Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, Portland, Oregon, with a population of 1.7 million in the metropolitan area, is a city of discreet charms. That the city claims a rose garden as one of its biggest attractions should give you an idea of just how laid-back a place this is. Sure, Portlanders are just as attached to their cell phones and pagers as residents of other major metropolitan areas, but this is the City of Roses, and people still take time to stop and smell them. Spend much time here, and you, too, will likely feel the city's laid-back pace seeping into your bones.

While Seattle has zoomed into the national consciousness, Portland has, until recently, managed to dodge the limelight and the problems that come with skyrocketing popularity. For many years now Portland has looked upon itself as a small, accessible city, vaguely European in character. Clean and friendly are the two terms that crop up most often in descriptions of the city. However, as word has spread about overcrowding in Seattle, people looking for the good life and affordable housing have turned to Portland, which is now experiencing the same sort of rapid growth that Seattle has gone through for the past decade.

Portland is a city of quiet charms that must be searched out and savored--the shade of the stately elms in the South Park Blocks, the tranquillity of the Japanese Garden, the view from the grounds of Pittock Mansion, the miles of hiking trails in Forest Park. Sure, there's an art museum in the process of expanding, and a world-class science museum, but these are not nearly as important to the city's citizenry as its many parks and public gardens. It is these green spaces that the city is most ready to boast about. Not only does Portland claim beautiful rose gardens and the most authentic Japanese Garden in North America, but it also can lay claim to both the world's smallest city park and the largest forested urban park in the country.

The city's other claim to fame is as the nation's microbrew capital. Espresso may be the beverage that gets this town going in the morning (this is the Northwest), but it's microbrewed beers that help the city maintain its mellow character. There are so many brew pubs here in Portland that the city has been nicknamed Munich on the Willamette. While in other cities craft beer has given way to cocktails, here in Portland microbrews are still the drink of choice. Wine isn't far behind, though, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering how close the city is to wine country. Just as wineries have been proliferating to the southwest of the city, so too have wine bars.

Within a 1-hour drive from Portland, you can be strolling a Pacific Ocean beach, hiking beside a waterfall in the Columbia Gorge, skiing or hiking on Mount Hood (a dormant volcano as picture perfect as Mount Fuji), driving through the Mount St. Helens blast zone, or sampling world-class Pinot Noirs in the Oregon wine country. It is this proximity to the outdoors that makes Portland a great city to use as a base for exploring some of the best of the Northwest.