3 Best Sights in Northeast Portland, Portland

Arguably the first of Portland's several hipster-favored East Side neighborhoods to earn national attention, the Alberta Arts District (aka Alberta) has morphed from a downcast commercial strip into an offbeat row of hippie-driven counterculture and then more recently into a considerably more eclectic stretch of both indie arts spaces and sophisticated bistros and galleries. Extending a little more than a mile, Northeast Alberta offers plenty of one-of-a-kind dining and shopping. The area is also home to some of the best people-watching in Portland, especially during the Last Thursday (of the month) evening art walks.

A roughly T-shaped dining and retail district that's less defined but no less popular and impressive than some of the East Side's other culinary and shopping hot spots (like the Alberta Arts District and Southeast Division Street), this diverse neighborhood comprises a slew of mostly food-related ventures along East Burnside Street from about 22nd to 28th Avenues. Then, where Burnside meets 28th Avenue, you'll find several blocks of first-rate eateries as well as a handful of boutiques in either direction, heading north up to about Glisan Street and south down to about Stark Street. The historic Laurelhurst Theater anchors the intersection of 28th and Burnside.

Owned by the Catholic Church, the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, as it's officially known, displays more than 100 statues and shrines in 62 acres of woods that adjoin Rocky Butte Natural Area. The grotto was carved into the base of a 110-foot cliff, and has a replica of Michelangelo's Pietà. The real treat is found after ascending the cliff face via elevator, as you enter a wonderland of gardens, sculptures, and shrines, and a glass-walled cathedral with an awe-inspiring view of the Columbia River and the Cascades. There's a dazzling Christmas Festival of Lights (late November and December, $14), with 500,000 lights and more than 160 holiday concerts in the 500-seat chapel, and an indoor petting zoo. Daily masses are held here, too.