Hey friends!!! Get ready to soak up the sun (if you visit the PNW) in Portland’s awesome summer vibes! This city’s got it all – cool neighborhoods, lush parks, and hipster havens. Chow down on delish treats from food trucks, and don’t forget to wander along the Willamette River or head to the Oregon Coast! So, let’s dive into my Portland, OR travel guide sharing everything you’ll need to know before you plan your trip!
I’ve actually visited Portland once before, but it was back at the end of 2018 (see my Portland travel guide)! This blog post definitely still rings true, so I won’t highlight too many new things on this travel guide, but I did want to give you an update on how things in the city have changed since 2020.
WHERE TO STAY:
Since we were staying in Portland for the month, we decided to make sure we were in a comfortable area and had a comfortable apartment! We randomly stumbled upon a great little airbnb in the Pearl District which I’d definitely recommend staying in. It’s a little industrial but they’re turning it around into a hip, trendy spot with wine bars, smoothie and brunch spots, coffee shops, and so much more! We definitely noticed it felt a bit safer in this area as well, so just something to note if you plan on visiting!
WHAT TO DO:
We tried to cover a lot of the staple Portland and Oregon spots in one visit, but there’s definitely much more to see than we could get to! If you plan on staying in downtown Portland, there are plenty of activities, but I definitely recommend getting out to the Oregon Coast where it’s absolutely beautiful!! I’ll break it down into these two areas:
PORTLAND:
- Japanese Garden- beautiful grounds that are super lush
- Rose Garden- amazing views of downtown with lots of roses (Portland is the city of roses)
- Ride the “biketown” city bikes along the Willamette River and by the harbor
- 23rd Street- tons of cute shops, restaurants, great shopping, and good vibes
- Pearl District- restaurants, wine bars, smoothie/coffee shops, etc
- Eugene- this is almost a 2 hour drive from downtown but we drove out here for the day and had a great day riding bikes, seeing U of O, getting delicious Italian food/ice cream for dinner
OREGON COAST :
- Tillamook- where the cheese and ice cream factory are that’s a cool spot
- Cannon Beach- reminded me of a mix between Carmel and Nantucket (cutest little beach town with the famous Haystack Rock beach: a MUST VISIT!)
- Newport- we didn’t make it here but heard amazing things about this beach town!
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
I’m going to revert to my original Portland Travel Guide on this one, because we didn’t actually go out to eat at all this month! We kept it healthy, cooked at home, and kept it low key. I will recommend a couple more spots though that aren’t in the original travel guide:
- Jakes Famous Crawfish- a Portland seafood staple since the 1800s and it was so delicious! Definitely ordered the fried fish sandwich
- Little River Cafe- a cute little brunch spot, but they also have an ice cream bar with Umpqua ice cream that you can enjoy on a hot day by the river (our favorite was sherbet)
- Caffe Umbria- we didn’t go here, but heard it was really good coffee!
- Kens Artisan Pizza- if you’re a pizza lover, this spot is SO delicious and voted #2 pizza in the United States! Just get there early to wait in line before getting seated! Worth it!
TIPS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
I mentioned that things in Portland have changed since I last visited- pre 2020! I’ll be honest with my observations and what I noticed daily in the city: yes, there are tons of tents everywhere (mostly concentrated downtown), and yes, there are a lot of homelessness and drugs! From my observation, I did not see any police presence, however, did notice a lot of armed guards and 90% of stores. With that being said, I didn’t leave the house alone, except a couple times. I will say, Portland does have so much potential in the city, it could be so beautiful so I hope some things change in the near future!
Another thing to note- I wish we had rented a car more times than just twice! I think this is one of those cities where you really do need a car to get around, especially if you want to explore and drive out to the Oregon Coast or Eugene/Bend areas! However, if you’re planning on just staying downtown, in the Pearl District, or along 23rd Street, then you should be fine walking or renting the Nike public bikes called “BIKETOWN”. We rode the bikes everywhere, almost every day, so were able to see a lot of the city easily that way.
Have you ever visited Portland, Oregon before or would you love to go!? It’s such a quirky little city…I guess “Keep Portland Weird” really does ring true 