• Saturday Market, SW 1st Ave. under the Burnside Bridge. Sa 10AM - 5PM and Su 11AM-4:30PM, 1st weekend in March to December 24. This market and craft fair, where everything sold is handmade, is the largest open-air crafts market in continuous operation in the U.S. Free.

 • Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Broadway and Yamhill, (503) 223-1613. Every day, 24 hours. Known as "Portland's Living Room," this is the central courtyard of downtown Portland. Notable sights in the square is the Weather Machine, a machine that predicts the weather every day at noon. Many other sculptures and art elements surround the square. Free.

 • The Public Services Building (1120 SW 5th Avenue), aka The Portland Building, is considered an architectural icon. Designed by Michael Graves and built in 1982, its coloring and embellishment marked the arrival of postmodern architecture and the end of stark glass and steel edifices. The statue in front, "Portlandia", is the second largest copper statue in the United States--only the Statue of Liberty is larger.

 • Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Naito Pkwy between the Steel and Marquam bridges. This wide expanse of green lawns along the downtown Portland waterfront was once a four-lane freeway. Growing environmental awareness led to the city replacing the freeway with this park. In Waterfront Park are several features: the Salmon Street Springs (see Do below), the Japanese American Memorial Garden, and the U.S.S. Oregon Memorial. Free.

Museums

 • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), 1945 SE Water Ave., (503) 797-6674  . OMSI is great for kids. It has hundreds of hands on activities and you can spend a full rainy day there and not get bored. But if all you want to do is see an awesome movie check out the IMAX theater that gives you a 360 view of space travel, scuba diving, race car driving, or an Africa safari. Open Tu-Su 9:30AM - 5:30PM (after Labor Day to mid-June). Museum admission: adults $8.50, seniors (63+) and youth (3-13) $6.50. OMNIMAX theatre: separate admission charge, adults $8.50, seniors (63+) and youth (3-13) $6.50.

 • Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR 97205, 503-226-2811  . The Portland Art Museum has several outstanding collections and is regularly updated by moving exhibits. 10-15$ for adults, 6$ for youths. Sunday 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Monday closed, Tuesday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Wednesday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Thursday 10:00 am - 8:00 pm, Friday 10:00 am - 8:00 pm, Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.

Public art

 • First Thursday of every month all art galleries in the Pearl district are free, and many serve wine and cheese. The Pearl as the locals call it is a newly remodeled and redeveloped area across from downtown P-town. It was old warehouses just five years ago and now it is posh high rises and condos that have trendy shops and galleries at street level. A modern new city park sits in the middle that includes a boardwalk, grass, trees, waterfall which fills a pool every half hour or so. Little kids love the water on a hot day.
 • Last Thursday is said by many locals to be the alternative to First Thursday Centered around Alberta St. between Martin Luther King and 30th., it includes everything from wine tasting and gallery openings to street vending and performance artist walking the streets and sidewalks.
 • The bronze statue of a woman on 5th & Washington is titled Kvinneakt, created by sculptor Norm Taylor. But everyone knows it as the "Expose Yourself to Art" statue, after a popular poster featuring a flasher facing this work. The flasher was a tavern owner named Bud Clark, who went on to become mayor of the city.