Fun things to do in Portland:

Washington Park:

Along the blue line on the MAX ligthrail (very close to the hotels) is one of the best city parks in the US. It is so sprawling that it has its own shuttle system within the park (and its free!) The park is technically downtown and many interesting attractions in the city are within walking distance of certain parts of the park. The following are ALL within the park grounds:

International Rose Test Garden - A world famous rose garden that is home to MANY award winning roses. Its a bit late in the season but many roses should still be present.

Portland Japanese Garden - Considered to be one of the best Japanese gardens outside of Japan. Requires tickets/timed entry.

Other noteworthy things to do in Portland:

Burnside skatepark: Under the burnside bridge. Made famous by Tony hawk pro skater

Portland Saturday Market: Every Saturday morning in Portland starting at 10am. A huge outdoor makers market.

Powells City of Books: there are multiple locations but the city of books location is the one to go to. A full city block and 4 stories tall it’s the largest independent bookstore in the world. The top floor has a rare book room with extremely expensive/rare books.

Multnomah Falls: Located about 50 minutes drive from Hillsboro and 30 minutes drive from Portland. This famous waterfall is the most visited natural site in the PacNW. Passes for timed entry are required but only cost a few dollars per car. A great trip to plan right before heading out via PDX airport as its fairly close to it.

Food:

Donuts: Voodoo donuts is famous, but Bluestar is the best. Both are good.

Best falafel(all owned by the same person but in decreasing fanciness):

Mediterranean Exploration

Shalom y’all

Lil shalom

Food carts:

Food cart pods are extremely common in Portland and offer a lot of incredibly specific food options.

The food cart pods at Prost! are some of the best in the city, but that is a very debatable claim. They have “Matt’s BBQ” which is possibly the best BBQ in Portland, and “Fried Egg I’m In Love” which has been featured on many TV shows. It is in the Mississippi area which is also a very fun part of East Portland.