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Travel guide
Portland, Oregon
5 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to September
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Welcome
Portland, Oregon, in a few days
Oregon's big city spreads out on both banks of the Willamette, at the foot of a 2,000-hectare urban forest and beneath the snowy cone of Mount Hood, 95 km away. You come here for the world's largest independent bookshop, Japanese and Chinese gardens and hundreds of food carts, then for the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge, forty minutes' drive away.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 3 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- D5 Day 5 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Powell's City of Books free · 1 to 2 hA bookshop filling an entire block on the edge of the Pearl District, billed as the world's largest independent seller of new and used books, with colour-coded rooms and a Rare Book Room.
- Afternoon · Lan Su Chinese Garden · about 1 h 30A Ming-style scholar's garden built in 2000 by artisans from Suzhou in Old Town Chinatown, with carved pavilions, Lake Tai rockeries, a central lake and a teahouse above the water.
- Late afternoon · International Rose Test Garden free · about 1 hThe oldest public rose test garden still operating in the United States, with over 10,000 rose bushes in terraces above the city and, on clear days, Mount Hood on the horizon.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel deLuxe ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€170 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Portland Japanese Garden · about 2 hOften called one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan, with eight garden styles over 5 hectares in Washington Park and a Cultural Village designed by Kengo Kuma.
- Afternoon · Pittock Mansion · 1 h 30 to 2 hA French Renaissance-style château completed in 1914 for the publisher of The Oregonian, 300 metres above the city, with period rooms and the widest view over Portland and the Cascade volcanoes.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel deLuxe ↗€170 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Forest Park free · 2 to 4 hOne of the largest urban forests in the United States, more than 2,000 hectares of Douglas firs and ferns, crossed by the 48 km Wildwood Trail and over 120 km of paths.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel deLuxe ↗€170 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls free · a full dayA 130 km basalt gorge with more than 90 waterfalls on the Oregon side, crowned by the 189-metre Multnomah Falls and followed by the country's first scenic highway, opened between 1913 and 1922.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel deLuxe ↗€170 a night
D5
Day 5
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge free · a full dayOregon's highest peak, a 3,429-metre volcano, with the New Deal Timberline Lodge on its flank, which served as the hotel facade in The Shining, and skiing for much of the year.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €165 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to September
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/portland-oregon
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.