- Portland
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United States
According to their flyers and website, Powell's City of Books (the main store of this very localised 'chain'), is the largest independent new and used bookshop in the world. I haven't attempted to verify this claim since my visit back in 2008, but have no problem with it, even if it is proven to be not strictly true. This place is amazing. Be warned - expect to spend at least a whole morning or afternoon here, unless you just popped in for a postcard.
Situated in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon, Powell's City of Books pretty much takes up an entire city block between NW 10th and 11th Avenues and W Burnside and NW Crouch. This independent bookstore genuinely deserves the stereotypical superlatives that are all too frequently thrown about, with dozens of rooms, nine colour coded sections and many, many thousand books. Wandering in like an enthusiastic but underprepared polar explorer, I was disoriented by a bookish equivalent of snow blindness. Not only does it provoke mental disorientatition, you literally could find yourself lost here (or find yourself literally lost). Luckily there are folded store map leaflets as you go through the doors. I'm glad I picked one up - not only an indispensible navigation aid in this bibliophilic terra incognita, it also later helped me find World Cup Coffee & Tea for a much needed refreshment break. This in-store establishment of another local 'chain' proves the Pacific North West's reputation for good coffee is not just based on the louder, better-known cousins up the coast in Seattle. You will definitely need this caffeination opportunity if you start browsing without a specific find in mind. Even then, you risk being distracted, diverted and wandering through the nearest real-life manifestation of Terry Pratchett's Discworld L-space I have yet to experience. The store staff - not an Orangutan in site - were both knowledgeable and helpful without being obtrusive. I was looking for two specific books; I found these and more - then proceeded to spend the best part of a day wandering, browsing the shelves, reading and retreating to WCC&T for an excellent espresso when I started to flag. I finally left - a reluctant escapee from this unusual tourist trap - with my wallet much lighter and my daysack much heavier.
Alongside an unsurpassed local music scene, independent record stores, good food and wine, stunning nearby landscapes and forward thinking city government, I am convinced that Powell's is one of the reasons why Portland regularly makes the top five list of North America's most liveable cities. For anyone that loves books - and any thinking traveller to be fair - Powell's is a more-than-worthwhile diversion on a trip to the Pacific North West on those days when it might be raining (and it does) or if you have no particular plans. If you are after views of the United States you don't often find this side of the Atlantic, Powell's is required reading. And do try the coffee.
1005 W Burnside, Portland, OR 97209
+1503-228-4651
www.powells.com
Google map: bit.ly/9h9bm3
Portland Airport (PDX), or Portland Amtrak Station (the Cascades, the Pacific Coastal Starlight and the Empire Builder services all reach Portland through stunning vistas). Once in Portland the excellent public transport system will get you there if you aren't driving - Hop on the MAX (the city wide tram system) and take it to the Galleria/SW 10th Avenue stop. You can either walk north on 10th Avenue or take the streetcar to Burnside - the city block across Burnside and on your left will be Powell's.
A neighbourhood that's just a short streetcar ride from downtown Portland with beautiful old wooden houses, eclectic independent shops and lots of bars and restaurants. Spend the morning looking around and then visit McMenamin's Blue Moon Tavern (432 NW 21st Street) to enjoy some of their own-brand Ruby Ale.
NW 21st Street, NW 23rd Street
Take the Streetcar to N.W. 21ST & NORTHRUP
www.portlandguide.com/neighborhoods/nob-hill.php
Another 'Old Town' favourite; Dan and Louis' is where to go when you want to try some local seafood in Portland.
Do not be fooled by the name - D&L's is a family-friendly restaurant with a diverse menu that features some of the freshest local ingredients. The clam chowder is classic and the Cioppino is a particular favourite, but if you are an oyster afficianado, you cannot miss out on the dozen varieties of oysters offered here.
The decor is classic Pacific Northwest fish house: every inch of wall space is covered with marine-related memorabilia, much of it collected over the restaurant's 100 year history.
For adults, there is a separate bar in back and make sure you ask about 'the hole' - a glass-covered look into almost bottomless pit - right below the bar.
www.danandlouis.com
208 SW Ankeny St, Portland, OR
The Portland Saturday Market is a gregarious mix of public fair, marketplace and food festival.
Located in the heart of 'old town' Portland, right on the downtown 'Max' lightrail, the market is a literal maze of hand-crafted and locally made wares, artwork, jewellery, clothing and more. Live music from diverse local bands and a food court that offers a taste of just about everywhere - American, Thai, Spanish, Greek - including local brews.
