Where to stay

Stay in Downtown Portland's Cultural District to browse museums, attend the ballet and visit the concert hall, plus enjoy festivals at Waterfront Park. Hotels in the Lloyd District make it convenient to see the Portland Trail Blazers play basketball in the Moda Center, where concerts are frequently held too. The Oregon Convention Center is here, worth visiting to see the artwork inside. For a more spiritual experience stay in Parkrose and visit the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother with its multiple international shrines and botanical gardens.

Portland is famous for locavore dining and allowing and even promoting foraging. Book a hotel in Northwest Industrial to be near Forest Park, a huge urban spot that is a great place to meet up with other foraging residents and visitors. For more conventional food experiences, visit the Pine Street Market's multi-restaurant site as part of a stay in Old Town Chinatown. Enjoy farm-to-table meals and wine tastings south of the city in the Tualatin Valley, where you can find accommodations ranging from hotels to farm stays. Back in the city, get a hotel in the Pearl District, known for coffee shops, breweries and wonderful restaurants.

Oregon has no sales tax, which means shopping in Portland offers extra value. Many first-time and returning visitors stay in the Pearl District, where the world's largest independent bookstore is three stories tall and a full block wide. Other shops range from outdoor clothing stores to art galleries. Hotels in Downtown Portland offer easy walkable access to restaurants as well as dining and cultural sites. Accommodations in Old Town Chinatown are near the Portland Saturday Market and numerous sneaker shops, displaying footwear almost as an art form. The Lloyd District's Lloyd Center has more than 150 shops with plenty of places to stay nearby.

With many things to do across Portland, staying in the South Waterfront neighborhood offers a central location with easy access to popular activities and other areas. Follow the 4T route of trail, tram, trolley and train that makes a city loop, including an optional stop at the zoo and unmatched views from the Portland Aerial Tram. Alternatively, treat the kids to a history lesson at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site when you stay in Vancouver, Washington, just a 10-minute drive north of Downtown Portland. Get a hotel in the Old Town Chinatown area, the city's first downtown, and explore the Portland Shanghai Tunnels. Downtown Portland and the Pearl District are good spots to stay to visit Washington Park and the Oregon Zoo. Go on a Sunday and watch the weekly Zoobomb downhill rides.

From quiet urban spots to majestic wonders, Portland has unlimited outdoor activities. Stay in Downtown Portland and enjoy a relaxing break at the Pioneer Courthouse Square or stroll along the RiverPlace parks area and stop at the marina on the Willamette River. This is also a good neighborhood for visiting Washington Park with the highly acclaimed International Rose Test Garden as well as the Portland Japanese Garden, the Oregon Zoo and large Forest Park urban wilderness. Get a hotel to the west, where Beaverton has more than 100 parks with miles of hiking and biking trails. To the south, Tigard features kayaking on the Tualatin River. Stay north of Portland in Vancouver, Washington, which has dozens of parks and serves as a gateway to activities in the Cascade Range. Hotels in Gresham are perfect for making the scenic drive along the Columbia River Gorge with its many waterfalls.