Experience the best of Portland
Portland is Maine's largest city, a working harbour on Casco Bay with a cobbled old port, a lighthouse and a celebrated food scene.
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Portland sits on a hilly peninsula in Casco Bay, a working harbour with fishing boats, ferries and a historic district, the Old Port, of brick warehouses and cobbled streets. The Portland Observatory, a shingled signal tower of 1807, is the last of its kind in the country, and the Victoria Mansion is a richly decorated Italianate house of the 1860s. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born here in 1807.
Ferries cross Casco Bay to Peaks Island and the other islands, and Portland Head Light, a lighthouse of 1791 at Cape Elizabeth, stands on a cliff just south of the city in a park by the sea. The Portland Museum of Art has works by Winslow Homer, who painted at Prouts Neck nearby. The beaches of Old Orchard and Scarborough, Kennebunkport and the White Mountains of New Hampshire are within an hour or two by road.
Lobster, served boiled or in a roll with mayonnaise, steamed clams, oysters and haddock chowder are the local staples, and whoopie pies, chocolate cakes sandwiched with cream, are Maine's state treat. The city is full of breweries and restaurants that use local seafood and farm produce. Summer is cool and bright, early October brings autumn colour, and winters are snowy.
- Free cancellation on 93% of experiences
- 4.8 across the top 16
Go beyond Portland
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Portsmouth · 77 kmStrawbery Banke Museum
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Portsmouth · 77 kmLake Winnipesaukee
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Gloucester · 121 kmEastern Point Lighthouse
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Gloucester · 121 kmHammond Castle Museum
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Manchester · 122 kmNew Hampshire State House
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Salem · 137 kmSalem Witch Trials Memorial
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Salem · 137 kmOld Burying Point (Charter Street Cemetery)
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Boston · 158 kmBoston North End
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Boston · 158 kmBoston Old State House
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Cambridge · 159 kmCharles River
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Cambridge · 159 kmHarvard University
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Bangor · 173 kmStephen King’s House
Questions about Portland
- What are the top attractions in Portland?
- Ranked by the experiences that visit them, the top attractions in Portland are Portland Head Light, Victoria Mansion (Morse-Libby House), Fort Gorges, Casco Bay.
- What is the most popular experience in Portland?
- By number of traveller reviews it is "The Real Portland Tour: City and 3 Lighthouses Historical Tour with a Real Local", rated 5.0 out of 5 from 1,697 reviews.
- How long do tours and tickets in Portland take?
- The typical experience in Portland lasts about 2 hours; the middle half run between 1.5 hours and 3 hours.
- Can I cancel a booking in Portland?
- The operator lists free cancellation on 93% of the 92 experiences we hold for Portland. The cut-off differs by experience and is shown on each product page before you choose a date.
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