Guide to Portland

A friend who has been visiting and may be moving here asked me for new ideas of things to do in Portland. So much has changed in the 2 years I was away so, lucky for her, I have been keeping bookmarks of links about Portland. Thought some of you might like them too.

Good Overall Resources:

• Willamette Week A local independent paper with a very useful website for finding events, restaurants, and understanding the population and politics of Portland.
  
• Live PDX Another website to search for all there is to know about Portland
  

Visit/Shopping Guides:

• Chelsea, a friend, writes {frolic!} and posted a guide and the readers added more ideas in the comments
• Portland Picks lists a few great finds each day
• Domino Magazine's guide
• Lucky Magazine's guide
• A blogger I've never met, More Ways to Waste Time, from CA who loves Portland and visits often.
  

Neighborhoods:

• Portland Neighborhood Guide
  

Some of my favorite neighboorhoods are:

• Mississippi Ave 
  
• 21st & 23rd (Nob Hill) 
  
• Alameda and Beaumont
  
• Alberta
  
• Irvington and the Lloyd Center area 
  
• Pearl District especially for 1st Thursday
  
• Multnomah Village  Have a mellow night at Old Market Pub which has pool tables and table-top shuffleboard.
  
• Belmont
  
• Hawthorne 
  

Music:

• Wonder Ballroom (just saw the Old 97s there)
  
• Doug Fir Lounge
  
• Towne Lounge (warning: they still allow smoking)
  
• Oregon Zoo Summer Concerts
  
• Jimmy Mak's (for jazz and good Mediterranean food)
  
• Mississippi Studios (closed until October for renovations but shouldn't be left off any list about great venues in Portland) Also, don't miss the Mississippi Street Fair on July 12th.
• Kink (101.9) A radio station that sponsors lots of concerts, including several free ones at Pioneer Courthouse Square
  
• KNRK (94.7) - Radio station, plays great music and has concert info
  
• OPB Radio (91.5) - Public Radio at its best!

Restaurants:

• Willamette Week's most recent restaurant guide 
• Also check out their Cheap Eats Guide
  
• A friend, Lizzy, writes a blog about restaurants in Portland
  

A few of my personal favorites:

• Pix Patisserie (several locations, and fun events like movie nights)
  
• Everett Street Bistro
  
• Pambiche

Theaters:

• Cinema 21
  
• Living Room Theaters
  
• Laurelhurst Theater
  
• Hollywood Theater
  
• McMenamin's (these are great, several locations, each a little different, some are restaurants, theaters, hotels, golf courses, concert venues)
  

Outside of Portland:

• Old Columbia Hwy runs parallel to I-84, passes by waterfalls and hikes, and is such a beautiful way to get to Multnomah Falls
  
• Seaside and Cannon Beach are wonderful year-round but are especially great escapes when it gets too hot in Portland.