Gianni

Hi,
I write this message from Italy.
I have to stay in Seattle for a meeting during the first week of November.
I would like to add to my trip a couple of spare days at visit (I have been already in Seattle and WA) the north part of Oregon.
Can you give me some suggestions on where to go and good place to visit / stay??

Thanks, ciao.

Andrew

Do you like cities? Portland is a neat city to visit, but then again, you are already seeing the city of Seattle.

The Oregon coast is very beautiful. You might take a trip out to Cannon Beach, which is a quaint beach town (less tacky than the rest of the coast) with a nice beach. East of Portland there's the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. Drive out I-84 east to Troutdale (exit 17) and get on the Historic Columbia River Highway (follow signs). Unfortunately, it might be cold and rainy by then, but if the weather is good, you can get breathtaking views from up there. Some good hiking, too. Beautiful falls in the woods, too. End up at Multnomah Falls, the most visited tourist attraction in Oregon.

See also:

trips.stateoforegon.com/multnomah_falls/
www.byways.org/travel/byway.html?CX_BYWAY=2141
www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/waterfalls.htm

Andrew

Wendy

Gianni, I live in seattle and road trip down to northern Oregon frequently. It's an easy drive although in Nov. it most likely will be rainy.

You could drive or take the train to Portland which is a beautiful city. Their art museum is good, shopping is great and restaurants are always cutting edge.

I like to head out to the north willamette valley wine country which is 30 mins. west of Portland. You could choose to stay in a bed and breakfast like Youngberg Inn (personal favorite) or just take a day to visit surrounding wineries, there are a lot!

Wendy

I forgot to include this link to the wine country:

http://www.yamhillwine.com/index.htm

Gayle

All the above suggestions are good ones. Coming from Italy you may be interested in knowing that the old stone fences along the above-mentioned columbia River Scenic Highway were built by Italian stone masons. Apparently no one else had that particular skill.

Gwen

Last week I was in Portland and I didn't really like the city. The surrounding areas however were beautifull. A highlight of my trip was a visit to Mt. St. Helens although the roads there could be a problem in november. I suggest you bring snow chains and give it a try. Also, if you go there you could take a day and check out the Columbia Gorge.

Andrew

OK, Gwen, as a resident of Portland, I'll bite:

What did you not like about Portland? What were you expecting? Do you like cities in general? Which other cities have you liked better?

Andrew

Gianni

Grazie (thanks..) to all of you!!

Any suggestion for a good / not expensive hotel in Portland or vicinity??
Thanks again, ciao.

tom

I stayed at the Timberline Lodge this summer just outside of POrtland and it was great--in a spectacular location

PDX

Just outside of Portland? Yeah, down the freeway bout an hour ish and up a mountain. Allow for at leat 2 hours with traffic/snow to get to Timberline..also not inexpensive.

Shari

I agree completely with Gwen.
When I first visited Portland 3 years ago I was very underwhelmed.
Looked like a rusted out midwestern city all along the river area. Nothing pretty or special at all except that little shopping area just north of downtown (Old Town?).
No pretty skyline, few pretty buildings, lots of old factory buildings and docks, etc. The area looked very hodge-podgy.
The gray weather didn't help any.


As for best sights, Gianni, I would strongly recommend the Columbia River Gorge drive, salmon at the Skamania Lodge. The CRG is really quite beautiful. On the other hand, compared to Lago di Como, Lugano, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast and Pompeii, anything in Oregon will seem a little dull.

Andrew

Shari:

Portland most certainly DOES have a beautiful skyline - but as with any other city, you need to view it from the right place. If you are not the driver, take a peek toward the city as you drive over the Marquam Bridge (south part of downtown, N or S on I-5) - stunning view. Or take it in from the parking lot of OMSI. Or from the Portland City Grill on the 30th Floor of the US Bancorp Tower. Or take a drive along Terwilliger Blvd at night and stop at the viewpoints to see Mt. Hood and the river and city lights.

I have numerous photos of the Portland area (and skyline) on my web site - email me if you want to see them.

Sure there are rusted out buildings and docks in places. This is a CITY for crying out loud, what do you expect? It's PORTland - ships dock here and load/unload merchandise, and that stuff isn't really pretty to see. Sounds like you stopped in the wrong places and missed the most beautiful parts of Portland - like the International Rose Test Garden, which is in Washington Park. And there are numerous cool buildings downtown. Did you see the Portland Building on the bus mall? Did you walk along the Park Blocks? Go to Amazon.com and look up "Architectural Guidebook to Portland" - pretty much tells you all you wanted to know about Portland architecture...

