Visit Portland, Oregon

Want to visit Portland, Oregon? The Pacific Northwest? Home to the hipsters and craft beer? Then this is the list for you.

I’ve been living Portland for over 5 years now and I have a loooonnnggg list of things to eat, see and do! Tons and tons and tons of food! It’s the perfect mix of city and nature.

Where to Eat in Portland, Oregon

There are A LOT of great places to eat when you visit Portland, so this list is going to be YUUUGEEE. Prepare yourselves… and your stomachs. Mind you, I live on the East side so a majority of my favorite haunts are over here vs downtown.

Cafe‘s in Portland, Oregon

• Jinju Patisserie– $$ bakery. This place just won the James Beard award in 2025 for most outstanding bakery in the country. So, it’s a must obviously.
• Crema Bakery & Cafe– $$ So DELISH. I had a Spanish latte that was to die for but the honey and vanilla latte was also calling my name.
• Portal Tea – $ Lovely homemade tea and boba!
• Case Study Coffee– $ Great coffee and great location, across from the fancy library.
• Stumptown Coffee– $ Locals rave about this coffee. Starbucks who? Locations errrrywhere.
• Tea Bar–$ You know ya gurl loves her boba. Had to try this place. I will say, the boba pearls were really fresh and chewy!

More Favs:

• Helen Bernhard Bakery -$
• Twisted Croissant-$
• Spielman Bagels – $

Breakfast/Brunch/Cafe‘s in Portland, Oregon

• Petite Provence – $$ I love this place. Their monte Cristo sandwich is my fav.
• Tin Shed Cafe– $$ My best friend claims these are the best biscuits she’s ever had. I got the Salm I Am (Egg scramble with smoked wild salmon, roasted red pepper, sweet onion and roasted garlic scramble topped with fresh dill, cream cheese & capers.)
• Screen Door– $$ I have yet to go here but every time I drive by the line is HUGE. It must be good because 1. there are a million brunch options in Portland so 2, to stand in line for a place it must be good. This is an observation recommendation.

Food Carts in Portland, Oregon

Food Carts at 10th and Alder (downtown block) $-$$$: A million options! It’s an easy lunch or dinner. Comes highly recommended by my friends when you visit Portland. Here’s my favorites.

• E San Thai– which also has a stand alone restaurant nearby. 
• 808 Grinds– Hawaiian
• Whole Bowl– Healthy option

Lunch in Portland, Oregon

• Fire on the Mountain– $$ Wingss for dayyss (even vegan wings). I actually heard MANY people talk about this place while I was there but I didn’t have time.
• Kayo’s Ramen – $ My go-to ramen place.
• Cheese and Crack Snack Shop– $$ My mother and sister went here without me and wouldn’t shut up about it. They are both cheese snobs so it must have been good. My fav are their ice cream sundaes!

• Pine Street Market–$-$$$ Idk which restaurants are in it because it was always changing but I liked everything I ate there.
• Lardo–$ Sammachies and fries. A lot of bloggers raved about their fries.

Dinner in Portland, Oregon

• Eem – $$$ I’m probably not the first person to mention you should try Eem.
• Andina – $$$ We went here for my cousin’s graduation dinner and it was GREAT!!!! I can’t recommend it more if you like or want to try Peruvian food.
• Gumba – $$$ I could marry this place. It’s everyone’s go-to birthday dinner spot.
• Swiss Hibiscus – $$$ It’s the perfect mix of swiss food and hawaiian. Yes, Hawaiian. It’s fantastic.
• Lovely’s 50/50– $$ As seen on Netflix’s Chef’s Table.
• Bye and Bye – $$ My go to Vegan place. The cocktails are fabulous too.
• Bollywood Theather – $$ Indian anyone?
• Departure– $$$ Come for the views, stay for the food. We went here for happy hour. I had the kimchi fried rice and it was divine.

