Discover what Portland Ore., has to offer

BY JOANNE DIBONA

You can spend weeks, if not months, discovering the history, culture and charm of Portland, Ore. But even if you only have just a day or two for a visit, you can experience many of the city’s attractions. Here are a few can’t-miss locales:

For an introductory view of the city skyline, start your adventure at the Pittock Mansion, built in 1914 and filled with the rich history of one of Portland’s first families. It’s the perfect place to learn how Portland became the dynamic city it is today. High on a hill, the locale allows visitors to take in views of the skyline or, on clear days, to see five Cascade mountains.

The Columbia River flows from the Rocky Mountains of Canada into Oregon, where the two-tiered Multnomah Falls is one of the most popular natural recreation sites in the Pacific Northwest. Various observation decks, bridges and walking trails provide dramatic views of these majestic falls, located just 30 miles outside of the city. The top tier is 542 feet high; the second tier is a 69-foot drop.

Discover the beauty of the Willamette River and Portland’s neighborhoods on a stroll down Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a favorite among cyclists, runners and walkers. Once the site of a freeway (and named after Oregon Gov. Tom McCall, a staunch advocate of recycling, environmental preservation and urban planning), this 1.5-mile stretch of green is home to annual events such as the Portland Rose and Waterfront Blues festivals.

Acclaimed as one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in the world outside of Japan, Portland Japanese Garden is a must-see during your visit. Located in Washington Park, it is a nonprofit organization encompassing 12 acres and eight separate garden styles, including an authentic Japanese tea house, meandering streams, a tea café and picturesque walkways. In 2020, the garden celebrated the “Year of Peace” in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and offered programming to demonstrate how we experience cultural understanding through connections to art, nature and one another.

While strolling through Portland’s Old Town, you can’t miss the colorful entrance to Old Town Chinatown, where you’ll find many restaurants, gift and import shops, herbal medicine stores and Asian food markets. You may notice that the street signs are both in English and traditional Chinese characters. The area’s Portland Chinatown Museum, which opened in 2018, features permanent exhibits including Beyond the Gate: A Tale of Portland’s Historic Chinatown.

Just as Times Square is the heart of New York City, Pioneer Courthouse Square serves the same role for Portland. Known as Portland’s “Living Room,” this public space occupies a 40,000-square-foot city block in the heart of downtown. The square typically hosts more than 300 events annually and is also home to a variety of food trucks that provide a diverse selection of culinary offerings.

Book lovers of all ages will delight in a visit to Powell’s City of Books, which covers an entire city block in downtown Portland. It is one of the largest independent new and used bookstores in the world, boasting 1.6 acres of retail floor space and a mind-boggling inventory of volumes from around the world.