Portland, Oregon Visitors Association Three World Trade Center 1000 S.W. Broadway Portland, OR 97205 (503) 275-9750 Population 437319 Time Zone Pacific Latitude/Longitude 45.51° /-122.68° Today's Forecast HIGH: 51 LOW: 39

• Oregon • Portland Nightlife • Getting Around Portland • Portland Map • Portland Tours • Portland Weather • Portland Road Construction • Things to Do in Portland • Places to Stay in Portland • Start planning your road trip to Portland now! • Add this city to My Road Trip Ideas.

Attractions

Located at the junction of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, the "City of Roses" offers everything expected of a major city except rush hour traffic jams. Styled on a European model, and boasting user-friendly public transportation, Portland is designed for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, its landscape given over to 37,000 acres of parks containing miles and miles of nature trails. While the three-week Portland Rose Festival in early June celebrates the city's floral abundance, roses here will flourish until late fall.

If your passion is the horticulture for which the city has become famous, head straight to Washington Park. The crown jewel in Portland's extensive park system is home to the International Rose Test Garden, the Japanese Garden, and Hoyt Arboretum. Youngsters will find plenty of interest in Washington Park, too, including the Oregon Zoo with its African and Asian habitats as well as animals native to the Northwest, the playing and learning areas at the Portland Children's Museum, and the interactive exhibits at the World Forestry Center.

Downtown, take time to visit the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon History Center, and the Oregon Maritime Museum.

Beyond its abundant natural beauty (building restrictions ensure a scenic view from almost anywhere in the city), Portland also offers the Pittock Mansion, Chinatown, The Grotto, a 62-acre sanctuary with a spectacular view of the Columbia River Valley, the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, and Portlandia, the personification of Portland in bronze.

Shopping is an adventure, facilitated by the handy transit system. Downtown offers major department stores; factory outlet stores are scattered throughout the city. Multnomah Village, the Victorian-era Nob Hill district, Old Sellwood Antique Row, and the Portland Saturday Market in the Skidmore/Old Town district are all well-known shopping areas. Book lovers browse at Powell's City of Books, supposedly the nation's largest bookstore. And the best news for shoppers is, of course, there's no sales tax.

Pioneer Courthouse Square, at the center of downtown, is the city's prime location for festivals and celebrations throughout the year. In addition, the annual blues festival takes place on the river at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. For a Shakespearean evening out, the play's the thing at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts' Hatfield Hall, home to the Elizabethan-styled Winningstad Theater and Edwardian-styled Newmark Theatre. Keller Auditorium (formerly Civic Auditorium) offers the best of Broadway's national touring shows. The Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Children's Theatre, and Portland Opera are in residence at the Keller, while the Oregon Symphony calls the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall home. Modern theater is on tap at Portland Center Stage, now located at Gerding Theater at the Armory in the Pearl District.

Sports fans can catch basketball (NBA Trail Blazers), minor-league hockey (WHL Winter Hawks), and professional indoor lacrosse (NLL Lumberjax) at the Rose Garden Arena and Memorial Coliseum, both of which are located in the Rose Quarter. Head to historic PGE Park for minor-league baseball from the Beavers of the Pacific Coast League and soccer from the Timbers of the USL First Division. For more personal funtime thrills, ride the coasters at Oaks Amusement Park.

Tour boats such as the Sternwheeler Rose and the riverboat Portland Spirit offer an excellent way to view the city and its environs while enjoying a little riparian serenity.

Explore another city in Oregon