Travel Guides > Portland, OR

Portland Travel

While some large cities are famous for their tall buildings, world-class museums, or top-notch sporting opportunities, Portland possesses a different twist on what makes their city so special. For the folks in this growing city, it's their parks and gardens.

Simply put, Portland, Oregon is proud of the beauty of its city. Dubbed the "City of Roses" - which many mistakenly believe is a title bestowed upon Pasadena, CA, home to the annual Rose Parade - the gardens here are truly spectacular and if you enjoy flowers, you can spend a few days perusing the offerings.

Start with the Peninsula Park Rose Garden, part of a formally designed neighborhood park that was the first public rose garden in the city. There are so many rose bushes planted here - about 9,000 on a two-acre site. The park is often the site of weddings and other special events, concerts, and festivals.

For an amazing look at some new varieties of roses, visit the International Rose Test Garden, where scientists develop new hybrids of these favorite flowers. The test garden was established in 1917 by the American Rose Society and remains one of the city's top attractions, especially for gardening and rose aficionados.

The Portland Classical Chinese Garden, the largest of its kind outside of China, was built in this traditional style to promote tranquility and offer peace to those who travel within its walls. Occupying an entire city block, this garden is much different than the usual American garden, and contains the four essential elements of the classical garden: water, rocks, plant, and architecture.

When it's time to go indoors, plan a visit to the Portland Art Museum. Here you'll find an impressive exhibit of Native American and Northwestern Art as well as works from other genres. This museum has become famous for attracting great traveling exhibits as well.

If you're traveling with kids, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a must-do. Even adults will love the dozens of interactive, hands-on exhibits found here, like the chemistry labs and the earthquake simulator. There's an OMNIMAX Theater here as well and a planetarium-type structure called the Murdock Sky Theater.

Because Portland sits at the convergence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, the opportunity to enjoy boating, kayaking, fishing and other watersports is excellent. Travel a little further into the Cascade Range and you can enjoy amazing whitewater rafting as well.

Portland's restaurant scene includes a vast number of micro-breweries, something for which the city has become quite famous. Stop in and enjoy some of the unique creations that emerge from these eateries.

For shoppers, you won't want to miss the Portland Saturday Market, a delightful display of more than 300 stalls that feature creations by local artisans, as well as an international food court area, and often, live music and entertainment.

Also worth checking out: Seattle