Danforth Inn

Top choice in Portland


Staying at this ivy-shrouded West End boutique hotel feels like being a guest at an eccentric millionaire's mansion. Shoot pool in the wood-paneled games room (a former speakeasy) or climb into the rooftop cupola for views across Portland Harbor. The nine rooms are decorated with flair, in a sophisticated mix of antique and modern.

Be sure to stop by the bar-lounge, which is a thing of beauty (check out the moss-covered light fitting).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Portland attractions

1. Victoria Mansion

0.15 MILES

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,…

2. Portland Museum of Art

0.28 MILES

Founded in 1882, this well-respected museum houses an outstanding collection of American artists. Maine artists, including Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper,…

3. Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine

0.32 MILES

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…

4. Institute of Contemporary Art

0.42 MILES

This small gallery, attached to the Maine College of Art, showcases an ever-shifting slate of modern artists, and hosts frequent readings, workshops, pop…

5. Longfellow House

0.51 MILES

The revered American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) grew up in this Federal-style house, built in 1785 by his Revolutionary War–hero…

6. Main Library

0.57 MILES

The main branch of the Portland Public Library is located within the 83,000-sq-ft Baxter Building, an architectural gem that cleverly utilizes vast glass…

7. Portland Observatory

1.29 MILES

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,…

8. International Museum of Cryptozoology

1.43 MILES

Bigfoot, yetis, specter moose and other cryptids share the spotlight at this one-of-a-kind museum. Cryptids are animals thought by mainstream science to,…