Portland offers the visitor a wealth of attractions and experiences, from cultural and historic to hands-on and avant-garde. Alongside the built environment are Portland’s myriad beloved parks, which range from meticulously tended to sprawling and untamed. Portland has all the amenities you expect from a city, but with a healthy dose of the great outdoors.

Before you arrive, contact Travel Portland (1000 SW Broadway, Suite 2300, Portland, OR 97205, 503/275-9750 or 800/962-3700, www.travelportland.com) for free maps and their informative magazine-like publication Travel Portland.

Familiarizing yourself with directional reference points will help you smoothly navigate the city. The line of demarcation between north and south in addresses is Burnside Street; between east and west it’s the Willamette River. These give reference points for the address prefixes southwest, southeast, north, northwest, and northeast. Avenues run north–south and streets run east–west.