72 Best Sights in Portland, Oregon

Begun as a temporary exhibit on the city's Chinatown—more than 10% of Portland's population identified as Chinese American in the 1900s, making it the second-largest such community in the country—at the Oregon Historical Society Museum, this museum now occupies a 2,500-square-foot permanent space in the heart of Chinatown. Exhibits document the community's continuously important contribution to the city, including the vibrant Chinese American–owned businesses that have prospered here since Portland's founding, as well as art, music, food, and important aspects of the community. The museum also presents rotating art and history exhibits as well as occasional concerts, lectures, and oral-history presentations.

The pleasant, historic neighborhood that begins east of the Sellwood Bridge was once a separate town. Annexed by Portland in the 1890s, it retains a modest charm, with stores and restaurants along 13th Avenue carrying an interesting mix of goods and edibles. Just north is the Westmoreland neighborhood, another cluster of mostly indie retail and dining centered around the intersection of S.E. Milwaukee Avenue and S.E. Bybee Boulevard.

Nearly 17 acres of tall old pines and grassy lawns overlooking the Willamette River make a visit here purely relaxing. A paved path circles the park and most of the action—ballpark, ball fields, playground, and tennis court. Sellwood also sports a terrific location—Oaks Bottom Refuge and Oaks Amusement Park are nearby, and the easy-going Sellwood neighborhood has charming shops and restaurants, convenient for a takeout picnic.

This unusually graceful fountain, built in 1888, is the centerpiece of Ankeny Square, a plaza around which the Portland Saturday Market takes place. Two nymphs uphold the brimming basin on top; citizens once quenched their thirst from the spouting lions' heads below, and horses drank from the granite troughs at the base of the fountain.

A formerly industrial slice of Northwest, this mini neighborhood epitomizes New Portland, with a walking-scale grid of stylish apartment buildings and repurposed warehouses filled with some of the city’s most hyped restaurants. While Slabtown loosely refers to the blocks stretching north from Lovejoy Street to the Willamette River, most of the action is sandwiched between Northrup and Thurman Streets.

Tanner Creek, which once flowed through the area, lends its name to this unusual urban wetland park that's surrounded by soaring modern condo towers. Today the creek flows underground, and this quiet, man-made oasis and spring with alder groves was built in the middle of the Pearl District as a reminder of what the area was once like. The Artwall was created using hundreds of upright railroad tracks and hand-painted fused glass.

You can always find your way to Union Station by heading toward the huge neon "go by train" sign atop the 150-foot-tall Romanesque Revival clock tower that looms high above the building. Originally opened in 1896, the station's vast lobby area, with high ceilings and marble floors, is worth a brief visit if you hold any nostalgia for the heyday of rail travel in the United States. Amtrak trains stop here, and the old-school restaurant adjoining the station, Wilfs, is an elegant spot for a bite to eat or watching live jazz in the evening.

A stroll along this 1½-mile pedestrian and cycling path across from Downtown is one of the best ways to experience the Willamette River and Portland's bridges close-up. Built in 2001, the esplanade runs along the east bank of the Willamette River between the Hawthorne and Steele bridges, and features a 1,200-foot walkway that floats atop the river, a boat dock, and public art. Pedestrian crossings on both bridges link the esplanade to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, making a 3-mile loop.

One of the stalwarts of Distillery Row, this highly respected outfit (formerly known as House Spirits) opened in 2004 and now occupies this spacious 14,000-square-foot facility. It's earned international acclaim for its Westward American Single Malt Whiskey, made with locally sourced barley. In the cozy tasting room, you can also browse a fine selection of barware, books, and other booze-related gifts. Tours are offered every afternoon, but weekends are busy, so best to reserve a spot in advance. There's an additional tasting room at Portland International Airport and a bottle shop in Nob Hill. If you plan to check out a few of the spots on Distillery Row, be sure to order a Distillery Row Passport (www.distilleryrowpdx.com) or download the app, which gives credit toward tastings and tours and discounts at a number of restaurants, hotels, and shops around the city.

This handsomely designed, contemporary museum across from the Oregon Zoo contains interactive and multimedia exhibits about forest sustainability. A white-water raft ride, smoke-jumper training simulator, and Timberjack tree harvester all provide different perspectives on Pacific Northwest forests. On the second floor the forests of the world are explored in various travel settings. A canopy lift ride hoists visitors to the 50-foot ceiling to look at a Douglas fir.

Light-rail trains glide by many examples of 19th-century cast-iron architecture on the MAX line between the Skidmore and Yamhill stations, where the streets are closed to cars. Take a moment at the Yamhill station to glance around at these old buildings, which have intricate rooflines and facades. Nearby, on Southwest Naito Parkway at Taylor Street, is Mill Ends Park, which sits in the middle of a traffic island. This patch of whimsy, at 24 inches in diameter, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's smallest official city park.

The "old building" and the hub of activity here is the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, host to the Oregon Symphony, musical events of many genres, and lectures. Across Main Street, but still part of the center, is Antoinette Hatfield Hall, which is home to the casual and convenient Artbar & Bistro and the 304-seat Delores Winningstad Theatre, used for plays and special performances. Its stage design and dimensions are based on those of an Elizabethan-era stage. The 880-seat Newmark Theatre is also inside Hatfield Hall.