Things to do and see in Portland OR?

[MustangGal]

DH and I will be going to a wedding in Portland this July. We'll be staying dowtown for 2 nights. Any suggestions on what we should do while we're there? We've never been to Portland before, and this will be our first getaway with no kid. We don't mind walking, and are more in to outdoorsy stuff over museum type stuff.

Thanks!

 

[TooPatient]

DH and I will be going to a wedding in Portland this July. We'll be staying dowtown for 2 nights. Any suggestions on what we should do while we're there? We've never been to Portland before, and this will be our first getaway with no kid. We don't mind walking, and are more in to outdoorsy stuff over museum type stuff.

Thanks!

I'm not too familiar with Portland, but my aunt drove along the Oregon coast for her hm and had a great time. If you're able to, you might rent a car and explore the coast.

 

[suchende]

http://japanesegarden.com/

 

[ForteKitty]

http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/tours/underground_portland.php

 

[Cehrabehra]

walk along the waterfront, maybe take a dinner cruise on the willamette. On Saturdays they have saturday market which is an eclectic crafty event that is fun to look around and talk to locals and get the scoop... if the wedding is later in the day I highly suggest hitting this in the morning so that you can walk around and ask the locals selling there and find out what's going on THAT weekend in portland. If you really have time there are day trips you can take to the coast or to mt hood, TONS of hiking spots... but if you want to stay in the city, seriously ask around while you're there. You'll get the most interesting results that way. Also, there's OMSI which is Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It's not outdoorsy exactly, but it's clever. Just google omsi if you're interested. There are also always concerts... not sure when you're going but I still vote go to saturday market and ask around.

 

[GingerP]

I've only been to Portland a couple times briefly but have a few ideas, though largely dependent upon what you enjoy and what your time constraints are.

1) Saturday Market (called that, but I think it's open Sunday as well). If you like outdoor markets, this is one of the most impressive and creative ones I've seen. Great artisans.
2) Columbia River Valley wines (obviously if you like wine). I haven't been (yet), but there is a great wine country close to Portland and it's known for its Pinot Noirs. Yum!
3) Food! I wish I knew more about its offerings, but Portland has a lot of good, small restaurants of all kinds of cuisines.
4) Outdoors. You mentioned liking the outdoors and could not pick a more beautiful area in the U.S. at that time of year. NW summers are glorious. I think you may be looking at a 1- to 3-hour drive, but Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, and Crater Lake National Park are around there. There are probably other more local hikes. Portland is one of the most bike-friendly cities as well.
5) Miscellaneous. No sales tax if you are a shopper. There is an outlet mall within an hour of Portland, I believe. Seattle is only 2-3 hours north of Portland.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I've only been to Portland a couple times briefly but have a few ideas, though largely dependent upon what you enjoy and what your time constraints are.

1) Saturday Market (called that, but I think it's open Sunday as well). If you like outdoor markets, this is one of the most impressive and creative ones I've seen. Great artisans.
2) Columbia River Valley wines (obviously if you like wine). I haven't been (yet), but there is a great wine country close to Portland and it's known for its Pinot Noirs. Yum!
3) Food! I wish I knew more about its offerings, but Portland has a lot of good, small restaurants of all kinds of cuisines.
4) Outdoors. You mentioned liking the outdoors and could not pick a more beautiful area in the U.S. at that time of year. NW summers are glorious. I think you may be looking at a 1- to 3-hour drive, but Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, and Crater Lake National Park are around there. There are probably other more local hikes. Portland is one of the most bike-friendly cities as well.
5) Miscellaneous. No sales tax if you are a shopper. There is an outlet mall within an hour of Portland, I believe. Seattle is only 2-3 hours north of Portland.

crater lake is about 5 hours drive to the south... not really doable unless it's the only thing you want to do on your free day. The outlet mall is about 30-40 minutes south on I-5 but it doesn't impress me.

and I looked it up - you are correct, saturday market is open on sundays now and it is right on the waterfront so you can really make a nice day out of just hanging out around there - tons of restaurants within walking distance. I don't recommend the greek restaurant with the octopus. I found it mediocre both times I went there. But the purple octopus just screams come eat here lol

 

[MustangGal]

Thanks everyone!

We don't plan on renting a car, but the light-rail system looks interesting to get around a bit. I was thinking of going to the Saturday market, either Saturday before the wedding (it's an evening event), or Sunday before we leave. And they have a happy hour cruise on Friday we were considering. We also emailed the groom to see what ideas he has, since he's lived there several years now.

I also saw a that there's a giant book store downtown, I'd love to go, but DH might kill me if we have to pay to check a bag full of books!

 

[sctsbride09]

Powells! Thats the giant bookstore you mean right? If you are a lover of books you have got to stop there, they have a seriously amazing collection of rare books. Not to mention its like 3 or 4 stories, and every book you could think of. DH and I went on a trip from So Cal (where we live) up the 1 and over to Portland and Powells was the only thing I really wanted to make time for, lol. We had alot of fun just roaming around downtown Portland, tons of stores, restaurants, bars (if your into that) music places etc. You should have no problem finding something to do. Have fun!

 

[Cehrabehra]

oh yeah must go to powells - and get a "I got lost at powell's bookstore" bookmark lol

 

[havernell]

I've only been to Portland once briefly, but while there I enjoyed the International Rose Garden (http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=1113&action=ViewPark - pretty neat even if flowers aren't generally your thing), the Pittock Mansion (a historical house you can tour), the Portland Art Museum and Powell's Books, as others have mentioned. Have fun on your trip!