By Matt Simonette

Staff writer

Portland is a city of contradictions and well-kept secrets.

It offers most of the scenic, cultural and recreational amenities of the other big cities in the Pacific Northwest—Seattle and Vancouver—but at a fraction of the cost.

It’s a city largely made up of people from someplace else, folks from all walks of life who’ve come for the area’s thriving economy and myriad things to do, and who sing the praises of their city without falling into the trap of provincial snobbery.

Though Portlanders march to the beat of their own drummer—there’s a six-month wait for tattoos here—they are largely welcoming, laidback and only too eager to share with visitors all that their city and region has to offer.

Many Portlanders are hard-pressed to name a specific GLBT neighborhood in the city. Overall, it’s extremely gay-friendly—they’re about to have a gay mayor, in fact—and, as such, gay and lesbian businesses haven’t been confined to one part of town. All GLBT travelers, whether into shopping, dining, culture or sports, can find plenty to do in the City of Roses.

Everything’s gone green
Located about an hour east of the Pacific Ocean, along the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, the Portland metropolitan region is home to about 2,000,000 people. It’s the third largest city in the Pacific Northwest, after Vancouver and Seattle.

The first impression you’ll get of Portland is that it’s clean. The regional commitment to a “green” lifestyle is not just routine lip service from government or business interests. Rather, it’s the culmination of decades-long planning and development that ensures the city makes the most of its natural resources.

Twenty-five percent of Portlanders bike to work, for example, and municipal authorities are committed to keeping urban sprawl in check. Numerous restaurants are green, described by locals by the type of food they serve and whether they’re “sustainable” or not. There’s even a local chain of sustainable fast-food restaurants, Burgerville (burgerville.com), which uses only locally grown ingredients—seasonal favorites include Walla Walla onion rings in the summer and hazelnut chocolate shakes in the winter.

Getting around
You won’t need a car if you’re staying in Portland—the city’s TriMet transit system (trimet.org) covers most neighborhoods.

Downtown is accessible from the airport via the MAX light rail service, and the excellent streetcar system connects northwest Portland, Portland City Center and the South Waterfront District. If you’re riding between areas within the “fareless square” the rides are free. Stations are every 2-3 blocks and usually have a display listing the arrival times of the next two trains. The city also runs a comprehensive bus service. The Portland Aerial Tram also takes riders between the South Waterfront District and the top of Marquam Hill.

GLBT-friendly areas
Just a few of the neighborhoods of interest to GLBT visitors are the Downtown Cultural District, the Pearl District and Nob Hill.

The Downtown Cultural District takes its name from the museums, theaters and other performance venues that are found in the pedestrian-friendly area. Here you’ll find the Portland Art Museum (portlanartmuseum.org), 1219 S.W. Park Ave., well known for its centers for Native American and Northwest art, along with the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (pcpa.com).

Downtown is home to quite a few boutique hotels, a good choice being Hotel Lucia (hotellucia.com), 400 SW Broadway St. Photographs by Pulitzer prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly adorn the tastefully appointed interiors. Room amenities include flat-panel TV, iPod docking station, robes and service that pretty much promises “anything you want.” Besides a menu for room service, there’s a menu for different types of pillows and different types of spiritual tomes if the Gideon’s Bible doesn’t jibe with your religion.

Adjacent to downtown Portland, the Pearl District (explorethepearl.com) is a converted industrial district that has a vibrant arts culture. It’s home to the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (pica.org), 224 NW 13th St., and one of the city’s most famous literary institutions, Powell’s City of Books (powells.com), 1005 W. Burnside St. Powell’s, one of the largest independent bookstores anywhere, encompasses an entire city block, with a selection of about one-million titles.

Nob Hill (nobhillbiz.com), upscale like its namesake in San Francisco, includes restored Victorian homes and high-end stores and restaurants. A walk along 21st Street, Portland’s “Restaurant Row,” takes you past dozens of Portland’s poshest restaurants, among them Paley’s Place (paleysplace.net), 1204 NW 21st St.

Great accommodations near Nob Hill can be found at the Northrup Station (northrupstation.com), 2025 NW Northrup. Referencing both mid-century modern Googie architecture and 1970s and 1980s nostalgia, it offers rooms that come complete with European plan kitchens and flat-panel televisions, among other amenities. The colorful breakfast room features large containers that are always filled with Starburst Fruit Chews and Tootsie Pops.

Other neighborhoods of interest include the Hawthorne District and Northeast Portland.

Tax-free shopping
Oregon, with no sales tax, makes for a terrific shopping destination. One high-end jewelry chain’s Portland location is, according to rumor, the most successful in the country—it’s less expensive to pay for the trip to Portland than paying sales taxes.

This is a company town to numerous outdoor and sports companies so be sure to visit both the Nike (2650 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) and Adidas (5020 NE Martin Luther King Boulevard) factory outlets to get shoes and other sporting goods well below retail prices. Columbia Sportswear has, among several locations, an outlet at 1323 SE Tacoma St. and its flagship store downtown at 911 SW Broadway.

Getting outside
Sports and fitness are never far from most Portlanders’ minds. When you meet many for the first time, “What sports do you do?” often comes up in the first few minutes. It’s not unusual for many city residents to keep a stash of Cliff bars on them at all times.

If you’re interested in experiencing Oregon’s outdoors, check out Mt. Hood and Hood River County, which offers an enormous variety of water and winter sport options. You’ll need a car to get there, but you’ll be able to find everything you want to do no more than 90 minutes outside of Portland.

Head for the Clackamas River for whitewater rafting, offered by several sporting companies, among them Blue Sky Rafting (blueskyrafting.com). It’s a fast, wet and intense experience. As you paddle along the crystal-clear waters of the Clackamas, you find yourself braving rocks and rapids and facing enormous walls of water headed straight at you. Guides do their best to adjust the intensity of the ride, but get ready for the possibility of falling out of the raft or for the whole thing just tipping over. One spot on the river is known as “the toilet bowl” because it never fails to flush riders out of the raft.

The areas around Mt. Hood feature lots of venues for skiing, which, thanks to its high altitude, is year-round. The region is home to several summer schools for skiing that attract young people from around the nation. One of Oregon’s most famous lodges, the Timberline (timberlinelodge.com)—you may remember it from the opening shots of “The Shining”—features year-round skiing.

But you don’t have to be a sportsman or sportswoman to enjoy the Hood River region. Wine fans and foodies can enjoy the “Fruit Loop” (hoodriverfruitloop.com), a 35-mile drive through the valley that leads visitors through the region’s orchards, forests and farmlands. Along the way are breathtaking views of Mt. Hood and stops at the many wineries that have grown up in the region and at fruit stands offering the finest locally grown produce.

In Columbia County, a half hour from Portland, try Hobie trimarans, which have been taking off in Oregon. Combining kayaking and wind-surfing, you take a kayak outfitted with both a sail and two pontoons on either side. There’s not much of a learning curve needed here—Hobie kayaking takes about 15 minutes to learn and you gradually just unfold your sail to the length needed for the speed you want. Depending on the winds, you usually can get up to about 15 miles an hour, but it feels like 40-50. Scappoose Bay Kayaking (scappoosebaykayaking.com), 57420 Old Portland Road in Warren, offers lessons.

More information on Portland and its surrounding regions can be found at travelportland.com.