First trip to Portland-any advice?
 

A couple of friends and myself are traveling to Portland, Oregon to do the marathon on October 5th. We decided to make a vacation of it and will be there Friday night through Wednesday. What other things should we do while there? Where should we go to eat? I'm already considering the Saturday market, breakfast at Mother's, and some breweries. Also, is it difficult to get to the wineries/vinyards from the city if we don't have a car? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

There is a lot to see right in downtown, where you can walk or ride the streetcar. The Japanese Gardens, Rose Gardens (not at their best this late, but not too bad and are right next to the Japanese Gardens), Chinese Garden is in the Pearl District, the NW part of town, up around 21st and 23rd streets is chuck full of boutiques and restaurants, the Pearl lots of shops/galleries/restaurants, and then around Pioneer Courthouse Square there are more places like Nordstrom, etc.

Mothers is fantastic for breakfast, as is Lorn and Dotties which is just a block north of there. Saturday Market is interesting...lots of unique stuff.

Henry's is a great place to try some local beers. They have over 100 on tap, with an ice trough in the bar, which keeps your drink cool. There is also a billiards room upstairs, with another bar right in there. And then a regular restaurant part as well.

As far as wineries...yes, you would need a car for that. If you do, you might consider renting it for two days and add the gorge to your trip for another day.

Enjoy the marathon! My DD will be helping out with it:)

Just a few things to add to mms's always good advice...

Do your carbo loading at Piazza Italia, in the Pearl District; great home-style italian. Or Caffe Mingo, a couple blocks off the streetcar line in NW Portland. Breweries to consider: Bridgeport, Lucky Labrador, any of the bazillion McMenamin's, Widmer... countless others. Portland is kind of like Seattle, only instead of a Starbuck's on every corner, we've got brewpubs. ;-)

If you're into markets, Portland's Farmers Market is rated one of the best in the country. It's in the north park blocks, by Portland State University. That's Saturday morning.

Mms is also right about the wineries; you'll need a car. Unless your group is large enough where a tour would make sense. In that case, check with Grape Escapes: http://www.grapeescapetours.com/ . Good thing about going that route is you won't need a designated driver. ;-)

If this is your first visit to the area, I urge you to take two day trips--one to Cannon Beach, on the coast, and the other to the Columbia River Gorge.

Hi there, we had a very nice breakfast at the Bijou Cafe when we stayed at the The Benson a few weeks ago, very good Oyster Hash here. We loved Andina for dinner which was just a short cab ride away from our hotel. There is also the Portland City Grill which has very good food and stunning, panoramic views of Portland. :)

The Pearl District has several good places to dine: Park Kitchen, Olea, Ten 01, Fenouil, are a few of our favorites. In the Nob Hill area, Wildwood and Paley's Place are both good choices for meals.

Salty's on the Columbia River is also a good choice if you want an outdoor patio area with gorgeous views of the river. We enjoyed a very nice lunch here a few weeks ago. Yummy coconut prawns and a good wine selection, I did the white wine flight of a La Crema Chardonnay, King Estate Pinot Gris and a Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc. :)

If you go over to the N. Mississippi area of Portland, check out Lovely Hula Hands for a nice dinner with a cozy ambiance. ***kim*** ((#))

Just to clarify, you'd need a car for either Lovely Hula Hands or Salty's. And if you do have a car, we can come up with better places than those, if "fine dining" is what you're looking for. Except for the Bijou, every other place kimamom recommended is also generally considered fine dining (or likes to think of themselves as such).

Where are you staying, by the way?

We are staying downtown so we will be close to the starting line of the marathon. We may do "fine dining" one night, but are just looking for good but unique restaurants the other days. I can eat at PF Changs anywhere, I'd like to have a fun Portland experience-though without totally breaking the bank. We are into laid-back environments and in our late 20's/early 30's if that helps with suggestions. I'm definitely looking forward to some of the brewpubs.

