Top 10 best tourist places in Portland, Oregon, United States

By We Find You Go - 2018-02-1

Welcome to Portland, the city of greenery and scenic charm which is famous for its scenic landscapes and natural beauty. Having the distinction of being the largest city in Oregon state USA, Portland stands on 26th number in the list of most populated cities of the United States. Portland is also known as the city of flowers due to the abundance of different species of flowers in it. The two rivers, Columbia and Willamette flowing beside the city add to its beauty. Not only in terms of natural beauty, Portland is also famous for its eye-catching bicycle paths and overhead bridges. Every year a large number of tourists from all over the world come to visit Portland to discover its charms.

Down below we have prepared the list of the 10 best places for tourists in Portland ranging from parks and museums to educational centers and historical resorts.

10) Oregon zoo

Situated in the south-west of Downtown Portland, Oregon zoo has the distinction of being the oldest zoo of North America covering a vast area of land measuring 64 acres. The zoo was opened for public in 1800 and since then it has become one of the major tourists’ resorts in North America. According to a survey in 2013, Oregon zoo receives about sixteen lac visitors per year which is a massive amount. Having about 299 different species and 1955 different animals, it has become one of the most popular and diverse zoos in the world. The zoo is opened for public in specific timings and has a specific entrance fee.

9) OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY (OMSI)

Founded in 1944, Oregon Museum of Science and technology is one of the most advanced and leading science museum of Portland with a big screen theater, three massive auditoriums and a large number of halls reserved for exhibition. A large number of events relating to science, history, and industry exhibitions are held in the museum every year which attract millions of visitors from all over the world. Visitors are welcomed warmly; while you visit the museum you undergo a lot of things which you might never forget throughout your life like having experience of the real earthquake, watching a film in the big Empirical Theater and going underwater in a submarine.

8) INTERNATIONAL ROSE TEST GARDEN

Opened in 1917, International Rose Test Garden is one of the most charming and beautiful gardens of the world having more than 7000 rose plants and 550 different species covering an area of about 4.5 acres. With hundreds of species of roses, this garden is one of the reasons why Portland is known as the city of roses. The garden is free to visit and is best among the free attractions of Portland attracting hundreds of thousands of people from the entire world. There is also a rose garden store in the garden which is specifically built to provide services to guests.

7) Oaks amusement park

Situated in the south of downtown Portland, Oaks amusement park is a small park meant for amusement. Opened to the public in 1905, Oaks amusement park is also known as one of the oldest amusement parks in the United States of America. The park covers an approximate area of about 44 acres with different segments meant for each type of seasonal game. Different types of rides and games are opened on weekends for public including Midway games, North end rides, and south end rides etc. Besides that, the park also includes a large roller skating rink made of wood which is open to the public throughout the year.

6) Mill Ends Park

Situated in downtown Portland along Willamette River, Mill Ends Park is Small Park covering an area of about 0.292 square meters only. Guinness Book Record declared it as the smallest part of the world in 1971. Due to its small size, it’s very famous and a large number of people visit it every year. It was opened in 1948 and since then it has become the center of attraction of tourists from all over the world. The park is opened 24/7 and you can visit it anytime you want. Surely the visit to Portland is incomplete without visiting this beautiful tiny park.

5) Portland children museum

We talked about different places in Portland which you should visit but this place is especially for your kids (if you have! LOL!). Located near the Oregon Zoo, Portland children museum is a museum which is especially for kids. Every year a large number of people come to visit it along with their children. This museum is very old and comes on the sixth number in terms of oldest museums in the world. It was opened in 1946 and covers an approximate area of about 4600 square meters providing a great learning experience for kids through science and arts and other activities carried on every year.

4) World forestry center

Situated in Washington Park, Portland, World forestry center is an institution which aims at providing people with the knowledge about forests and trees and their importance in our daily life. It urges people to grow more and more trees to make this world a healthy and pollution free place. The institution was established in 1964 with an aim to bring awareness to people about trees and their importance. Every year a lot of awareness exhibitions take place which attracts a lot of people from around the world.

3) Washington Park

Opened in 1909, Washington Park is one of the biggest parks of United States having a large number of gardens, a zoo, an amphitheater, tennis courts and a lot of other stuff which needs a lot of space to be mentioned. Washington Park is one of the liveliest and most visited urban parks in Portland with millions of people visiting it every year. This mighty park covers an area of about 166 hectares. Most of the area it covers is hillside ranging in height from 2000 feet to 860 feet. The opening hours of the park range from season to season but mostly its 5 AM to 10 PM.

2) Council Crest Park

Created in 1937, Council Crest Park is located on the highest point of Portland covering an area of about 18 hectares. Being located on such a height the park gives a perfect view of the city with a lot of recreational points for visitors like picnic tables and beautiful paths with some of them paved and some unpaved. The park also has a separate area reserved for weddings. The park is ideal for hiking with beautifully paved hiking tracks. A large number of people visit this park every year especially for hiking and other functions like different public events or family functions.

1) Powell’s City of Books

Opened to public in 1971, Powell’s City of Books is a big chain of bookstores with head office located in W Burnside Street Portland. It is more than just a bookstore covering an area of 68,000 square feet with 3 floors, 9 rooms, and 35,000 different sections. With a massive catalog containing more than 1 million books of different categories, it is one of the biggest bookstores in the world. Due to its large collection of books, it’s very difficult to search for your desired book so they have designed an easy-to-understand map which can help you to find your desired book easily, along with the map there is also a mobile app developed for the convenience of the readers. It is open for visitors from 9 AM to 11 PM.

This comes to the end of the list of the best places for tourists in Portland, feel free to express your thoughts in the comments below.