Desserts in Portland, Oregon

• Salt and Straw–$ You already know the deal. World famous ice cream yada yada yada. There is one in LA I’ve been to so I didn’t go here. But I will say, it is delish. The line is always super long thooooo.
• Wiz Bang Bar– $ I ferking love this place! THIS IS A HAVE TO GO TO. It’s actually inside Pine Street Market with a bunch of other food options.
  Voodoo Doughnuts–$ I mean….it’s kind of a must do. If you don’t want to wait in the line at the original, there’s one on the Eastside as well that doesn’t get as many crowds.

• Blue Star Donuts– $ Where the fancy people get doughnuts. And if you consider yourself fancy, like me, try out this place. I had a lemon, key lime donut and let me just say… heavenly.
• Olympic Provisions– $$ Small plates and meat boards. Recommended by Oprah!!

Breweries in Portland, Oregon

You will find breweries errryyyywhere. There is pretty much a brewery around every corner. Here is a list of even more: MORE BEER PLEASE. These are just a few that we went to:

• Rouge Brewery
• Fathead Brewery
• Deschutes Brewery
• Base Camp Brewery

Where to Stay in Portland, Oregon

I stayed with one of my friends at her house and also at an Airbnb with my family. Portland is split up into 5 sections: Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest and North. Because doing it into four sections (North, East, South, West) would have been too logical.

• Airbnb– Soooo, from my findings, most Airbnb’s in Portland are in the basement of someone’s house. This location was fine, and the place was nice and yes, technically, we had the “entire apartment” but, we were just in someones basement. The host was nice and the price was right. Just giving you all a fair warning.
• Northeast Area – This is the area my friend lived and ERMUHGERD it was so cute. The neighborhoods were so picturesque.

What to Do in Portland, Oregon

• Walk around downtown– The city is so beautiful. So many cute stores scattered about.
• Powell’s– Coolest bookstore ever! Make sure you go to the rare book room on the top floor.

• Punch Bowl Social– Drinks and karaoke and bowling and board games and other games and just a lot of fun stuff to do with a group.
• Laurelhurst Park– If you have time go check it out! Word on the street is they have Caturdays. Where people bring out their cats on leashes and HANG OUT. What a magical place.
• Saturday Market– On Saturday, downtown, there is a food and crafts market. You know me, I always love a good market.

• Mississippi St– Another great shopping street.
• 23rd St– Great street of unique shops

Hiking in Portland, Oregon

• Forest Park– More beautiful hiking right on the edge of the city. Better if you’re short on time, but doesn’t have the waterfalls or variety of the Gorge. Honestly should do both though. This was my mom’s favorite place.
• Columbia Hills State Park– Yes I know this is in Washington. But it’s an easy hike with views of Mt. Hood ANDDDDD wildflowers. It only took us about 45 mins to get there and Multnomah Falls is on the way. Win-Win.

• Columbia River Gorge– Beautiful, amazing, wonderful, did I say amazing yet?
• Multnomah Falls– Honestly, you’ve probably seen this waterfall all over Pinterest and Instagram, but it’s super pretty! Right outside the city. Get there early to get a good picture with no tourists.

• Japanese Gardens– Gorgeous gardens with a great view of Mount Hood. I heard the tea house here was really good as well.
• Silver Falls State Park– One of the most popular parks with picturesque waterfalls.

Tips for Visit Portland, Oregon

• Lots of homeless people and beggars, just be mindful.
• Take public transportation. For $5 a day you can ride around on any bus, street car (tram), metro. Super easy to figure out. You can download the TriMet Ticket app to buy your tickets ahead of time too.
• Nike also has bikes all around town you can rent. Download the Biketown App, create a profile, add in your credit card and bike away! Portland is v. bike friendly.

• If you rent a car, don’t try to pump your own gas.
• You CAN fly with edibles in a carry-on back to California lol

Well, that’s all for now folks! I hope you enjoyed my Visit Portland, Oregon post! Feel free to check out my other blogs on Visit: Long Beach, CA, Visit: Austin, Texas or Top Things to Do in California! I have tons of destination recommendation lists for all over the world. Enjoy your trip!!!