Things to do in Oregon
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Montage
This beloved Creole nightspot under the Morrison Bridge has long, white-clothed community tables, aggressively oddball waiting staff, oyster shooters, streetwine cocktails and legendary macaroni and cheese.
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Powell's City of Books
The USA's largest independent bookstore, with a whole city block of new and used titles. Has other branches around town, including at 3723 and 3747 SE Hawthorne.
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Paradox Cafe
A cosy favorite in the charming Belmont neighborhood, the Paradox whips up vegetarian and vegan treats like a tempeh Reuben that could win over the most devoted steak lover. (If not, though, there's also the organic, hormone-free beef burger.) Its kitsch decor includes a soda-fountain counter and blue vinyl booths.
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Classical Chinese Gardens
The Classical Chinese Garden is a one-block haven of tranquillity, reflecting ponds and manicured greenery. Free tours are available with admission.
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Pittock Mansion
This grand and beautiful 1914 mansion was built by pioneer/entrepreneur Henry Pittock, who revitalized the Oregonian newspaper. Guided tours are available, but it's worth visiting the (free) grounds simply to have a picnic while taking in the spectacular views.
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Oregon Museum of Science & Industry
This excellent museum offers hands-on science exhibits for kids, along with other temporary exhibits. There's also an Omnimax theater, planetarium shows and a submarine tour (all separate charge). Parking is $2.
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Oregon Zoo
In summer, ride the Zoo Train from the rose gardens to this excellent zoo. There's a primate house, a 'penguinarium' and plenty of specialty exhibits. Enclosures are spacious and semi-natural, and big-name music concerts take place on the zoo's lawns in summer.
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Hoyt Arboretum
Twelve miles of trails wind through this 187-acre ridgetop garden above the zoo. It's home to over 1000 species of both native and exotic trees, and offers easy walks any time of year.
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Kenny & Zuke's
The only place in the city for real Jewish deli food: bagels, pickled herring, homemade pickles and latkes. But the real draw here is the house pastrami, which is cut to order and gently sandwiched in one of the best Reubens you'll ever eat. Bustles at breakfast.
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Saturday Market
For great fun and a quintessential introduction to Eugene's peculiar vitality, don't miss the Saturday Market, held each Saturday from March through November at E 8th Ave and Oak St. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas it's renamed the Holiday Market and moves indoors to the Lane Events Center at 13th Ave and Jefferson St.
reviewed
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Pearl District
Slightly to the northwest of downtown, the Pearl District is an old industrial quarter that has transformed its once grotty warehouses into expensive lofts, upscale boutiques and creative restaurants. On the first Thursday of every month, the zone's abundant art galleries extend their evening hours and the area turns into a fancy street party of sorts. The Jamison Square Fountain is one of its prettier urban spaces.
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Shanghai Tunnels
Running beneath Old Town's streets is this series of underground corridors through which, in the 1850s, unscrupulous people would kidnap or 'shanghai' drunken men and sell them to sea captains looking for indentured workers. Tours run Fridays and Saturdays at 6:30pm and 8pm. Book online.
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Eastside
Eastside has lots of trendy shopping streets that also host a few restaurants and cafés. SE Hawthorne Blvd is the biggest, N Mississippi Ave is the most recent and NE Alberta is the most artsy and funky. Down south, Sellwood is known for its antique shops.
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St Honoré Boulangerie
Popular for its luscious breads and pastries, this modern-rustic bakery in the Northwest District also serves tasty panini sandwiches, vegetarian soups, seasonal salads and oven-fired pizzas. Try your luck at snagging a sidewalk table on a warm sunny day.
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Egyptian Room
Portland's main lesbian hangout, where guys are (barely) tolerated and girls are (mostly) butch. It's heavy on the hip hop and full of chain-smokers, with karaoke and pool tables to distract.
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Kennedy School
McMenamins' premiere Portland venue. Watch movies in the old school gym. Check www.mcmenamins.com for current showings.
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Keystone Café
- Eugene, USA
- Restaurants › Café
The best breakfast in town, serving up organic omelets, vegan pancakes and tempeh scrambles. Nitrate-free bacon.
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Food Carts
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Pambiche
Portland's best Cuban food, with a trendy and riotously colorful atmosphere. All your regular favorites like ropa vieja are available, but leave room for dessert. Lunch is a good deal, but happy hour is even better (2pm to 6pm Monday to Friday, 10pm to midnight Friday and Saturday). Be prepared to wait for dinner.
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Hendricks Park Rhododendron Garden
Thousands of rhododendrons and azaleas erupt into bloom here in the spring, along with dogwoods and daffodils, peaking in May. The garden is part of a larger park that features native trees and shrubs, and during the rest of the year it's a quiet retreat with occasional lovely views worthy of a picnic. To get there head south on Agate St, turn left on 21st and left again on Fairmont, then right on Summit.
reviewed
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Tom McCall Waterfront Park
This popular riverside park, which lines the west bank of the Willamette River, was finished in 1978 after four years of construction. It replaced an old freeway with 2 miles of paved sidewalks and grassy spaces, attracting heaps of joggers, in-line skaters, strollers and cyclists. During the summer, the park is perfect for hosting outdoor events like the Oregon Brewers Festival. Walk over the Steel and Hawthorne bridges to the Eastbank Esplanade, making a 3-mile loop.
Salmon Street Springs Fountain, on Salmon St near the river, cycles through computer-generated patterns. On hot days, kids (and adults) take turns plunging through the jets. North of the Burnside Bridge is…
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Skinner Butte
A hike up wooded Skinner Butte, directly north of downtown, provides a good orientation and a little exercise (drive up if you're feeling lazy). Eugene Skinner established the city's first business on the narrow strip of land along the Willamette River below, which is now Skinner Butte Park; there's a great playground for kids. And if you're a rock climber, don't miss the columnar basalt formations along the butte's lower western side.
Follow the path around the north side of Skinner Butte to the Owens Memorial Rose Garden, a lovely park with picnic benches and rose bushes (best June to August), along with the country's oldest Black Tartarian cherry tree, planted around…
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Portland Building
This notoriously controversial 15-story building was designed by Michael Graves and catapulted the postmodern architect to celebrity status. People working inside the blocky, pastel-colored edifice, however, have had to deal with tiny windows, cramped spaces and a general user-unfriendliness. The Portland Building suffered from major design flaws that later proved very costly to fix. Not a great start for what was considered to be the world's first major postmodern structure; at least it's been made somewhat green with an eco roof installed in 2006.
Towering above the main doors of the Portland Building is Portlandia, an immense statue of the Goddess of Commerce,…
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Morning Glory Café
Eugene in a nutshell (or should that be a nut roast?). This sustainable place is good for breakfast, lunch and brunch, and rarely will vegans have a better choice – everything on the menu is either vegan or can be made vegan. Try the biscuits, tofu sandwiches or cookies, and as the in-shop sign says 'make tea not war.'
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Evergreen Aviation Museum
For something different, head to McMinnville's Evergreen Aviation Museum and check out Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, the world's largest wood-framed airplane. There's also a replica of the Wright brothers' Flyer, along with an IMAX theater (movie admission separate).
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