10,000+ visitors for gallery openings; the Gerding Theater (former armory, 1891, the finest building in the Pearl) hosts Portland Center Stage.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideForest Park (5,200 acres of Douglas fir and western red cedar forest within the Portland city limits) is the largest forested urban park in the United States — the Wildwood Trail (30 km total, but any section is rewarding) passes through old-growth forest, past the Pittock Mansion viewpoint and the Audubon Society wildlife sanctuary; black-tailed deer, red foxes and 140+ bird species in the city.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideVoodoo Doughnut (22 SW 3rd Ave, open 24 hrs) — the bacon maple bar (a glazed bar doughnut topped with maple icing and actual bacon) is the most imitated American artisan doughnut; the Voodoo Doll (pink with pretzel stake) and the Triple Chocolate Penetration are the other classics; the Hawthorne/Division Street food cart pods have the best Thai food (Nong's Khao Man Gai), Guatemalan tamales and Ethiopian injera.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePortland has 70+ craft breweries — McMenamins (the Portland institution, occupying converted historic buildings including the Crystal Hotel and the Edgefield former poor farm) serves its own house ales in unique spaces; Deschutes Brewery pub (downtown) has the Black Butte Porter (the most-sold craft porter in America) and Obsidian Stout; Burnside Brewing and Double Mountain are the beer enthusiast choices.
The Columbia River Gorge Historic Highway (30 min east of Portland, Historic Route 30) has 77 waterfalls in 130 km — the most visited include Multnomah Falls (189 m, the tallest waterfall in Oregon, the second tallest year-round waterfall in the USA, accessible in 30 min from Portland by train or car), Latourell Falls (its basalt hexagonal columns are the finest in the Gorge), and Wahkeena Falls (a multi-tiered cascade).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideVista House at Crown Point (1916, the most photogenic building in Oregon — an octagonal stone rotunda on a 225 m cliff above the Columbia River) has the finest panoramic view of the Columbia River Gorge — the river is 3 km wide at this point, Washington State is visible across the river, and the wind through the Gorge (the best windsurfing in the USA is at Hood River, 50 km east) is constant.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideTimberline Lodge (1936, WPA-era hand-built ski lodge at 1,800 m on Mount Hood — the exterior was used as the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's The Shining) has skiing year-round on the Palmer Snowfield (the only year-round skiing in North America south of Alaska); the interior craft woodwork, the massive stone fireplace and the handwoven rugs are extraordinary New Deal art; the view of Hood from the lodge is the finest.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Ace Hotel Portland (1 SW Broadway) is the original Ace Hotel (the concept that became a global boutique chain started here in 1999) and its lobby and bar are the social centre of Portland's creative class; NW 23rd Avenue (Nob Hill) has the most concentrated evening restaurant and bar strip in Portland — Paley's Place (James Beard Award winner), Jake's Famous Crawfish (classic Portland institution since 1892) and multiple cocktail bars.
The Portland Japanese Garden (Washington Park, above the Rose Garden) is widely considered the most authentic Japanese garden outside Japan — the 5.5-acre garden has 5 traditional garden styles (Strolling Pond, Tea, Natural, Sand and Stone, Flat Garden) designed by Professor Takuma Tono (1963); the Pavilion building (Kengo Kuma architect, 2017) is a Pritzker-quality addition; the April cherry blossom and November maple colour are the peaks.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Lan Su Chinese Garden (downtown Portland) is a walled Ming Dynasty-style scholar's garden built entirely by craftspeople from Suzhou, China using traditional methods — the pavilions, covered walkways, rock formations and the central lake were constructed with materials imported from China; the teahouse serves traditional Chinese tea ceremony; one of the finest Ming-style gardens outside China.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Portland Saturday Market (Tom McCall Waterfront Park, also Sunday) is the largest continuously operating outdoor arts and crafts market in the USA (since 1974) — local artisan crafts, handmade jewellery, ceramics, food carts representing 20 cuisines, and live music; the Skidmore Fountain (1888, the oldest public artwork in Portland) and the Burnside Bridge create the backdrop.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideStumptown Coffee Roasters (founded Portland 1999 by Duane Sorenson, credited with the US specialty coffee revolution) — the original downtown Stumptown on SE Division is a pilgrimage for coffee culture; the Hairbender espresso blend and the single-origin Ethiopian pour-over are the classics; the coffee shops of Portland (Heart, Coava, Water Avenue) represent the pinnacle of American specialty coffee.