Portland Oregon Travel Guide

Portland, Oregon has just the vibe you would imagine: easygoing, live and let live, get outside and enjoy the world! The climate is temperate, perfect for gardening, making the city beautifully green year round. This City Guide provides much needed visitor information about Portland OR hotels, activities and attractions for your convenience.

Getting to and around the city is a snap as you will find Portland International Airport (PDX) with adjacent Portland, Oregon hotels, countrywide Amtrak and buses and local Light Rail options. Walking the downtown area is popular and a great way to see all the beautiful fountains. You may even enjoy bicycling this city with its designated bike paths throughout the area. There are outstanding eclectic restaurants and a plethora of boutiques and shops to browse, making downtown a popular place to stay as well. Our blue Attractions tab at the top of this City Guide can be a great asset in selecting your accommodations. From luxury boutique hotels to discounted rooms, you can read about all the area hotels and choose the one which matches your needs best.

Getting outside is what most visitors want to do when they arrive. Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge are the best destination for skiing, hiking, kayaking, windsurfing and the like. The entire Mt. Hood National Forest provides mountains, lakes and streams for fishing, hunting and outdoor activities galore. Another enjoyable outdoor attraction is the International Rose Test Garden, founded in 1917. Several other amazing gardens are found at Washington Park along with the Hoyt Arboretum, the Oregon Zoo and the Children’s Museum. Lovely architecture may be seen at the Pittock Mansion, a French Renaissance chateau and also at The Grotto a Catholic shrine which has been carved into a Cliffside.

Indoor activities abound in this area, too. The NBA Portland Trailblazers play at the aptly named Rose Garden Arena. Plan to visit the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry which houses a Planetarium, an OMNIMAX Theater and the submarine USS Blueback, open for tours. Throw in a little culture with a performance by the Oregon Ballet Theatre or the Youth Philharmonic at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, and you are set.

Portland really has everything for a well-rounded vacation. You can take a dinner cruise on the Willamette River, see a collection of English silver at the Portland Art Museum or read your Kindle at a hip downtown coffee shop. Portland is literally the city where you should stop and smell the roses.