Portland, Maine

[NETrainfan]

Portland, Maine is my favorite city in the U.S. (San Francisco and Santa Fe are two other favorites.)

Portland is a fairly small city (66,000+) and is a walking city.

The Downeaster Amtrak train brings travelers from Boston's North Station to the Portland Amtrak station.

One needs to get a local bus from there to the heart of Portland, near the Old Port. There are plenty of hotels and B&Bs

in this area.

The Old Port section of the city is the place to be. There are fine restaurants and shops there and

a pier where ferries leave for nearby islands. After a morning of exploring the Old Port, we suggest

taking the ferry to Peaks Island for a hike around a small Maine island.

Then, back to the Old Port and perhaps a short walk up to the Portland Museum of Art and the

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House on Congress St.

For seafood lovers, DeMillos Floating Restaurant on Commercial St. is a treat, as are some of the nearby smaller

restaurants which offer fresh lobster dinners, lobster rolls, fried clams and shrimp, and seafood chowder (among other selections) at reasonable prices.

For those who wish to spend a few days in the Portland area, it is worthwhile to rent a car

and drive out to Cape Elizabeth which has Two Lights State Park and Crescent Beach State

Park. The first is scenic and Crescent is a good swimming or hiking place.

Someday, if you haven't been to Maine or experienced Portland- take the Downeaster up to this charming seaport.

 

[J-1 3235]

Just one thing to add to NETrainfan's excellent post.......if you like narrow guage trains, be sure to stop by the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. It's a short walk from the Old Port past the Maine State Pier.

Here is the MNGRR website: http://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/

edit to add URL

 

[Kelly Carson]

Can't wait to see that part of Maine after your words - thanks!

 

[MARC Rider]

Portland has a very active culinary scene, with world-class restaurants all over the downtown, so there's more to eat than lobster rolls. If you have a car, go out to Ft. William Park in South Portland, site of the Portland Head Lighthouse and lots of typical Maine rock-bound coast scenery. The ferry to Peak's Island is a fun ride, with walking trails that will give you views of the ocean and more rock-bound coastal scenery. Finally, fpor nopw, the Maine Narrow Gague Railroad Museum gives rides during the summer, and if you're lucky, you can catch a steam train!



While it's best to go in summer if you want to do outdoor stuff, it gets really crowded, and the hotel rates are ridiculous. I'm headed there at the end of February on my way to my annual cross-country ski and snowshoe trip up near Sugarloaf. It can be real nice out then, and it can also be cold and nasty, but it's a lot easier to get a reservation for dinner, and the hotel rates are actually reasonable.