I purposely looked up hotels that had free parking, there are few and far in between but I thought the Red Lion was not bad. It's on Jantzen Beach so it's about 10 min drive into DT but like you I thought paying $32+ per night was pretty heavy.

why not try airbnb?

Street parking is free after 8PM. (at least it was last year when I was there) I just scheduled my events around this. Then in the morning, I'd go fill the meter after 9AM if I needed a few extra hours in the morning.

Cheaper than paying the ridiculous valet rates but as you may already know, parking gets a little challenging in DT Portland during certain times. Usually not too bad at night.

EDIT: I stand corrected. I just looked it up at the below link: Downtown parking meters operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, unless otherwise posted
Still not too bad, especially if you're there over a weekend to tough it out with street parking.

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/trans...article/320238

Slim pickin'. All the airbnb down there sucks if you aren't paying hotel prices. Some people even airbnb their back yard with tent $38 a night wtf.

That's assuming you want to drag your ass up at 7:45am while on vacation to plug the meter or move the car.
That ain't happening with me the way I stay out and drink while travelling haha.

haha that's true. I'm usually the driver so I guilt trip one of the passengers into doing it.

I'm willing to have someone else wake up at 7:45am to save $30 a day. :P

Only thing I've ever really noted from Portland was the Trailblazers game + no tax

yeah shit. $30 in PDX goes a long way food/drinks wise! going to try to street parking it. we're usually up by then anyway

Booked our hotel at LaQuinta by the airport

- Next time I'll look to book at downtown Portland, then I don't have to drive back and forth all the time.
- It wasn't shady at all (close to airport). 7/11 is nearby.
- Around $180-$200 USD including breakfast (breakfast wasn't that great though, save your stomach for something else)
- Awesome staff (helped us out quite a bit)
- I'd rate it 3-3.5 stars. Wish I had something more luxurious, though.

Noraneko

- We arrived at 12:30 AM and we were really hungry. Nobody felt like grabbing bar food or mexican food.. So we decided for Ramen.
- This meal is not special at all. Not to be racist, I don't think I'm ever gonna eat ramen unless it's made by a japanese person.
- Waiter kept boasting about the chicken karrage and chashu (tasted like bbqpork)
- For $18, It sucked big time. Just got the job done.


Day 1

Breakfast at ScreenDoor

- Worth the hype, no wait at all. Street Parking in a nice neighborhood.
- Got the Fried Chicken Breast with Biscuits and Gravy. I had my doubts because - it's chicken breast and I expected it to be dry BUT it wasn't. Plenty
of flavour and wasn't too salty. Friends got the waffles with chicken but they over ordered (2 fried chicken breasts, 1 is enough)
- Around $15 each person not including tip

WoodBurne Outlets

- Probably the best outlet in Portland. Managed to grab a few reasonable deals at Nike and adidas. Not much selection on shoes though.

Food Trucks


Nong's Khao Man Gai

- Haianese Chicken with Rice. I actually didn't know they had a restaurant.. Would've went there instead.
- Really flavourful chicken. I actually like Vancouver's chicken more, but I guess this is more for the experience of eating on the streets.

The Dump Truck
- Don't even bother with this one. I'd rather go to T&T and make my own dumplings than try these. Again - it's more for the experience.

Washington Square

- Your average mall. Good for finding some selections of clothing. But no deals because it's a mall. Not much to say here.

Pioneer Square

- I ended up buying shoes at the Nike store here, (4 floors) . Don't expect deals - I ended up buying at full price - which still saves me a bit of money from buying it in Vancouver.

Nordstrom / Nordstrom Rack

- No deals, not much selections.


Pok Pok

- 1 hour 30 minute wait. Decided to walk around the neighborhood.
- Food is alright, not your typical thai food.
- Their fish sauce wings that they rave about were really salty. Also got some curry dish, pork skewers, and shrimp clay pot with noodles. Nothing too special here.
- Overhyped.

Day 2

Brunch Box

- One of the best breakfast sandwiches that I've ever had. Worth the hype. No wait. I got the lumberjack sandwich (french toast sandwich glazed in maple syrup , bacon, eggs, sausage patty, caramelized onions, and some cheese) . Felt like I was eating a McGriddle but better.
- Only $9 . In the downtown area.
- I think this place is known for its burgers too, but I wasn't feeling that for breakfast. Probably the best I've had so far.

Multnomah Falls

- 40 mins away from Portland .
- Another tourist attraction if you don't know what to do. You can also hike the whole thing, but we weren't prepared.
- Don't bother going to the Columbia Gorge Outlet ( on the way to the waterfalls)

Kenny & Zuke's Delicattesen

- Judging from the photos, it looks like they special in Pastrami
- Got a beef Pastrami Sandwich and soup combo - $20 . It was really filling, I would order half a sandwich. I got bored of it when I was finishing my second half.
- Don't know what the hype is about, nonetheless, it was good..

Luc Lac

- We weren't feeling burgers or western food. So we decided for this vietnamese place. (30-40minute wait) It was busy so it had to be a decent place, right?
- Order at the counter , wait for 30 minutes at the bar until we have a table. (unique experience. I guess it's so people can buy drinks while they wait)
- Got the combination dish (pork, chicken , spring rolls, rice). Probably comparable to the Vietnamese places in Vancouver, except the spring roll wasn't crunchy after 20 minutes.
- Don't grab the pho here. Heavy in flavour (MSG?) . Really salty. It's ok if you're craving it, I guess. But don't expect too much.
- Awesome atmosphere.

Voodoo Doughnuts had a 50 minute wait, so we didn't bother.
Departures had a rooftop bar where you can see the downtown of Portland. Decided not to go because we weren't dressed properly. (high-end)
Didn't get to try any of the bars here because I had to drive back to our hotel.