Street performers - mimes, living 'statues,' jugglers and magicians stroll the market, but they are not the only entertainment - just watching the diversity of the crowd is one of the major attractions of the market.
Located right off of Portland's Waterfront Park, visiting the Saturday Market is one of the best ways to see Portlanders in their natural element - and not worry about blending in.
Since driving and parking downtown is something of a nightmare, the best way to get around to and from the market will be on Portland's 'Max' lightrail train - it runs from Portland Airport through downtown and will only set you back about $5 for a day pass. The downtown area itself is part of Portland's 'fareless' square, so if you are only riding for a brief distance - its all free.
The market can be used as a jumping off point to explore more of downtown since it is central to the Waterfront and Chinatown - and just a short train ride to Pioneer Courthouse Square.
www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/
108 W. Burnside, Portland, OR
pioneercourthousesquare.com/
The Laurelthirst Pub is just that - a favorite of the locals for food, drink and great music - though just enough off the beaten track to be missed by the tourist crowd - and that is a shame.
The food, while hardly high-end cuisine, is still quite good and reasonably priced; local brews and wines are featured as well as cocktails - but what sets the Laurelthirst apart and makes it so popular is the music.
Blues, jango, rockabilly, jazz - the Laurelthirst has been serving up diversity and eccentricity for the past 20 years with local favorites like the Kung Pao Chickens, Jackstraw and the Tree Frogs, among many others.
The Laurelthirst is small and generally quite cramped on a nightly basis - but do not let this deter you. If you want an 'authentic' Portland experience - from the locals point of view - this is where to begin.
The best part? No cover charges - the music is free.
mysite.verizon.net/res8u18i/laurelthirstpublichouse/index.html
2958 NE Glisan, Portland, OR (corner of 30th and Glisan)
Southeast 82nd Avenue can be a pain to navigate (many stop lights, insane traffic) but it is worth the trouble for the Asian restaurants, from Chinese to Vietnamese, that populate the strip. However, one of my favorite Asian spots is Xuyen Bakery, where you can grab a heavenly Vietnamese sandwich for two bucks and a scrumptious apple turnover for a buck.
This tiny establishment, which is easy to drive right past, is on Foster Road, between 52nd and 82nd Avenues.
ast Burnside is home to my favorite southern style restaurant, The Screen Door. I always get the NC style pulled pork with some greens and hushpuppies, but everything else is excellent. They also feature local organic salads.
For seafood, I recommend Jake's Famous Crawfish on SW Stark. Oyster lovers will enjoy the Kumamoto Oysters fresh from Netarts Bay. The crawfish boil features creatures caught in Lake Billy Chinook, south of Portland on the Warm Springs Reservation. Anything with Dungeness crab is going to be tasty and the fresh fish is mouthwatering. The prices are moderate here.
On SW Stark401 SW 12th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97205
(503) 226-1419
1-888-344-6861 toll free
I noticed that someone already mentioned Stumptown Coffee, on Belmont, but I will mention it once again! But any coffee shop you see that has a nice mix of hipsters, students, and career folk should be a decent pick. Many other coffee joints serve Stumptown coffee anyway!
Portland is called 'bohemian' by some or just plain 'weird' by others - neither is terribly accurate or honest. Portland is as much a corporately-run, high traffic, New York borough-wannabe as it is home to the truly strange and offbeat - like Voodoo Doughnut.
A literal 'hole in the wall' - located off of 3rd Avenue in what is typically considered a gregarious garage of grunge, VD is the home of the most freshly-made, oddly named, uniquely indescribable fast food ever.
Try the bacon-maple bar - a generously rectangular confection of maple and a slice or two of crispy American-style bacon; the Dirty Ol' Bastard - fat, round and smashed with Oreo cookies; the Dirty Snowball - a chocolate doughnut with a pink glaze and mystery creme inside; the Voodoo Doll Doughnut - chocolate with an oozy blood red center. VD specializes in the bizarre and untried (the Nyquil-filled doughnut is currently on hold) and the unnameable: 'specialty' doughnuts are made to order and may closely resemble the body part of your choice.
Thinking of tying the knot in Portland? VD is also known for the weddings - held in front of the "Holy Doughnut under the Cruller Chandelier of Life". Cockfights and contests are also known to be held there.
Expensive it is not - always entertaining - as they say, the 'magic is in the hole.'
22 SW 3rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97204
www.voodoodoughnut.com
The Portland Rose Gardens is another local landmark site - with gorgeous views of Mt. Hood and the downtown city proper.
