Need travel tips for Portland OR

In My Humble Opinion
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De-lurking to see if I can catch one of the SDMB Portland natives.

I’m going to Portland for the Swell Season/Black Francis concert on August 20. Being a Canuck, I’ve extended the stay out to cover 4 days so that I can take advantage of duty-free shopping. I’m travelling solo, driving down from Penticton, BC. Aside from the concert, I’ve got nothing else planned and 3 days to kill. I’ve done the requisite googling, which is pretty much in consensus on the the advice to go to Powell’s and Voodoo Donuts.

The best advice often comes from locals, so I’m hoping for some other suggestions. Places to eat, visit, hang out are all welcome.

One specific question - the concert is at the Oregon Zoo - is it better to drive there or find a way to take transit? I’m thinking of staying near the airport even though I’m driving down so I can take the shuttle to a transit hub. From what I’ve read, Portland transit is good but shuts down early.

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I’m not technically a native, but I’ve lived an hour from Portland all my life and went there for special trips all the time, which might actually be better than being a native, since they don’t usually do touristy things! There’ve been a few other Portland threads which I recommend checking up on.

My recommendations besides–of course!–Powell’s:

The Chinese Garden

or

The Japanese Garden

(or both, if you love gardens!) The Chinese garden in particular is stunning and should be wonderful in summer time. Tiny and exquisite. The Japanese one is also beautiful at all times of the year.

If you really love gardens, Portland is also famous for the rose garden, which should be nice in August.

Other tourist sites: I spend many happy hours as a kid at OMSI, a very well done science museum. The Portland Art Museumis also nice. Right now, they have a special exhibit on R. Crumb’s illustrations of the Bible, which could be cool if you’re into that kind of thing.

If you like outdoorsy things, the awesome Oregon coast is an hour or so drive away, and Multnomah Fallsare about 1/2 hour drive.

Portland’s also got a really neat Saturday Market. All kinds of good food, shops, and performers.

As for shopping, if you do end up going to Powell’s, there’s a fair amount of cute shops around the area–second hand and vintage clothes, comic book stores, record stores, etc. If you go a little further afield, you’ll get into the heart of the Pearl District–more upmarket and less hip, but lots of cute little boutiques and so on.

Portland is famous for it’s food carts, so if you around during the business day you should check them out. This is a well-known and tasty Thai restaurant. Thisis a bit touristy but I enjoyed the pizza a lot.

As for the Zoo–can’t help you much there, as my family always drives within Portland. There may be a shuttle of some kind? Lots of parking at the Zoo, though.

I also might be in Portland on the 20th, to go to a different concert! (The Hold Steady.) So maybe we’ll pass like ships in the night. :slight_smile:

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I’ll pimp for my 'hood in Southeast. Jade is a terrific and cheap Asian restaurant in Sellwood. Also, there is Garden State, a food cart here that has one of the best burgers in town. A Cena is an excellent (but spendy) Italian restaurant, and Eleni’s has good Greek. There is also Ginos, Portofino, Mekong, Thai Lahnna, Cha!Cha!Cha!, a couple of wine-tasting bars, and several pubs. Yeah, we like living here.

Outside of Sellwood, try Pok Pok, which has appeared on Diners, etc. on the travel channel and has killer wings, Asian style.

I would take a bus (probably take the MAX line downtown and connect to a bus to the zoo), and you can check the schedules online, but I’ll ask my wife, who is the transit guru. Weekday schedules are pretty good, weekends suck.

I’ll second the Japanese Gardens, if you like that sort of thing, and the old Columbia Gorge Road is a nice, scenic drive.

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Wife says take the red MAX line to the blue MAX line, which goes directly to the zoo. It will run late enough to get you back.

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Well, I tried going to the zoo one day last summer when I had visitors. I finally gave up trying to find a parking space after a half hour, and we left. That was just a normal day, no special events going on.

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I’m subscribing mostly. I had no idea that that concert was going on, but its tempting. We’ve been talking about driving up all summer, and that looks like around the best time.

Try Voodoo Doughnuts if you want a maple-bacon donut.

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Thanks everyone, I didn’t realize about the R. Crumb exhibit, I’ll check that out for sure. I’m making a note of all the suggestions for food. I think I’ll probably spend a half a day or more in and around Powell’s, I’m very excited for that. I’m sold on the bus.

Thelurkinghorror: tickets for the concert were ridiculously cheap, $32.00 all out I think. For two, they have a package for $50/each that includes some kind of special seating and a souvenir blanket (?!).

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Nitpick: The MAX is a light rail train, not a bus.

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I can recommend Kenny & Zukes for a craft-made lunch. The pastrami is the finest I’ve had. If you arrive hungry, get a Meshugalleta and leave with leftovers.

1038 Southwest Stark Street
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 222-3354

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If you like walking around eclectic shops, I always enjoyed the Pearl District (NW part of downtown), NW 23rd St and SE Hawthorne. Lots of great little dining spots and independent stores. I’ll second the drive to Multnomah Falls. You can either do the short drive via the freeway, or take a longer 3-4 hour drive by several waterfalls which is quite lovely.

For light cafe food and delicious French desserts, check out: St Honore Bakery

If you have the time, make a stop by Mt. St. Helens on the way back north. It will take you a few hours out of your way, but the crater itself is an impressive sight to see.