Portland Travel Guide
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Portland, Oregon is one of the grandest cities in the Pacific Northwest, offering an eclectic mix of metropolitan dynamics and small town friendliness. It’s a place of inner-city parks juxtaposed against towering skyscrapers, laid-back artists and investment bankers. Also Oregon’s largest city, Portland has done well by maintaining its unique character in the face of rapid growth. It’s really no wonder Portland is frequented on list of the nation’s most livable cities; its brewpubs outnumber the greasy spoon restaurants and the espresso-fueled coffee shops double as board rooms for its thriving economy.
Due to its location between two mountain ranges, the coastal region to the west brings rain from the ocean and directly inland to the city. Rainfall is heaviest (though not so much heavy as it is constant) between November and March, and snow seldom falls during the winter months, when temperatures average at approximately 50°F over the course of the season. June to September are the warmest months in Portland, though still very mild, with an average of about 68°F. No matter what time of the year you plan your Portland vacation, rule #1 is to bring an umbrella. You may just be swayed, however, by the abundance of locals who refuse them, opting instead for hoods and raincoats, or sometimes nothing more than a baseball cap.
Portland’s sleeping options range from wholly exclusive to the artsy and cheap. Downtown Portland and the once-industrial-now-trendy Pearl District (on the west side of the Willamette River that bisects the city) are the places to hang your hat if you want a ritzy hotel with plenty of action nearby. If it’s a more relaxed pace you’re after, the northeast and southeast parts of town offer moderately-priced accommodations that allow for quick access to the heart of the city and the multitude of diverse outlying neighborhoods. Resorts are also a staple on the fringes of the city, with places like McMenamins Edgefield and the The Hotel Oregon featuring historic accommodations with a flair for quintessential Northwest cuisine and design.
Portland is commonly named one of the most beautiful cities in the world, showcasing a regional blend of historic and modern architecture, stunning vistas of the nearby Mt. Hood and the Willamette River, towering Douglas Fir trees, as well as roses and trees that provide stunning seasonal color at every turn. Combining their notorious reputation for great art, waterfront festivals, and an ethnically diverse population/food scene, a strong case can be made for the merit of a Portland vacation. Their multiple festivals are anchored by the city’s oldest, the Portland Rose Festival, which is held annually in the first part of June. Portland springs to life at this time with a riverfront carnival, the massive fleet of naval ships docked right off of the downtown waterfront, and the crowning of the Rose Queen. The City of Roses is also known as the microbrewery capital of the world, garnering nationwide and international acclaim for its variety of handcrafted beers and spirits. Regardless of the weather conditions, you’ll find Portland to be a very active community that doesn’t let a little rain slow down their affinity for being outdoors. Thanks to progressive city planning practices like a strict urban growth boundary, Portland is a very compact and user-friendly place, making it entirely possible to drive 15 miles from downtown and find yourself in the verdant countryside.
The Tri-Met buses and light rail trains – known as Metropolitan Area Express, or “MAX” – that serve the Greater Portland area provide an excellent resource for seeing the city on a budget, and are wonderfully efficient and reliable. Beyond downtown they are no longer free, but still cheap, with ticket transfers lasting for a full two hours on any form of Tri-Met public transport. As in many bigger American cities, downtown Portland is neither easy nor fun to drive through. However, if you plan on day-tripping to the surrounding communities or countryside (which is highly recommended) as part of your Portland vacation, a car will certainly prove to be handy.