HotelTonight – Downtown Portland Hotels in Minutes
I have always enjoyed spending time in Portland, Oregon. This, to me, is one of the most unique and beautiful cities in the United States. The only regret I've felt with regards to Portland was that I've only been there for work. That meant that until recently, the only things I saw were through conference room windows and from the tables of a few restaurants. I wanted to learn more about this place, so the last time I was there for work I purposely pushed my return flight out by a day so I could have 24 hours for myself. I decided that I would spend that 24 hours in downtown Portland. I could not wait to look around and see what there was to see. I wasn't worried about lodging, either, as I use HotelTonight, the app that helps people find last-minute hotel rooms. I'd find a downtown Portland hotel room immediately when I needed one.
The Scenery
Downtown Portland is not one of those cities where all you see is skyscrapers all around. Sure, there are tall buildings, but none of them are tall enough by themselves to block out the surrounding hills. In essence, the city was built to make sure that the landscape of the area was preserved so that people could see the enormous evergreen trees, those gorgeous hills and the waterways that cut through the heart of downtown. It's as if you're in the middle of a large city and a nature preserve at the same time. It was not like any city I had ever experience.
The Culture
You can't walk a block or two in downtown Portland without walking past a museum, art gallery or musical performance venue. I spent some time in a few different museums and got myself plugged into the art scene quite quickly by walking through a few galleries. I didn't see any musical performances happening in the middle of the day, at least not inside. The music scene heads outdoors in Portland before the sun goes down, as there was live music to be heard in several different locations. People gathered to listen to them in large numbers.
The Food Trucks
Portland was one of the first cities to really get into the microbrewery explosion that occurred approximately 20 – 25 years ago. The latest trend that is already starting to take hold around the rest of the country is food trucks. They are parked everywhere, and you can choose from just about any type of food you want. I went with Greek food, and the gyro I had consisted of proper lamb meat that came directly from a spit. The pita was warm and soft and the tzatziki sauce was full of cucumber flavor. It was delicious.
HotelTonight – Downtown Portland Hotels Near You
After all of that walking around and eating delicious food, it was time to call it a day. I pulled out my phone, logged onto HotelTonight and found a downtown Portland hotel just a block from where I was, as the app knows your location and helps you find something close by. I couldn't wait to climb into my comfortable bed and fall asleep.
