A day in Portland

Here’s how to spend a day in Portland if you are visiting the United States.

I suggest stopping there for at least a day because there are a lot of things to see, but you can totally go for more time there. 

Portland is a port city in the Pacific Northwest, on the West Coast of the United States.. It’s the city with the most inhabitants in the state of Oregon.

I’ll list here all the things to do when spending a day or two in Portland.

Pearl district used to be a warehouse district, but it is now one of the nicest neighbourhood in Portland to have a beer, look at boutique shops and galleries or have dinner.

Take the time to look around, discover all the streets as every corner has something great to look at.

Moving on to the second stop : head toward the old town Chinatown and the Lan Su Chinese garden.

Chinatownn district is the oldest area in Portland, so there’s beautiful buildings to see everywhere.

While you are in Chinatown, make sure to go to the Lan Su Chinese garden. It truly is a peaceful and calm haven in the city center.

There’s many ponds, pagodas and greenery, making you forget you are in the middle of a busy city.

If you fancy something sweet, you can queue in front of the world famous Voodoo Doughnuts. They make amazing and original donuts,

After Chinatown, get on route to walk in the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, along the Willamette River and appreciate the views.

There, from March to December, you’ll find the Portland Saturday Market. It’s know to be one of the largest recurring arts and crafts markets in the US. 

After a stroll along the river and a pit stop at the Saturday market, go explore the huge bookshop called Powell’s City of Books.

This city block-long bookshop has over 4 million titles in stock !

Next stop : Pioneer Courthouse Square, the heart of Portland. This is where the main events are held all throughout the year, whether it be concerts, beer festival, or all kinds of other gatherings.

If you are on the lookout for a nice and local lunch spot, there’s the 5th Avenue Food Cart Pod nearby that’s worth the detour.

You’ll find something of your liking among all these food trucks, as the focus here is international food.

There’s no better way to end the day than going to Washington Park.

This 160-hectare park has :

• 24km of trails in the park
• The Oregon Zoo
• The Hoyt arboretum : called the Museum of living trees, it’s more a huge forest park (picture 3 below)
• The famous Rose garden : with 550 varieties of roses, it also offers scenic view of Portland (pictures 2 & 4 below)
• The Winter garden, the bamboo garden (picture 5 below) and much more…

If you have more than a day, here are some suggestions for more sightseeing around Portland :

• Laurelhurst Park : beautiful park located in Southeast Portland.
• Pittock Mansion : a French Renaissance-style mansion built by American pioneer in 1914.
• Forest Park : located in Northwest Portland, it’s one of the biggest urban forest in the world.
• Columbia River Gorge : great or a day trip with a hike offering breathtaking views on the canyon.
• Alberta Arts District : located in Northeast Portland, it’s a neighbourhood with lots of street arts, galleries…

That’s it for my Portland recommendations !

I hope this article gave you a better idea of what to expect from a day in Portland, it’s nice to stop by if you are coming to the state of Oregon !

If you plan to visit the United States soon you can check out my other articles such as the best 2 days itinerary in Seattle or even my one week itinerary in New York.

Finally, read this article detailing everything you need to know before your US vacation !

If you need a personnalized itinerary, you can fill this form and I’ll find you the best accommodations, flights and itinerary !