Here are some of my favorite places in Portland:
FOREST PARK (fantastic trails right in the city -- beautiful!) It is connected/close to Hoyt Arboretum and Washington Park (Rose Gardens, which are at their wonderful peak in June) and extends for many miles on a ridge just above the city.
At 5,157 acres, Portland's Forest Park is the largest urban forest in the United States. With more than 80 miles of soft-surface trails, fire lanes and forest roads, Forest Park stretches for more than seven miles along the eastern slope of the Tualatin Mountains, overlooking Northwest Portland and the convergence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.
ELEPHANTS DELI
This is one of our fave places to eat. Lots and lots of options, very good food, very casual. The mac & cheese with bacon is the bomb. We love the tomato orange soup. And everything else. If you don't make it there, they have a tiny outlet at the airport (Flying Elephants).
The below is the location I always go to (I love NW Portland).
ADDRESS
115 NW 22nd Ave, Portland OR 97210
PHONE
STORE HOURS
Mon - Sat: 7:00am - 7:30pm, Bar & Grill until 8:30pm
Sun: 9:30am - 6:30pm
SALT & STRAW -- for Jack who, I know, enjoys ice cream :-)
My favorite favorite ice cream shop. The NW Portland location I always go to is just a few blocks from Elephants. Unique flavors and so delish. My fave flavors are honey balsamic strawberry with black pepper, pear with blue cheese, and almond brittle with salted ganache, but they have limited edition flavours every month (like salted caramel cupcake & spicy monkey banana walnut this month).
838 NW 23rd Ave (open 10 am - 11 pm)
NW 23rd Ave happens to be on one of my favorite streets in Portland (in NW Portland). I LOVE this area. Cute boutiques, fun shops, great restaurants -- one of my old faves is Papa Haydn @ #701 NW 23rd. Great food and famous for desserts. Leafy streets with funky houses.
MOTHER'S BISTRO - one of my favorite restaurants for fab breakfast, lunch & dinner. Right in the middle of downtown. Make a reservation. Really pretty and delicious!! Closed Mondays!
212 SW Stark St, Portland 97204
ANDINA - Very nice Peruvian fusion restaurant (one of my faves!)
I love the neighborhood too.
1314 NW Glisan St, Portland 97209
BOLLYWOOD THEATER - Delicious Indian food, but NOTHING like Indian food in Singapore. I love it. Very cute inside. Two locations. I like the one on NE Alberta St b/c it’s a fun, artsy neighborhood to walk around (lots of fun shops, restaurants)
2039 NE Alberta, Portland
VOODOO DOUGHNUTS
A fixture in Portland. One of Portland's themes is "Keep Portland Weird," and this is part of that weirdness.
The address of the original shop is 22 SW 3rd Ave (downtown). Open 24 hours/day. My favorite is the McMinnville (like a Boston Creme with maple frosting) but they are known for strange ones (maple bacon) and even weirder ones.
RUBY JEWEL - Great ice cream downtown. Known for their unique ice cream sandwiches, but I’ve just had their fab ice cream.
428 SW 12th Ave
POWELLS city of books (the largest bookstore in the US, which takes up an entire city block). It is amazing.
BURGERVILLE
These are the best burgers in Portland. Local ingredients. Great seasonal shakes. Walla Walla sweet onion rings.
MOBERI - bike-powered smoothie bar. Really good! You can pedal your own smoothie! The “Mr. Wonderful” is my favorite.
1515 NW 23rd & Quimby
FOOD TRUCKS are very popular in Portland, and they are scattered around the city:
BETSY & IYA - Small jewelry store, everything handmade by local artists. There’s a little work room attached where you can sometimes hear them banging away as they make metal jewelry. Really unique, artsy pieces. I love it! Plus, the neighborhood is great. There’s a French bakery a few doors down & a darling little coffee shop too (Dragonfly). This is near NW 23rd St so you can tag it on at the end of browsing 23rd.
2403 NW Thurman St, Portland (this is the Alphabet District... so all streets off 23rd are in alphabetical order. Salt & Straw is on Lovejoy & 23rd. Moberi is on 23rd & Quimby. Thurman is a few blocks north)
LITTLE SHOP OF DRAWERS
Tiny little jewellery shop in cute Multnomah Village which carries the jewellery by designer Ayala Bar.
7875 SW Capital Hwy, Portland 97219
Open 12:00 - 4:00
SATURDAY MARKET
The largest continuously running outdoor market in the US. On the waterfront on the west side (near Voodoo Doughnuts). This place is FUNKY. Kind of the epitome of Portland. There are definitely some weirdos there. Street musicians. Fun food stalls (on the waterfront). The market is split by a major road, so he needs to cross over to where the food is. Really cool, artsy stuff for sale. My kids love going too. Better on a nice day, but he may enjoy it no matter the weather.
Found this article of top 10 things to do: (a few of the above are listed, but ignore the strip clubs!)
FURTHER AFIELD...
MULTNOMAH FALLS (iconic place, on the Columbia River Gorge about an hour east of Portland, some nice hiking nearby)
CANNON BEACH - my favorite beach town along the north coast (about 1 hr 15 min west of Portland). We love the homemade clam chowder at the Driftwood Inn on the main street. Not fancy, but so good. View point at Ecola State Park looking down the coast. The tide pools at Haystack Rock are great. It’s a huge monolith.
SILVER FALLS STATE PARK (maybe an hour south of Portland?)
Beautiful hiking trails, 10 waterfalls. Gorgeous!
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