Ground Kontrol
- Near all the clubs in Downtown Portland. Supposedly a highly rated arcade / toursist attraction.
- Don't bother. Not worth your $2 cover to play with some stupid pinball machines while waiting for street fighter etc.. You can drink there, though.

Day 3

Make sure you leave early, 9am. You will get home by 11 pm.

We decided to just grab McDonalds so we could hit up Cannon Beach. 1 hour 30 minute drive.
- This is actually a nice beach (tourist attraction).
- Very fun route driving back (6km bridge, scenic drives) ALTHOUGH, it'll be a long drive until you reach I-5 again.

Seaside Outlets
- Again, went to the nike store, probably the only good thing here.
- The only store with tech-fleece pants, hoodies, shorts, etc. But not the colorway that I wanted. I guess we were lucky to find something here.

Bellevue Square
- Cannon Beach - - - Bellevue Square - 12pm - 6pm. Traffic, washroom breaks, Mcdonalds...
- They have Uniqlo here !

Got back at 11pm. Wish I had more time. Not bad for a first experience.

Not sure if it's us being vancouverite who are snobs or just really educated and great foodies but I find it funny (and true) where we know our food really well. I can't agree more esp. when it comes to eating at seattle / portland, i just don't get wow-ed anymore.

Yes, it's hard to be wow'ed by something the 10-20/entree range because of what we have in Van. However, there def are some restaurants that are worth splurging on in Portland that are more comparable to something like Hawksworth or La Quericia. One example is Le Pigeon, and i hear it's sister restaurant, little bird, is great too. We'll be going there next week!

Little Bird is solid. The late night menu after 10pm is a great choice for late night eats and drinks.

I have a 5.5 hour layover in Seattle. Is that enough time to go check out Pike Place Market? If so, what are the must eats at the market?

google Tom Douglas; there's 10+ of his restaurants and it's a must go.
eg// Serious Pie (no reso), Bravehorse Traven (great place for pretzel + beer and Shuffleboard)
it's all downtown and all walking distance.

Must-eat at the Market will definitely be the Clam Chowder at Pike Place Chowder, small corner store but very rich and flavourful bowl!

planning on heading down to portland for the long weekend, probably take friday off too.

plans are mt st helens on the one or one day while were down there. hit up some breweries and atleast one strip club

any advise on the last two or other things to do while were down there? don't really want to go shopping unless it's major savings

5.5 hours is doable. The airport is actually quite far from downtown Seattle. Factor in 30 mins to get off the plane, 45 mins travel each way (assuming some mild congestion since this is Seattle), another 30 mins to get through security, and then leave about 30 minutes before departure time coming back in and you have about 2 hours to hang out in Pike Market. Plus you have to find some sort of transportation to get out there. (a cab or Uber?)

To be honest, I haven't really encountered anything that's "must do" there. The "first Starbucks" is there and always has a lineup. The perogie place there always has a line so that might be worth a try if that's your thing. If it were me, I wouldn't make the special trip out to Pike Market on such a short layover. Can't say it's really worth the effort.

Did all three: Quercia, Le Pigeon and Little Bird

La Quercia: Food was modern, and definitely higher end. Service was attentive but cold.

Le Pigeon: One of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time. Rustic, french inspired rustic cuisine. Service was excellent! Make a reso as the restaurant is tiny and it gets busy.

Little Bird: Went for lunch and had their burger with the seared foie-grad add-on. Delicious!


I mentioned this another thread, but do check out the Multnomah Whiskey Library when in Portland.

1) Serious Pie. (Tom Douglas franchise; it now has 14 locations.)
SEroius Pie opened another RIGHT IN the Starbucks Roaster. Very awesome coffee joint btw.

Serious pie: word of caution 1) no reservations 2) 20% tip mandatory and auto added.

I didn't think it was that awesome or epic really. I've had better. To be honest, the tip did say they will redistribute the tip back to all their staff but it was still like crazy expensive.

2) Baguette Box; they were ONCE voiced 2007 for best sandwiches. It is huge portions. Their crispy drunken chicken (#1 on the list) was good. Not bad, but wasn't epic.

In Portland is it best to stay downtown? Are the majority of breweries, restaurants etc within walking distance? We are going down for the long weekend and booked at the Westin

Downtown is good or the Pearl District. It really doesn't matter though, even if you stay out of the downtown core, the light rail is cheap, and brings you right downtown really quickly.

Pearl district looks like walking distance from downtown? Is it?

Spent $200 a night on the Westin room cause the comparable priced airbnbs are fucking dumps..

Yup Pearl District is right there downtown, it's the best area for breweries, etc.

Make sure you check out Casa Diablo, one of my favorite strip clubs in Portland.

If you're looking for a cheaper option for hotels, I've had pretty good luck with getting the Marriott Downtown Waterfront for about $120 (USD) per night on Priceline. (this is through their bidding option) Obviously, it would depend a lot on room demand at the time you're going but worth a try.

you can get lucky with rates at the Hilton downtown sometimes too. Right by Pioneer square and easy walk to a lot of restaurants and a sub 5 minute drive to the Pearl District.

I will never ever pay for overnight hotel parking again if i stay downtown. Going the street parking route you save roughly $30 a day, depending on the hotel. only trouble is having to plug the meter every 2 hours or so, but we were constantly in/out of the area anyway.

adding another spot to my favorites list:
-La Moule, go for the happy hour. good size serving of mussels + fries for $11, and cheap beer.

a spot to avoid: Kachka. Lots of hype around this place, but i just found it gimmicky and way way way overpriced.