Portland itinerary for first-timers

Pioneer Courthouse Square is a brick-paved plaza in the middle of downtown that locals call the city's living room. It hosts concerts, markets and the holiday tree, and it sits on the transit mall where buses and light rail meet, which makes it the natural starting point for a walk through the city.

• Pioneer Courthouse Square
• The transit mall
• Historic Pioneer Courthouse

Start here early, while the square is quiet; the streets around it are a good place to get your bearings before heading south to the Park Blocks.

The South Park Blocks are a long, narrow strip of lawns under tall elms that runs through the cultural end of downtown, past museums and churches, to the campus of Portland State University. On Saturdays a large farmers' market fills the park on the campus, one of the busiest in the region.

• South Park Blocks
• Portland State University
• Saturday farmers' market

Come on a Saturday morning if you can, when the farmers' market is on; on other days the Park Blocks are a quiet, shady walk.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park runs for well over a mile along the west bank of the Willamette, on land that was once a riverside highway. The walk passes the Salmon Street Springs fountain, where children play in summer, the Morrison Bridge and the Oregon Maritime Museum, a sternwheeler moored by the bank, with the city's bridges lined up along the river.

• Salmon Street Springs fountain
• Willamette riverfront path
• Morrison Bridge
• Oregon Maritime Museum

On weekends from spring to Christmas the Portland Saturday Market sets up its craft and food stalls at the north end of the park, near the Burnside Bridge.

Old Town is the oldest part of Portland, with cast-iron facades and the illuminated Portland Oregon sign looking down on the Burnside Bridge. The ornate Chinatown Gateway marks the start of the historic Chinatown, where the walled Lan Su Chinese Garden, built by artisans from Suzhou, hides ponds, pavilions and a teahouse behind its walls.

• Chinatown Gateway
• Lan Su Chinese Garden
• Portland Oregon sign
• Cast-iron buildings

Lan Su is a ticketed garden and a peaceful break in the middle of the day; the rest of Old Town is best seen in daylight.

Across the North Park Blocks, the Pearl District is a former rail yard and warehouse area turned into lofts, galleries and shops, with the Jamison Square fountain at its heart. On its edge, Powell's City of Books fills an entire city block and is one of the largest independent bookstores in the world, with rooms colour-coded by subject.

• North Park Blocks
• Pearl District warehouses
• Jamison Square
• Powell's City of Books

Give Powell's at least an hour and pick up a store map at the entrance; the rooms are easy to get lost in.

After dark, the lit-up streets of downtown and the warehouse blocks of the Pearl District are at their most atmospheric, especially on a rainy evening when the pavements shine. This night walk starts downtown and crosses into the Pearl, where most of the evening's dining and bars are.

• Downtown streets at night
• Pearl District after dark

Rain is common from autumn to spring, so bring a light waterproof; locals rarely carry umbrellas, but they help.

Portland's nickname, the City of Roses, comes to life on the terraces of the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. Thousands of rose bushes are planted here, including new varieties sent from around the world for testing, and on clear days Mount Hood rises behind the city. The walk takes in the Royal Rosarian Garden, the Shakespeare Garden and the amphitheatre.

• Rose terraces
• Royal Rosarian Garden
• Shakespeare Garden
• Miniature Rose Test Garden
• Amphitheater

The garden is free; the roses are at their best from late spring into early summer, and mornings are the quietest time.

Just uphill from the roses, the Portland Japanese Garden is often called one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan. Several garden styles share the hillside, from the Strolling Pond Garden with its waterfall to the raked gravel of the Sand and Stone Garden, and a terrace in the Cultural Village looks out towards Mount Hood.

• Antique Gate
• Cultural Village
• Mount Hood overlook
• Strolling Pond Garden
• Sand and Stone Garden

Entry is ticketed and it gets busy around midday, so go straight after the rose garden; allow about an hour and a half.

Higher up the West Hills, Hoyt Arboretum is a tree museum with trails through conifers, oaks and maples from around the world. It joins Forest Park, one of the largest urban forests in the United States, whose long Wildwood Trail winds through moss, ferns and tall firs a short ride from downtown.

• Hoyt Arboretum trails
• Wildwood Trail
• Forest Park

Trails can be muddy for much of the year, so wear proper shoes; the arboretum's trails are free and well signposted.

Pittock Mansion is an early 1900s French Renaissance-style house built for a Portland newspaper publisher, perched on a hilltop in the West Hills. Inside, the rooms are furnished as they were a century ago, and the lawn outside is one of the best viewpoints in the city, looking over downtown and the rivers towards the Cascade volcanoes.

• Mansion rooms and library
• Wildwood Trail
• City viewpoint

The grounds and viewpoint are free, while the house is ticketed; the view is at its best on a clear afternoon.

Northwest Portland, also called Nob Hill or the Alphabet District for its streets named in alphabetical order, sits at the foot of the West Hills. Its Victorian houses and tree-lined streets surround NW 23rd and NW 21st Avenues, which are lined with boutiques, cafés and places to eat, making it a relaxed place to end a day in the hills.

• NW 23rd Avenue
• NW 21st Avenue
• Victorian houses
• Tree-lined side streets

The streetcar runs from here back to the Pearl District and downtown, so there is no need to walk back.

The Waterfront Loop is the classic Portland walk: along Tom McCall Waterfront Park on the west bank, over the river on the Steel Bridge, south along the Eastbank Esplanade, part of which floats on the water, and back over the Hawthorne Bridge. It is the best way to see why Portland is nicknamed Bridgetown, with the downtown skyline across the water.

• Tom McCall Waterfront Park
• Steel Bridge
• Eastbank Esplanade
• Hawthorne Bridge
• Downtown skyline

The loop is flat and takes about an hour and a half at an easy pace; walk it clockwise in the morning for the light on the skyline.

Hawthorne Boulevard is the main street of Southeast Portland's Hawthorne District and the place where the city's 'Keep Portland Weird' spirit is easiest to see. Its blocks between the 30s and the 40s are lined with vintage clothing stores, record and book shops, food cart pods and cafés in old storefronts.

• Vintage and record shops
• Food cart pods
• Old storefronts

Walk the boulevard east to west and stop at a food cart pod for lunch; the side streets are full of old craftsman houses.

In Northeast Portland, Alberta Street is a long, colourful strip of independent galleries, shops and places to eat, with murals painted across many of its walls. On the last Thursday of each month in summer, the street hosts an open-air art walk with local artists and street performers.

• Murals along Alberta Street
• Independent galleries and shops
• Last Thursday art walk in summer

Come in the late afternoon and stay for dinner; the street is busiest on summer evenings and on Last Thursday.