The 'test' gardens are literally that - experimental buds abound and many award-winners at that. Row after row after row of botanically-engineered beauty, and not just for enthusiasts.
Located in the winding playland that is Washington Park - The Rose Gardens sit within one of the best walking tours Portland has to offer - stroll up to the Japanese Gardens for an authentic cultural experience (it has been called the most perfect replica of a Japanese tea garden outside of Japan), or keep strolling up the park - playgrounds aplenty for the young ones and gorgeous picnic spots - if you make it to the top you can visit the Portland Zoo, Children's Museum, the Hoyt Arboretum or Forestry Center. Watch out for stray foxes.
Washington Park is Portland's largest and most exemplary - it is quite tourist friendly with plenty of buses, but the best way to experience it is on foot. The Washington Park Zoo train is also a refreshing option, taking you up on narrow tracks through the heavily wooded hills on an old-fashioned locomotive.
Family friendly - absolutely - but romantic enough for adventurous couples. With good trainers. A walking stick wouldn't hurt, either. Spread over 400 acres - long rests are encouraged.
Off of Hwy 26, from Burnside to Vista Avenue.
Powell's is a Portland landmark - though there are several outlets around Portland, the main attraction is the mother ship located at 10th and Burnside - it takes up an entire city block and five floors to house its beautifully eclectic and sometimes chaotic collection of literary beasts and local ephemera.
There is a genre to suit every taste, from Science Fiction (take a moment to gawk at the walls - you'll find some famous autographs scrawled there) to Gardening to Graphic Novels and even a Rare Books Room on the top floor that smells almost as antiquarian as it looks.
Powell's also boasts a small art gallery and cafe with the best local coffee. If you want a seat in the crowded cafe though, get there early.
A typical visit to Powells will set you back at least two hours. Wear your best walking shoes. Bring a backpack too - you'll need it to carry all the heavy second-hand tomes you find.
People watching is encouraged: if you want to know what real Portlanders are like, this is the place to go.
www.powells.com
10th & Burnside
Toll Free: 800-878-7323
Portland's newest and most original art gallery - with blood red walls and a slightly improper sneer about it. Pop, lowbrow, surreal, graphic, comic book art - from Lichtenstein to Gris Grimly and back again. Exemplifies the "Keep Portland Weird" slogan - and always keeps it fresh and interesting. This is what art should be about.
www.thegalleryzero.com
936 SE 34th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214
(near Belmont)
971-285-9300
Stumptown coffee bars are where the locals in the know drink the brown fuel.
There are a good few of them and Dandy Warhols manager Lee Cohen is the man who dragged me there. They don't tend to play jazz either.
MAX is a very user-friendly light rail system, with an airport station and good coverage of the area. An all day pass costs $5, the downtown zone is free, with connections to city bus or cable car..
Portland metro
Truly one of America's best bookstores, covering a small city block! Three floors of new and used in every category and genre. Trades are accepted.
Downtown at 10th @ Burnside (ask anyone)
One of the world's great independent book shops. Acres of new and second hand books. Great place to come when it's raining, which it probably is. Pick up a map and browse all day.
1005 W Burnside
Portland, OR 97209 USA
(at the corner of 10th Ave and W. Burnside)
www.powells.com
This is a really great neighbourhood pizza place with the best dough and sauce in Portland. They only make a certain amount of dough every night and when it's gone they turn people away. These guys are serious about pizza - not only do they not deliver, they don't even allow you to call in and take out. Only warning, it can sometimes take up to an hour to get in... but, once you try this amazing pie, you forget all about the wait.
4741 SE Hawthorne. www.apizzascholls.com. 503-233-1286. 14-Hawthorne bus.
Everyone seems to know that Portland, Oregon is one of the hottest US cities at the moment. Driven out of California by high costs, Portland is full of arty communities, progressive politics, and one of the best public transport systems in the US. However, the McMenamin's hotels and B&Bs are really a huge attraction. Edgefield is a former poorhouse from the 1920s, completely renovated and full of art, murals and photographs celebrating its history. Each room is unique, there is live music (free) each night, and they have a winery, brewery, distillery, movie theater, and now a full spa with soaking pool outdoors. Edgefield is right out of town in Troutdale, surrounded by orchards and 15 minutes from the Columbia River Gorge with access to miles of hikes, waterfalls and woods to explore. Not to mention Hood River as a lovely little town, still feeling like the "old west". This place is simply magical. Oh, and there are several little bars, including a tiny one called "The Little Red Shed" with a fire and about three tables. Go!
www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=3&category=Location%20Homepage
Is this your business?Search Been there
