Things to do, see, and eat in Portland, OR

Since folks often visit us in Portland, I thought I'd put together a list of where I like to take people, in case it's handy for anyone else. These are somewhat centered around Downtown, but not completely:

Nerdy Things to See

• Powell's Technical Books & Powell's city of books. They are a few blocks from each-other; the regular bookstore is a city block & four stories. It's awesome. The technical store is also awesome:
• Maybe you could volunteer at Free Geek.
• OMSI: Oregon Museum of Science & Industry:
• The Portland Art Museum - 1219 SW Park Ave - Portland, OR 97205 - (503) 226-2811

Nature & Animals

• If you like nature, the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Chinese garden, and the Oregon Zoo are all great:
• The Waterfront Park on the west side of the Willamette downtown.
• Forest Park, Washington Park, and Laurelhurst Park are also great.

Misc

• Oaks Amusement Park and the nearby wildlife refuge. There's a very nice, largely car-free bike route from the Waterfront Park, across the Hawthorne Bridge past OMSI through the wildlife refuge to the Park. That would be a fun day :)
• Pioneer Courthouse Square: 715 SW Morrison St. Good people watching and some local history.

Eating

There are tons of great coffee shops, brew pubs, and restaurants in Portland. Here are some of my favorite places to eat:

• Park Kitchen (fancy & expensive but good) - 422 NW 8th Ave - Portland, OR 97209-3529
• The Food Carts Downtown (Cheap & Yummy):
• Pambiche Cuban Restaurant - 2811 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97232
• Tabla Mediterranean Bistro 200 NE 28th Ave
  Portland, OR 97232-3148 (503) 238-3777

Getting Around

• Bikes: You can see much more of Portland if you have a bike, and if you can ride it :) I use a bike to get around everywhere. You can rent a bike at various places, and there is an awesome Google maps mashup of how to get around by bike.
• We have a pretty good public transport system that gets you all around the city, and it connects to the airport. There is a trip planner at Trimet.org.
• Of course you can rent a car.