Portland Walking Tours

As one of USA Today’s Top Five Walking Tours in the country, Portland Walking Tours offers 5 tours (Cultural, Sub-Culture, Supernatural, Indulgent, and Culinary) every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and have just added one more tour to celebrate our “City of Roses.”

 

Best of Portland Tour

This cultural tour highlights the city’s artwork, parks, fountains, bridges, trains, streetcars, and more. Best of Portland was named “Best Way to Fake Being a Native” by Willamette Week. The tour begins outside the Broadway entrance of the Hilton Hotel at SW Broadway and Salmon and leads to the waterfront.

The tour offers a history of Portland, including the inside story of the city’s eleven bridges. Tour participants will get the inside story on “The City that Works,” the bronze drinking fountains, and over 30 pieces of public art.

 

Underground Portland

This tour focuses on the corrupt and shady history of the city, winding through Old Town and Chinatown to the legendary ‘Portland Shanghai Tunnels’ beneath the city. The tour begins outside of Old Town Pizza on Davis. In addition to the history behind the city’s Shanghai tunnels, other highlights include the varied locations that The Simpsons television show is based on. You will also visit the site of “the most arrested man in the Northwest,” and the storied locations and buildings that once hosted notorious criminal activity.

 

Beyond Bizarre

Showcasing just why “Keep Portland Weird” is Portland’s unofficial slogan, this tour offers the wacky, the paranormal, and yes, the weird, using real ghost hunting equipment to visit famous haunts and hauntings. Portland Walking Tours is an official member of the International Ghost Hunters Society, and have a paranormal expert and a clairvoyant available for the tour itself. Highlights include glimpses into the profession of documenting, identifying, and understanding paranormal activity, as well as tales of dark secrets and strange rituals. The tour begins outside of Old Town Pizza on Davis.

 

Chocolate Decadence

This tour showcases local chocolate vendors and chocolatiers. You will learn about chocolate’s lineage from bean to confection. Participants will indulge in truffles and caramels, gelato and sorbet, cookies and croissants, and while also tasting Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley. The tour begins inside and upstairs in the mezzanine library of the Heathman Hotel.

 

Epicurean Excursion

Portland has become of the country’s premier destinations for great cuisine. This tour is for foodies who want to build on their culinary knowledge and skills, learning what it means to be a locovore, the philosophy of F.L.O.S.S. (Fresh, Local, Organic, Seasonable, and Sustainable), and the history of the Slow Food Movement. The tour also includes “Portland’s Liquid Assets”: the microbrews, wines, spirits, coffees, sodas, and teas that make the city proud. The epicurean delights will be diverse and plentiful, and include artisan doughnuts, pizzas, chocolates, pastries, sandwiches and much, much more. The tour begins inside and upstairs in the mezzanine library of the Heathman Hotel.

 

Roses Gone Wild

This tour reveals the facts, secrets, mysteries, and stories behind the world-famous International Rose Test Garden. Learn the truth behind a successful rose, why the legendary blue rose is excluded from the garden, who the “Rose Bro’s” are, with the stunning views of the city as a backdrop. This tour begins across from the Rose Garden store at the International Rose Test Garden.

Guided walking tours provide a great way to experience the city up-close and personal, while learning the fascinating history of what makes Portland so unique. So, put on those comfortable shoes and explore!