When I go on vacation the first thing I like to do is to go exploring. I like to get the lay of the land, I guess. That and get a little local color. Plus, walking tours can be a great excuse for that less than healthy lunch you’re going to have. For this article I found some self guided tours to get you started. I also looked up some of Portland’s cool, funky neighborhoods and found some shops that rent bikes. Bikes and a little geographical knowledge can really help open up a city to you without making you rely on long bus rides or expensive cab rides.
Now first on my list is a group called Portland walking tours (www.portlandwalkingtours.com). They offer a variety of tours ranging from the Best of Portland to Underground Portland, supernatural tours and an epicurean tour. During the latter tour you get to visit food vendors and restaurants around the pearl district and sample some of their products. Well, so much for needing lunch. By the way, you might also want to check out the Beer Here and Walk Through Time tours.
if you don’t mind doing some heavy duty printing, visit www.portlandoregonhomes.com/portland/photo_tour/phototour_intro.htm. Oddly, this address doesn’t get you a real estate site. Rather, over the course of seventeen pages the website points out many of Portland’s better features and attractions. The only downside is it doesn’t give you details or links to some of the attractions it mentions. On my last trip to Portland, though, I found this website to be an invaluable starting point in planning my stay.
I’m going to give you a chance to rest your feet for a while. Portland vintage trolleys (http://home.comcast.net/~dthompson01.) runs every Sunday from downtown Portland to the Lloyd center and back. The trolley basically follows the max lines from pioneer courthouse square across the river to the Lloyd shopping center. The ride is free and the website offers print outs of what you’ll see along the way so you can enjoy a self guided tour of the route.
If you want to see more of Portland’s tranquil side you might want to try a parks and gardens tour. Visit www.oregon.com/trips/portland_gardens.cfm. This one page article by Laura Schulte lists eight of Portland’s parks and gardens. She lists some of Portland’s most beautiful gardens like the International Rose Test Garden and Japanese Garden. Links are included so you can get all the necessary details like locations, hours of operation, and so on.
Now if you really want to go exploring, take advantage of Portland’s extensive network of bike trails.If you don’t feel like hauling your bike all the way to Portland and back, there are a few shops that rent bikes. Local shops offer you rents to rent by the hour or day. Some offer multiple day rates so you can rent your bike for up to a week. If you go to Waterfront Bikes (www.waterfrontbikes.net) they offer pretty reasonable rates. Waterfront Bikes also offers maps of routes that show off some of Portland’s best features.
If you explore the area bordered by NW 21 and NW 23 ave, you’ll be in Portland’s nob hill. Nob hill is about thirty square blocks of narrow, tree lined streets, Victorian homes and shops ranging from trendy to funky. Nob hill has everything to offer from breakfast bagels to clothes, music and kitsch. Need to take a break? Visit City Market Cafe or the New Old Lompoc. Visit www.nobhillbiz.com for a more thorough listing of things to see and do.
Bordering the Willamette river you’ll find the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood (www.oldtownchinatown.net). Old town is home to Portland’s Saturday Market, Tom McCall Waterfront park and great restaurants like the Veritable Quandary. This extended neighborhood also boosts some great old architecture and galleries, not to mention the Classical Chinese Garden. From here it’s a short walk or bike ride to the waterfront where you can grab an afternoon latte or happy hour pint.
Across the river is Portland’s bohemian Hawthorne district. Everything about Hawthorne screams funky or indie. Though Fred Meyer and the McMennamin brothers brewing make their presence known, most of the businesses are independent and eclectic. You can find everything here from little coffee shops to produce markets and funky old bars. Of course, no neighborhood in Portland would be complete without a brewpub or two. Visit http://thinkhawthorne.com for a complete list of what Hawthorne has to offer.
Finally, we travel to North Mississippi avenue, one of Portland’s hidden treasures. North Mississippi offers everything from spas to tattoos to more brewpubs and really feels like one of Portland’s secret treasures. It’s one of those neighborhoods that you’d never go near if you didn’t know it was there. You’ll find this area east of the I-4, north of the Willamette river and between Fremond and Shaver streets. At its heart North Mississippi has a small town feel with a somewhat counter culture vibe.
I’m not going to bore you by droning on any more than I already have. If you visit www.travelportland.com they can give you more complete listings of Portland’s attractions, events and cool little neighborhoods. Do consider my advice, though. Not only is Portland a beautiful city with small town charm, but the city planners designed the city to be easy explorable with its small city blocks. Now go. Explore. Have yourself a good time.
