Portland

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Pocket Portland & the Willamette Valley

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Portland Head Lighthouse on Cape Elizabeth.

Overview

Seagulls scream, the smell of beer and fish fry flows through the streets like the fog off Casco Bay, and everywhere the salt wind licks your skin. Maine's largest city has capitalized on the gifts of its port history – the redbrick warehouse buildings, the narrow cobblestone streets – to become one of the hippest, most vibrant small cities in the Americas. You'll find excellent museums and galleries, abundant green space, and both a food culture and a brewing scene worthy of a town many times its size.

01 / Attractions

Must-see attractions

Portland Museum of Art
Portland
Founded in 1882, this well-respected museum houses an outstanding collection of American artists. Maine artists, including Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper,…
Fort Williams Park
Portland
Four miles southeast of Portland on Cape Elizabeth, 90-acre Fort Williams Park is worth visiting simply for the panoramas and picnic possibilities. Stroll…
Portland Head Light
Portland
Fort Williams Park, on Cape Elizabeth, has rolling lawns dotted with bunkers and gun emplacements. Within the park stands the beloved, and much…
Portland Breakwater Light
Portland
Portland is graced by a handful of handsome lights, including the 1875 Portland Breakwater Light with its Corinthian columns. Dubbed the 'Bug Light'…
Longfellow House
Portland
The revered American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) grew up in this Federal-style house, built in 1785 by his Revolutionary War–hero…
Portland Observatory
Portland
Built in 1807 atop Munjoy Hill, this seven-story brick tower was originally used to alert shipowners when their ships were heading for home. Now restored,…
Victoria Mansion
Portland
This Italianate palace, whose exterior would work well in a Tim Burton movie, dates back to 1860. Inside it's sumptuously decorated with rich furniture,…
Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine
Portland
Kids aged zero to 10 years shriek and squeal as they haul traps aboard a replica lobster boat, milk a fake cow on a model farm, operate a sound studio, or…