Portland also has beautiful, unique bridges (I feature them on my web site - search anywhere for "Portland Bridges"). Most tourists miss the stunning St. Johns Bridge (suspension bridge) NW of downtown - just drive west on Highway 30 a few miles through all that ugly port stuff, drive across the bridge, and stop in Cathedral Park. Actually, the St. Johns Bridge is best viewed on a cloudy day.

Shopping: Yes, Old Town is not a great place to shop - sorry someone gave you such bad advice. Next time try NW 23rd Ave aka "Trendy-Third". Or Hawthorne Blvd. between 30th-39th. Or antique shopping in Sellwood. Or Saturday Market on Sat/Sun mornings downtown. Or (better now than three years ago) the trendy Pearl District. Or, if you want "traditional" mall shopping, try Nordstrom/Sacks Fifth Ave/Pioneer Place Mall downtown.

As for hotels: if you want to stay downtown, I recommend using Priceline.com (start with BiddingForTravel.com) to get great deals on 3-star and 4-star hotels here. I'm seeing people get well-known 4-star hotels for under $70/night or even $60/night.

There is most definitely some ugliness in Portland, as in any city (you forgot to mention the homeless people downtown). Don't expect utopia. And some people hate cities. But don't misjudge Portland without checking out the best places. Any city could be so misjudged from the wrong vantage points.

Andrew

gail

We were impressed with Mt. St. Helens - even after all these decades, it still looks like a moonscape. Very good Visitors' Centers along the way. November weather might be a problem

Gianni

Last question:
how long is the trip from Sea-Tac airport to Portland (by car)??
Thanks again, ciao.
Gianni

Oregonian

Travel from Sea-Tac to Portland is between 3-4 hours depending on traffic and weather, nice drive though!!! Enjoy your visit.... my husband and I are well travelled and can't find anywhere we'd rather live than in this beautiful city!!!

Andrew

Sea-Tac to Portland is a simple drive down I-5. With no traffic, driving at speed limit + 5 (legally 70MPH south of Olympia) you can make the trip in 2.5 hours (I've done downtown Seattle to downtown Portland in 2:40 driving at reasonable speeds). But I-5 is prone to construction delays and traffic. Just be prepared for delays and you'll be fine.

Andrew

tom

For those who indicated Portland is not a beautiful city, I ask what city do you know of that is more beautiful than Portland,Oregon. I visited Monte Carlo,Cannes, and Nice along the French Riviera this summer and I must say the state of Oregon(including portland) is the only place in the US that I have visited that can compare with the scenic views. Paris is also a lovely city, but it definitely has its run down areas as well.

GIANNI

Again thanks...,
my opinion in the discussion regarding places in Europe against places in USA is...that you h<ve to enjoy every difference of anywhere in the world!
You can't compare Seattle with Florence or Portland with Nice; there are so many different factors to evaluate and our "personal behaviour" is changing from one person to another that it's impossible to reach a real conclusion.

I have a final question:
if we arrive in Sea-Tac late and tired and we can't afford a safe trip to Portland where we can stop in between the two places (1 hour / 90 minutes drive from Sea-Tac)? Any hotel suggestion?
Thanks again, ciao.

Andrew

Along the drive south on I-5 from Sea-Tac to Portland, you will pass through Olympia, Chehalis, Centralia, and Longview/Kelso, to name a few. There are many "road side" hotels along the highway - often advertised by signs.
In the fall there are liable to be a lot of vacancies, so you might be able to "wait and see" as you drive where you want to stop.

Longview/Kelso is the biggest city south of Olympia - I know there is a Red Lion hotel right along I-5 but I do not know how good this hotel is. This city might be the best place to stop, though it is not particularly special or exciting.

Andrew

April

I don't know that the area between the two cities would be your best choice. If it were me and I got to Oregon I would head for the coast, which is quite spectacular for the landscape and rolling waves, and it's nice to see the lighthouses too. If you get to the Yamhill area, take in the first-rate Evergreen Aviation Museum, which houses the massive Spruce Goose.

But, given the short amount of time, I would probably stay closer to Seattle.