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Portland's Indie Style

Photo: João Canziani

On summer nights, when the air is soft and sweet-smelling, you could be fooled into thinking Portland has always pushed an eco-utopian agenda. Walking where the light from streetlamps is dappled by coniferous trees, you’ll pass green buildings, fair-trade shops, and, every few feet, solar-powered curbside meters that reject your money at times when parking is free. But stay awhile—close a few bars in the Belmont district, or chat with some punks playing hackysack downtown, and you’ll learn that Portland is also a perverse and obstinate place: underneath its crunchy exterior are the living relics of a once-booming logging town that never went bust. It’s this side of Portland, honest and funky and more than a little weird, that’s made the town a magnetic dot on the indie circuit, drawing writers (Chuck Palahniuk), filmmakers (Gus Van Sant), and multitudes of now mainstream bands (the Dandy Warhols, the Shins, and the Decemberists, to name a few).

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Our Picks

4 Hotels 9 Restaurants 20 Activities

Destinations: Portland, OR · Downtown · East Burnside

Themes: Food + Drink · Eco-Travel · Shopping · Summer Travel

Inspired by: Portland, Oregon’s Indie Scene — by Tom Austin, Published Jul. 2007

Hotels (4)

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Hotel deLuxe

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

Old Hollywood-style glamour pervades this elegant, slightly-off-the-beaten-path hotel; you’ll feel it from the moment you ascend the wide marble steps
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The Benson

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Ace Hotel, Portland

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

This is pure Portland: creative, authentic, irreverent. Rooms in the revamped 1912 hotel are decorated with murals and fitted with vintage claw-foot t
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Jupiter Hotel

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

San Francisco has the Phoenix. Los Angeles has the Standard Hotel. Now Portland has the rock star–worthy Jupiter Hotel. Carved out of a 1960’s motel a
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1 - 4 of 4 Results

Restaurants (8)

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Alibi Restaurant and Lounge

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

Portland’s only Tiki bar, with plenty of kitsch and charm.
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Simpatica Dining Hall

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Proper Eats Market & Café

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Jake's Famous Crawfish Restaurant

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Higgins Restaurant & Bar

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Paley's Place

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Acme Food & Drink

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Voodoo Doughnut

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

Since 2003, Oregonians have lined up around the block to get into downtown Portland's funky Voodoo Doughnut, where toppings include Cap'n Crunch cerea
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1 - 8 of 8 Results

Activities (21)

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Torso Vintages

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

First-rate vintage clothes with high-end prices.
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Magpie, Portland

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

A smart boutique featuring Portland designers.
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Alma Chocolate

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Live Wire

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

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Portland Japanese Garden

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

In a city of beautiful gardens, this is the prettiest.
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Portland Jazz Festival

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Portland Opera

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Oregon Symphony

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
White Bird

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
TBA (Time-Based Art) Festival

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Chamber Music Northwest's Summer Festival

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Oregon Zoo

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Portland Art Museum

Downtown | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon | Portland, OR

Since the construction in 2005 of a new wing, the Pacific Northwest’s oldest art museum has really become two facilities in one. In the original build
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Columbia Sportswear Company

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

The huge flagship store of this Portland-based outerwear and sportswear company sells durable, rugged gear, clothing, footwear (the Titanium Daska Pas
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Powell's City of Books

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

Portland’s iconic, much-loved bookshop sprawls across nine cavernous rooms, taking up a full city block. From a merchandising perspective, Powell’s fl
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Red & Black Café

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

A collectively run coffeehouse lousy with laptop beatniks conforming in their devotion to the fight-the-power manifestos the management has posted on
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Jimmy Mak’s

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

A classic jazz club in the Pearl.
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Doug Fir

East Burnside | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon | Portland, OR

Part of the retro-hip Jupiter Hotel, this dark and quirkily furnished music club and lounge has been one of the key cultivators of Portland’s white-ho
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Bettie Ford Lounge

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon
Portland Farmers' Market

Portland, OR | U.S. + Canada | U.S. | Oregon

The Spread: Portland ranks No. 2 for farmers' markets in our America's Favorite Cities Survey, and this Saturday hot spot is the epicenter for Oregoni
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1 - 21 of 21 Results

Similar Trips (1)

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Green Travel in Portland

Portland, OR

Going green is serious business in Portland, where hotels are Energy Star–certified and restaurants have their own roof gardens and water wells.

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Portland's Indie Style

Our Picks

Hotels (4)

Restaurants (8)

Activities (21)

Similar Trips (1)

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