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    Portland
    King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

    United States

    Portland

    City

    Portland is Oregon's largest city, situated on the Willamette River near its confluence with the Columbia River, on the border with Washington.

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    9. Portland
    Portland is Oregon's largest city, situated on the Willamette River near its confluence with the Columbia River, on the border with Washington. You come for the gardens in the West Hills, Powell's colossal bookstore, over 500 food carts, more than 80 breweries, and because the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, and the Pacific Coast are on your doorstep.The city is compact, green, and easy to explore on foot, by bike, and by light rail. To the west, Forest Park, a forested hill area, directly borders the residential neighborhoods, while the entertainment and dining districts are located on the river's east side.
    Portland has approximately 635,000 residents (2025 Census Bureau estimate) and is the center of a metropolitan region across the Columbia River. The MAX light rail with five lines, buses, and the Portland Streetcar cover the city; in 2001, the USA's first modern streetcar ran here. The blend of nature and city is striking: the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and Forest Park are just minutes from Downtown. Worth exploring are Downtown and Old Town Chinatown, the Pearl District with Powell's, Nob Hill in the northwest, as well as the Eastside with Buckman, Hawthorne, and Division. For trips to the Gorge and the coast, you'll need a car.

    Sights in Portland

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Powell's City of Books
    Attraction

    1Powell's City of Books

    The bookstore occupies an entire city block in the Pearl District with about one million books in color-coded rooms, new and used titles side-by-side, plus a Rare Book Room.
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    International Rose Test Garden
    Park

    2International Rose Test Garden

    The USA's oldest continuously operated Rose Test Garden since 1917, featuring over 10,000 roses on terraces above the city with Mount Hood in the background. Admission is free, with blooms from late May to October.
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    Portland Japanese Garden
    Museum

    3Portland Japanese Garden

    Takuma Tono's garden in Washington Park, opened in 1967, unites several Japanese garden styles. Since 2017, Kengo Kuma's Cultural Village has enhanced the site, now covering 12.5 acres.
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    Pittock Mansion
    Museum

    4Pittock Mansion

    Publisher Henry Pittock's mansion, completed in 1914, stands at 1,000 feet in the West Hills, offering views of five Cascade peaks. The grounds and viewpoints are freely accessible; the house costs admission.
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    Forest Park
    Park

    5Forest Park

    Around 5,200 acres of forest in the west of the city with over 80 miles of trails. The 30-mile-long Wildwood Trail runs through the park from Burnside to Newberry Road.
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    Oregon Historical Society Museum
    Museum

    6Oregon Historical Society Museum

    The Oregon History Museum in Downtown, whose lobby features the Portland Penny, the coin that decided the city's name.
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    Restaurants in Portland

    1

    Kann

    Haitian restaurant by Gregory Gourdet in the Buckman neighborhood, named 2023 Best New Restaurant in the USA by the James Beard Foundation. In the basement is the Caribbean cocktail bar Sousòl.
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    2

    Le Pigeon

    French bistro by Gabriel Rucker on East Burnside Street, a fixture in Portland's restaurant scene since 2007.
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    3

    Nong's Khao Man Gai

    Nong Poonsukwattana began in 2009 with a food cart and now serves her Khao Man Gai in her own venues: poached chicken with rice and a rich sauce.
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    Eating & Drinking

    Portland enjoys eating outdoors at a Food Cart and drinks local beer or wine from the nearby Willamette Valley. Berries from the region also feature.
    Food Carts

    Food Carts

    Over 500 food trucks, mostly grouped in pods, serve global cuisines, from Thai to Mexican to Haitian. Great for an affordable lunch.
    Craft Beer

    Craft Beer

    With more than 80 breweries, Portland is one of the USA's beer capitals. In September and October, enjoy Fresh-Hop beers from the hop harvest in the Willamette Valley.
    Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley

    Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley

    The Willamette Valley south of Portland is Oregon's first winegrowing region and known worldwide for Pinot Noir. Many city wine bars pour local wines.
    Marionberry

    Marionberry

    The Oregon-bred blackberry variety, named after Marion County, is primarily enjoyed as jam and ice cream.
    Khao Man Gai

    Khao Man Gai

    The Thai dish of poached chicken and rice became known in Portland through Nong's Khao Man Gai, which started as a Food Cart in 2009.

