City Guide to Portland, Oregon | Must See Attractions, A Photo Essay
One of our favorite parts about Portland, Oregon is the unique things we get to see when walking throughout the city. From street art to foot paths and bridges, the city stays true to its reputation and slogan ‘keep Portland weird’. Come along with us and see some of our favorite off the beaten path must see attractions!
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We saved our favorite photos from our travel in the United States in our Photo Album! Don’t worry, we think it’s more fun than sitting through your grandparents vacation slideshows…
We’re a digital nomad couple pursuing financial independence, retire early (FI/RE) and in 2016, we sold most of our belongings, planned to be ‘homeless’ and traveled 3 continents, 23 countries, and 60 cities in a year!
After a year traveling full time internationally we decided it was time to come home to the United States. However, our life as digital nomads wasn’t something we wanted to give up. So, in 2017 we continued our house sitting adventures throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“We love exploring neighborhoods, off the beaten path sights, and must see attractions in each city we visit.”
We hope our city guides might inspire your wanderlust. And, since a picture is worth a thousand words, we’re sharing our favorite sightseeing images from the cities we’ve visited in photo essays!
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What to See in Portland, Oregon
Most of our city guides are extremely thorough since we sightsee as if we’ll never return to a place. Not because we don’t want to come back, but because there are more places in the world that we want to see than we’ll have the time to.
With that said, there are some places we’ve been to many times. Portland, Oregon is one of those places. We lived in the area for a couple of years and we have family here. So when we visit, our days of sightseeing and exploring are much more off the beaten path than that of the typical tourist.
We hope you enjoy the sights we’ve found while walking this fun and unique city!
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Steel Bridge, Portland Oregon
The Steel Bridge in Portland is one of the many bridges that cross the Willamette River. You can drive across it, take the MAX light rail over it, or like us, enjoy a nice walk via the bridge into downtown Portland.
White Stag Portland Sign
The White Stag Sign is synonymous with Portland, so much so that it’s also known simply as the Portland Sign.
If you’re looking for a close up view of this must see sign, head towards the Burnside Bridge. The sign sits on top of the White Stag Building (70 NW Couch Street) in downtown Portland.
As a bonus, if you’re visiting in the winter, the nose of the reindeer will light up red for Christmas!
Portland’s Old Town Chinatown
When in Portland, we highly recommend visiting Old Town Chinatown!
Chinatown Gateway
Be sure to see the beautiful Chinatown Gateway that was built in Taiwan and installed in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown in 1986.
You can find it at 22 NW 4th Ave, Portland OR 97209.
Hung Far Low Sign
While the restaurant is permanently closed, the large Hung Far Low sign has become a favorite of Portlanders. The community came together to take it out of storage and have it restored and hung for all to see at the intersection of Northwest Fourth Avenue and Couch Street in Old Town Chinatown.
Lan Su Chinese Garden
While in Old Town Chinatown, be sure to make a visit to the Lan Su Chinese Garden where you can see over 400 species of plants, of which 90% are indigenous to China.
But it’s more than just a beautiful garden, and aims to be an experience that brings together Chinese tradition through art, architecture, design and nature.
Lan Su Chinese Garden can be found at 239 Northwest Everett Street, Portland, Oregon 97209.
Tilikum Crossing AKA Bridge of the People
Tilikum Crossing bridge serves the MAX Orange line, the Portland Streetcar, pedestrians, cyclists, and buses crossing the Willamette river.
It’s beautifully designed, has amazing views of the river and mountains on a clear day, and at night is wonderfully lit. In fact, the lighting is designed to change based on the speed, depth, and temperature of the Willamette river!
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Portland’s Street Art
There are a few cities around the world that we’ve been to that have beautiful street art that stands out. Athens, Greece was a city with a street art culture that caught our attention. Portland, Oregon is another city that’s full of impressive and inspiring street art by very talented artists!
Sunnyside Piazza
We didn’t go looking for this brightly painted intersection, in fact, we didn’t even know of it’s existence. However, on a walk exploring the local neighborhood of one of our house sits, we were lucky enough to stumble on the ginormous flower painted by the Sunnyside neighborhood!
If you have the chance, make your way to the intersection of SE 33rd & Yamhill in Portland to see the mural that the community comes together to repaint yearly. And not only is the street worth your attention, but the homes and signs around the intersections are expressive pieces of art as well!
If you’re wondering how to travel internationally, or simply vacation nearby and not spend a fortune on airfare or hotels, then we’d like to welcome you to the world of ‘travel hacking’. See what credit cards we carry, and how we take full advantage of the points and miles we’ve earned.
Forest for the Trees Project
Forest for the Trees is a project that aims to pull people out of their everyday life and help them see Portland as a canvas. The project has been bringing international artists together to paint publicly accessible art since 2013.
Capax Infiniti (Holding the Infinite) by Faith47, 2014.
Located on the Carlyle Building at 114 Southwest Washington Street, Portland, Oregon.
Clarence the Cloud Creator by Michael Reeder, 2015.
Located at 1129 SW Washington Street, Portland, Oregon.
Always Falling by Troy Lovegates and Paige Wright, 2015.
Located at 412 SW 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon.
Black Pepper by Caratoes and Smitheone, 2017
Located at N.W. 4th & Everett, Portland, Oregon.
Every Rose Has its Thorn by Rone, 2013
Located at SW 12th and Washington, Portland, Oregon.
Portland Views of Rivers and Mountains
Depending on where you are in Portland, Oregon you’ll be able to enjoy wonderful views of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, the Willamette River, and the Columbia River.
Views of the Willamette River
View of Mt. Hood
View of Mt. Hood and Willamette River
Sunsets over Mt. Hood and Willamette River
Sunrise over the Willamette River and Mt. Hood
View of Mt. Hood from Mirror Lake
Taken near Portland, Oregon.
Spring in Portland
Early spring in Portland, Oregon typically brings substantial rain to the area. And while some might see this as a downside, the benefit is clearly visible in the lush landscape. From the beautiful flowering trees to the tulips and dandelions.
For those that look towards the earth, you’ll probably spot a few snails after a rain storm. However, not a single snail we’ve come across in Portland even comes close to the behemoth we found on a walk in Oslo, Norway!
Spring in the Pacific Northwest usually means the geese are breeding and goslings are on their way. Just be aware, parent geese are very protective of their young family!
More Fun Portland Sights!
We’re always looking around to see what new things we’ll find when we’re in Portland!
City of Roses
Statues Around Town
Stealing a kiss from a sea lion in Portland, Oregon!
Tung & Xi'an Bao Bao, Shang Dynasty replica, 2002
Standing in the North Park Blocks (at the intersection of Northwest Park Avenue and West Burnside Street), the Da Tung & Xi'an Bao Bao sculpture is a symbol of safe and prosperous offspring. If you're curious about the carved design, it's a call back to ancient Chinese mythology.
Facing the Crowd by Michael Stutz, 2001
Located at Providence Park in Portland Oregon.
River City Bicycles roof top bicyclist sculptures.
Located at 706 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97214.
Final Thoughts
There’s something for just about every visitor and tourist to Portland.
We always enjoy our time in the city and appreciate house sitting in different neighborhoods. It allows us to uncover so many great sights we never would have seen otherwise!