The Marina Fish House (formerly Newport Bay) at Riverplace may not be considered "fine dining" by some, but a decent restaurant, it's on the river (a "floating" restaurant) with a nice view of the marina, bridges, people rowing their boats, etc. And it's not outrageously expensive. I took some out-of-towners there last night and they quite enjoyed it. You can easily take the Streetcar down to Riverplace but if your hotel is closer to the river, it's not a bad walk.

Yes, Piazza Italia is perfect for the night before the marathon.

Other places that are very good but casual and not overly expensive are Southpark (fantastic seafood and wine list here), Higgins, Wildwood, Fenouil, and Ten01. These are all walkable as well.

No trip to Portland is complete without a visit to the Velveteria velveteria.com - it really is the epicenter of art! It's got a dirt cheap admission and the owners/curators are incredibly fun to talk to about their collection. Just check the days/hours before you go as it is not open every day.

Easy to get to Velveteria by public bus or taxi, and several good, casual restaurants/cafes/pubs in the neighborhood.

The Saturday Market has some great shopping and good, cheap eats for lunch on the go. Definitely keep it on your list of things to do.

I envy you...not the running 26 miles part, but I am so wishing I could be sitting on a park bench reading a book I bought from Powell's Bookstore and eating a Memphia Mafia doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts.

If you're really into running, I guess you could drive down to Eugene, do some trail running, check out whatever is related to running in general, as Eugene is "Tracktown, USA".

Definitely visit Powell's.

bm

For very good food in a casual atmosphere, check out Clyde Common, off the lobby of the ACE Hotel. For some of the best food in town, and still in a casual atmosphere, try Le Pigeon (a bit of a walk though... cross the river on Burnside). The chef/owner there is winning all kinds of awards, national even.

For an amazing fine dining experience, check out Lucier down by the waterfront. We had a lovely dinner here this summer, gorgeous ambiance, fantastic food and extremely professional, attentive service at Lucier. ***kim*** ((*))

Yes, amazing is the right word for Lucier. Amazingly overpriced, and an amazingly poor value. I know a couple who went and dropped $2,000 on dinner. Did you read that jessica doesn't want to break the bank, kimamom????

beachbum, thanks for looking out for my wallet. That sounds way out of my price range. :)
I'm taking notes on all of these suggestions. We likely won't do the hiking, as I'm afraid we will be hobbling after the marathon, but I'd love to just check out the sights around the city. What is there to see east of the river? Or any other suggestions for activities around town?

LOL Kim, you gotta read what the OP wants:)

Jessicajls, I know the feeling of not wanting to be on foot a whole lot right after doing a marathon. Get a rental car for the day after and head to the gorge. There is so much you can see without having to hike. The old scenic highway is really pretty and the stops at the Portland Womens Forum, Vista House and of course Multnomah Falls will be a great distraction for tender feet;)

I like the Marina Fish House - especially during the day - people stop by with their boats , you can sit out on the floating deck and see the sights.
You can rent bikes and ride along the river paths- I saw bike rental place close to the Sat Market
Trail is called the Springwater Corridor and you goes for miles -

If you are interested in a little Portland music try the White Eagle

http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=55

Also a trip up the Gorge to Hood River would be fun - its world famous for wind surfing so you might see some boarders out on the water if its a nice day -

Thanks for all the advice everyone!! So if we were to rent a car and hit vineyards, what do you recommend? I will see if the other girls are up for the gorge as well.

Well, you can rent a car downtown near your hotel probably for about the same price as at the airport, but if you are going at the end of your trip, you might well see if you can drop the car off at the airport. Even if you wind up parking the car at the hotel one night it might be worth it. Note you can park free on the streets in Portland after 7PM until 8AM the next morning or all day Sunday; so if you are leaving the hotel by, say, 9:30AM, and you parked overnight in a 90-minute spot, you can sneak out there at 8AM and put 90 minutes on it. Cheaper than paying $25/night to park at the hotel.