Portland sits between the Willamette River and the wooded hills of Forest Park, in the northwest corner of Oregon. It is the largest city in the state and one of the most liveable in the American West — compact, walkable, and with an unusually strong independent culture in food, beer, coffee, and bookshops.
The city is best known for its craft brewing scene (more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in the US), Powell's City of Books (a full city-block independent bookshop), and the Japanese Garden in Washington Park, consistently rated one of the finest outside Japan. The Pearl District and the Alberta Arts District are the main neighbourhoods for galleries and restaurants. Forest Park, on the western hills, has 80 km of hiking trails entirely within city limits.
The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park (free, with views of Mount Hood) and the Portland Art Museum on the South Park Blocks are the other essential cultural stops. Pioneer Courthouse Square is the civic heart of the city. The Tom McCall Waterfront Park runs along the Willamette riverfront, connecting to the Eastbank Esplanade on the east bank.
Portland is 275 km north of San Francisco and 280 km south of Seattle. Mount Hood, the snow-capped volcano visible from much of the city, is about an hour's drive east. The Columbia River Gorge, with its waterfalls and hiking, is 30 minutes east on I-84.