Pretty Portland

During the Pleistocene era, much of Oregon was a covered with pulsing rivers of lava which formed what is known today as the Boring Lava Field (don’t know what’s “boring” about that). On the southeastern edge of what is now Portland, violent eruptions from one vent sent so many sizzling blobs of lava upwards that they created Mount Tabor, a so-called “cinder cone” and the only extinct volcano within the limits of a major city in the continental United States. Roiling turbulence, sulfuric fumes, the look of Dante’s Inferno … ahh, what a difference 1.8 million years (or so) can make. The site that may well have been one of the most infernal on the planet back then is now, well, one of the most pleasant. A bookish, artsy city, Portland today is most famous for its gardens and unrelentingly nice weather. There may be little of the old drama in 24-hours spent here, but it sure can be relaxing.

8 a.m. - 9 a.m.: Head to the shed, The Tin Shed Garden Café that is, but get there early. Though it plies the crowd with free cups of coffee when they have to wait, if you come after 9 a.m. you could end up with a serious caffeine buzz before you dine—the line can be excruciating. But the “shed cakes” (somewhere between hash browns, potato pancakes and heaven), the gravy and egg “rollovers”, and the “Goat Boy Scramble”, just dripping with rich chevre, are worth it.

9 a.m. - Noon: Tiptoe through the tulips … and roses and azaleas and irises, at three of the city’s most lovely gardens (best to do later in the spring and in summer). Concentrate first on roses, in this, the City of Roses, with a fragrant stroll through the International Rose Test Garden. Over 400 species blossom here, including some new hybrids you won’t find anywhere else. Not too far away, is the exquisite Japanese Garden. A picturesque waterfall, tea house, five different styles of Japanese gardens over 5.5 acres and Mount Hood rising like Mount Fuji in the background have led many experts to call this the finest Japanese-style garden in the United States. And if you’re not all flowered-out, you can grab a cab or bus to The Portland Chinese Classical Garden, which spans an entire city block, making it the largest of its kind outside of China. A central pond, meandering walkways, and pagoda-style viewing pavilions give these gardens a very different ambiance from the Japanese Garden cross town.

Complete Portland Guide Frommer's dining in Portland, Ore. Family-friendly attractions and hotels Frommer's favorite experiences in Portland, Ore.

Morning Alternative
Pop over to the Portland Art Museum [Link 6] to take in whatever blockbuster retrospective the museum is currently featuring (it gets a number of topnotch touring exhibits, including the upcoming “Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art” and “The Dancer: Paintings of Toulouse Lautrec, Degas and Foraine”.) Of its permanent collection, don’t skip the Native American artworks and artifacts section, a jewel of the museum.

Noon-2 p.m.: Crawdaddy time. At Jake’s Famous Crawfish, you’ll do what legions of seafood lovers have done here since 1907: tuck a napkin in your collar, suck the sweet meat out of the shell, and toss back a cold one to wash it down. For cheap, fresh seafood in a setting redolent of history, no place in Portland can beat it.

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.: Engage in some retail therapy. Portland has a number of unique, visit-worthy shops that will put the zing in your afternoon. Be sure to drop by Powell’s City of Books. A mecca for book lovers, it’s the world’s largest new and used bookstore, with over 68,000 square feet devoted to 3500 categories of books. Fashion hounds will sniff out Dragonlily, an apparel store that’s a labor of love for two local designers. All of the clothing and jewelry here are made in the Portland area and they’re flat out stunning. If you’re into fine art, proceed to northeast Alberta Street, which has become a mini arts district, lined with galleries and funky boutiques (low rents have attracted swarms of artists to the city in the past decade).

Afternoon Alternative
Take a hike. The largest forested park in the U.S., aptly named Forest Park, offers up more than 50 miles of trails, and though it’s smack dab in the middle of the city, there are lots of opportunities to hug trees and spot critters: 112 bird- and 62 mammal-species call the park their home.

5:30-7:30: Portland likes its artisanal beers, so its no surprise that one of the top gourmet restaurants in town, Higgins Restaurant, should have 12 blend craft brews and fine imports on tap at all times. They’re paired with a menu of ultra-fresh fare (the herbs come from the chef’s own garden and he subscribes to a philosophy of “sustainable agriculture”), which can range from honey- glazed pork to salmon caught nearby to mozzarella paired with the most flavorful of heirloom tomatoes. 

8 p.m. - 10 p.m.: Opera, ballet, professional theater, modern dance: Portland has all these options and its companies have stellar reputations in the arts world. It’s up to you to decide what flavor of high art you prefer. Go to the Web site of the Portland Center for Performing Arts , to find out what’s on the bill at the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Opera or the Oregon Ballet Theater. For modern dance, visit the Web site of White Bird, which regularly brings in the top names in dance, including the Paul Taylor Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Theater lovers can learn about the goings on at the Portland Center Stage by going to its website.

10 p.m. on …There are dozens of bars and clubs you can hang in, but the Voodoo Lounge is the hot spot du jour, a bordello-like space (think tassels and red couches) that employs some of the most talented DJ’s in the Pacific Northwest.

Pauline Frommer is the creator of the new Pauline Frommer guides in bookstores now. Her book, Pauline Frommer's New York, was named Best Guidebook of the Year by the North American Travel Journalists Association.