Quick and Dirty Travel Guide to Seattle and Portland

Posted on by kowalkowskiallison

Ollie and I were just about to hit our 3 year anniversary of living in California when we realized we had yet to visit Seattle and Portland, two other west coast gems. We knew we wanted to make it happen sooner rather than later, so we booked a flight to Seattle, a train to Portland, a flight back to San Diego and a couple of AirBnbs.

We wanted to get a good feel for both cities but stay free from any travel overkill. Mainly our goals were to drink good coffee, taste the best craft beer, overindulge our taste buds, and find some impressive views. Use this rough guide as Seattle and Portland travel inspo if you are interested in having a similar experience 🙂

SEATTLE

  • Starbucks Roastery (high end Starbucks)
  • Elysian Bar
  • Old Stove Brewery
  • Gum Wall (fun spot and great photo ops)
  • Gum Wall hidden bar (see if you can find it and stop in for a drink)
  • Pike Brewing and bar above it
  • Biscuit Bitch (yummy breakfast spot with attitude)
  • Space Needle (glass exhibit is right here as well, but tickets to both are pricey)
  • Kerry Park (amazing panoramic views of the city)
  • Fremont Bridge Troll
  • Fremont Brewing
  • Gasworks Park (loved this outdoor space and views of the city)
  • Lagunitas
  • Reuben’s Brews
  • Stoup
  • Pike Place Chowder (consistently wins best chowder awards and it was amazing!)
  • Flatstick Pub (bar with mini golf on the lower level)

 

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First glimpses of Seattle as we make our way to the Starbucks Roastery. Love cute public outdoor spaces!
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Old Stove Brewing had good views and a good location–ended up here a couple of times.
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Visiting Kerry Park in Seattle is a must.
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Panoramic views of Seattle from Kerry Park
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Had to check out the famous Gum Wall
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This is as close as I got hehe!
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Gum Wall lovin’
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Gum Wall, Seattle
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Entrance ticket was a bit overpriced and planes flew by a little too close for our comfort, so we admired it from below instead.
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Quirky art under the bridge in Fremont, Seattle. Lovely place for a stroll and lots of brews.
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Fremont Brewing Co
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Gas Works Park was so cool! But very rainy when we visited… otherwise I could have spent all day here.
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Gas Works Park
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Lagunitas Brewing Co — such a fun space!
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Brew crawling our way through Seattle equals big smiles.
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Iconic Pike Place Market

 

PORTLAND TO SEATTLE

 

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The beautiful journey from Seattle to Portland on the Amtrak Cascades.

 

PORTLAND

  • Base Camp Brewing Co
  • High Mountain (amazing wings)
  • Voodoo Donuts (famous but some locals don’t rate it anymore)
  • Stumptown Coffee (famous and now you can get it all over the west coast)
  • Powell’s City of Books (independent book store of your dreams)
  • The Pint
  • 10 Barrel Brewing Co
  • Keep Portland Weird sign
  • City Grill (some of the best views of the city with drink in hand)
  • Revolution Hall rooftop bar (loved this spot)
  • Sunee Thai + Lao (yummy dinner we stumbled upon)
  • Multnomah Falls (nature outside the city)
  • Internation Rose Test Garden

 

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Base Camp Brewing Co, Portland. I meant it when I said we wanted to taste ALL the craft beer.
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Out-of-this-world wings from High Mountain
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A Stumptown Coffee break
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Portland is a book lover’s paradise
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I fell in love with Portland’s vibe
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Portland City Grill had some of the best views of the city–highly recommend stopping in for a drink.
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Portland Views
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Headed across the river to Revolution Hall for sunset drinks on their rooftop. Heavenly.
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Rented a car to venture a bit out of town to see Mulnomah Falls.
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Greenery around Multnomah Falls
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Breathtaking!
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More nature back in the city at the International Rose Test Garden
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Beautiful afternoon strolling among the roses
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International Rose Test Garden, Portland
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Pretty things in Portland
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Fountains and flowers
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Great way to end a great trip to the unique and quirky Portland, Oregon

 

We had such a wonderful time eating and drinking our way through these two cities. I liked them both but much preferred Portland. I loved its local vibes and unique quirkiness. All the food and drinks we had were sooooo good, and it’s mostly stuff you can’t find anywhere else. Seattle was great as well but much more mainstream and dealing with all the rain can put a damper on things. We accomplished this trip with 6 days which I felt was a fair amount of time!

Leave any questions you might have in the comments below! 🙂

 

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