Portland is an amazing city with tons to offer its inhabitants as well as its visitors.  While I can't claim to know it all, there are definitely some things that I've grown to love over the years that I've lived here.  The following are some of my favorites.

Portland, also known as the Rose City has other monikers it goes by: Stumptown, Bridgetown, P-Town, Rip City, and PDX

CNN Has a great write up of the local fare in their travel section.  Check it out here.  The article features some nice commentary on the weather as well as a host of great local businesses and attractions.

City Life

The Pearl

My favorite area in all of Portland would have to be the Pearl District.  Not all that long ago this part of North West Portland was nothing more than a bunch of warehouses and industrial buildings.  Sometime in the 1990s they started to renovate the neighborhood with the intent of building artist lofts.  While this was the original intent and some of this survives through First Thursday, much of the Pearl is now home to the Uptown crowd with trendy lofts, shops and restaurants.

The Bridges

Portland is known for it's iconic bridges.  11 of them decorate the area bridging the east and west sides of the city together over the Willamette River.  Some of the classics around town are the Burnside, the Fremont, the Morrison, the St. Johns, the Steel and many more.  A must see when you're in town.

Nature at its Finest

The Mountains

The Most famous mountain in the Portland metro area is undoubtedly Mt. St. Helens; Primarily known for it's massive eruption that blew thousands of feet of rock off the top of it in 1980.  While Mt. St. Helens is actually in Washington, Oregon's and Portland's next most famous mountain would have to be Mt. Hood.  Located only 60 miles from Portland, Hood stands at a noteworthy 11,249 ft and is host to the iconic Timberline Lodge.  The lodge was featured in the movie The Shining (exterior only) and is considered a national historic landmark.  Driving up to Hood in the summertime can be breathtaking while a trip in the winter brings great skiing and snowboarding.

The Coast

Drive just 80 miles to the West from downtown Portland and you'll actually run into the Pacific Ocean.  Portland has to be one of the few places in the US where you could actually ski on a major mountain and then surf in the ocean all in the same day.  The Oregon coast in general has a ton to offer.  From this Historic Highway 101 and Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach to the Dunes of Florence where a 100 foot tall drift of sand is not uncommon.  A magnificent collection of nature's finest.

The Trees

Oregon has to be one of the greenest places in North America.  There are literally millions of trees proving lumber for all over the country.  The dominant species of tree is the Douglass Fir, or the Doug Fir.  It's so common here and so well known in Oregon that it actually adorns the state's license plates.

The Rivers

Two massive rivers charge through Portland: The Columbia and the Willamette.  The Columbia is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest and the fourth largest in the United States.  It creates the division between Oregon and Washington for much of the borders and is a huge artery for shipments coming into Portland from the Pacific.  The Willamette River is a tributary to the Columbia and create the divide between the east and west districts of Portland.  One of the biggest attractions created by the Columbia river is known as The Columbia River Gorge.  The Gorge was cut over millions of years creating a deep canyon in parts of the area.  One of the most popular places for people to visit is the town of Hood River.  Hood River is known as one of the premier venues for Windsurfing, regularly hosting large crowds of people honing their skills at Windsurfing and Kite Boarding; an awesome spectacle.

The Waterfalls

Another fantastic sight along the Columbia River Gorge as you are headed towards Hood River happens when you divert off of the main Highway 84 and take the Historic Columbia River Highway.  The highway is approximately 14 miles of twisty roads through the forest canopy passing numerous waterfalls.  The culmination of the rout brings you to Multnomah Falls; a fantastic 620 ft. tall waterfall making it the second tallest in the United States.  This is a must see for anyone who visits the area.