    History and Culture

    The city owes its name to a coin toss: In 1845, founders Asa Lovejoy from Boston and Francis Pettygrove from Portland (Maine) tossed a copper coin in Oregon City to decide who would name the new town. Pettygrove won two out of three tosses. The so-called Portland Penny is now housed in the Museum of the Oregon Historical Society.The International Rose Test Garden, the oldest continuously operated rose test garden in the USA since 1917, reflects its nickname City of Roses. Since 1984, when BridgePort and Widmer Brothers opened their breweries in what is now the Pearl District, Portland has been considered a stronghold of craft beer and bears the nickname Beervana.Today, independent shops, an experimental restaurant scene, and food cart pods shape daily life. Many carts are grouped together in parking lots, from Cartopia on Hawthorne Boulevard to the pods in Downtown.

    Nightlife

    1

    Multnomah Whiskey Library

    Elegant whiskey bar downtown with a huge selection of spirits and classic cocktails; a classic for a special evening.
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    2

    Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House

    Deschutes Brewery's brewpub in the Pearl District, featuring a wide selection of draft beers and pub food.
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    Getting There & Around

    AirportThe MAX Red Line takes approximately 38 minutes from Portland International Airport (PDX) to downtown. A ticket costs $2.80 USD and is valid for 2.5 hours on all buses, trains, and streetcars.Train and BusAmtrak stops at Union Station on the edge of Old Town, with connections to Seattle, Eugene, and Los Angeles. With TriMet, you pay contactless with a credit card or smartphone at the green Hop reader; from $5.60 USD per day, you ride for free for the rest of the day.Car and ParkingYou can easily get around the city without a car. Many MAX stops offer Park-and-Ride facilities where you can park for free for up to 24 hours. For the Gorge, Mount Hood, and the coast, a rental car is recommended.Getting AroundDowntown is compact and easy to explore on foot. To reach the gardens in Washington Park, take MAX to the Washington Park stop.

    Accommodations in Portland

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    Campgrounds in Portland

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    Nearby

    Oregon

    Oregon

    Located on the Pacific Coast between California and Washington, Oregon offers a diverse landscape within a short distance: wild coastline, volcanoes, waterfalls, and Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the USA. The main starting point is usually Portland, the state's largest city, known for its vibrant food and beer culture.East of Portland, the Columbia River Gorge, featuring Multnomah Falls nestled between basalt cliffs, stretches inland. Above it rises Mount Hood, Oregon's highest peak at 11,249 feet (3,429 m). To the west, about 80 miles away, you'll find Cannon Beach and its iconic Haystack Rock. In the southern Cascades, Crater Lake fills the crater of a volcano that collapsed approximately 7,700 years ago.South of Portland lies the Willamette Valley, Oregon's premier wine-growing region, renowned especially for its Pinot Noir. The best time for a road trip is summer, when the higher elevations around Crater Lake are also snow-free.
    Washington (Federal State)

    Washington (Federal State)

    The state of Washington in the far northwestern USA connects the major city of Seattle with three national parks, which you can reach from there in just a few hours by car. Glacier-covered volcanoes, temperate rainforest, fjord landscapes along Puget Sound, and islands on the border with Canada lie surprisingly close to one another here.Mount Rainier, with 14,410 feet (around 4,392 m), the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states, towers above everything. West of Puget Sound, Olympic National Park protects nearly one million acres of glaciated peaks, ancient rainforests, and over 70 miles of wild coastline. To the north rise the North Cascades with more than 300 glaciers, and the San Juan Islands are located in the Salish Sea.It's best to plan a round trip in summer and early autumn, when all mountain passes are open. Mount St. Helens to the south serves as a reminder of the 1980 eruption and can be easily combined with an onward journey to Oregon.
    Seattle

    Seattle

    Seattle is the largest city in Washington state, situated between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, with Mount Rainier as a backdrop on the horizon. You come for the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, a strong music and coffee culture, and because national parks like Mount Rainier and Olympic are just a few hours' drive away.The city is hilly and shaped by water: ferries depart directly from Downtown, locks connect the lakes to the sea, and from viewpoints like Kerry Park, you see the skyline, bay, and volcano in one picture. Neighborhoods like Ballard, Fremont, and Capitol Hill each have their own character.
    Victoria

    Victoria

    Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Around the Inner Harbour are the Parliament and the Fairmont Empress; plus gardens, a compact old town with Chinatown, and Canada's mildest climate.
    Vancouver

    Vancouver

    Vancouver is nestled between the Coast Mountains and the Pacific, making it Canada's third-largest metropolitan area. Stanley Park, city beaches, and the North Shore mountains are just a few kilometers from downtown, making hiking, kayaking, and winter skiing part of everyday life. The city's cuisine is strongly influenced by its Asian immigrant population.