Portland City Tour Details

Your tour begins in downtown Portland, and includes drive-bys of Portlandia, Old Chinatown, Old Town, the Skidmore and Yamhill districts, both listed as one of Portland's National Historic Districts/Places.  Pioneer Courthouse, the 1st major public building in the Pacific Northwest.  The Hawthorne Bridge, the oldest vertical lift bridge in the U.S and Burnside street, Portland's own Skid Road, to name just a few.  With your personal guide, you will learn about Portland's beginnings in the early-1800s when Lewis & Clark traveled through here, and Indians lived along the Willamette River, which Lewis & Clark described as," the Willamette can serve a man of war or ship of any burthen."  Historical architecture and the history of Portland's notorious Shanghaiing Trade & the infamous Portland Underground that survived from 1850-1941 are also discussed.

The tour continues through the Goose Hollow residential neighborhood to Washington Park with extended stops of about 30 minutes at the famous International Rose Test Garden, and about 30-60 minutes each at the tranquil Japanese Gardens and the Pittock Mansion.

Below are our 'extended stops' itinerary details.  Substitution or additional stops are possible.

Portland's International Rose Test Garden is the oldest official, continuously operated public rose test garden in the U.S.  In 1888, Georgiana Burton Pittock, wife of pioneer publisher Henry Pittock, invited her friends and neighbors to exhibit their roses in a tent set up in her garden. Thus began the annual rose show for Portland Rose Society. Jesse A. Currey, a former Rose Society president, convinced city fathers to inaugurate a rose test garden in 1917 with the support of the American Rose Society, City officials, and civic–minded citizens. At that time, Portland had 20 miles of rose-bordered streets – a strategy to draw attention to the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial celebration. As a result, Portland was dubbed “City of Roses”.  The garden was a perfect opportunity for enhancing that reputation.

The primary purpose of the garden is to serve as a testing ground for new rose varieties.

The City of Portland gold Medal Awards are issued annually.  These varieties are planted in the Gold Medal garden.

Portland is the only North American city that can issue its awards to roses of merit throughout the world.

In 1917, the Portland's Rose Society petitioned for the city to serve as a safe haven for hybrid roses grown in Europe during World War I. Rose lovers feared that these unique plants could be destroyed in the bombing. Foreign hybridists sent roses for test from many countries and the garden was an immediate success.

This famous garden has nearly 10,000 rose plants and over 400 varieties.  Many old favorites which are no longer available may be found here.

The Japanese Garden is a haven of tranquil beauty that has been proclaimed one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan.  Even in Japan it would be difficult to find a garden of this quality, says Sadafumi Uchiyama, a national garden consultant.  It’s not just the ability to stroll though five formal garden styles, contemplating raked sand and a tea house built with pegs, or the unique hillside setting bound by Doug firs.  It’s not even the “borrowed scenery” of Mount Hood or the “hide and reveal” philosophy scattered among winding pathways, plantings and stones.  What allows this garden to exist here, in this form, has more to do with Portland’s subdued culture, the moist climate and a commitment to livability.  “Let me say it like this,” offers Uchiyama.  “Can you imagine finding this in Texas?

 Japanese Gardens events

Japanese Garden Hours

Admission is:  (Admission is included in your tour cost.) 

The Classical Chinese Garden (a substitution stop on request), the largest, and said to be the most authentic of its kind outside China.  Hundreds of years of symbolism, tradition and horticulture come together at the Garden of Awakening Orchids, which gained worldwide attention before it even opened here five years ago.  Built in Portland’s sister city, Suzhou, and assembled by 65 Chinese craftsmen, it is, in essence, a Ming Dynasty work of artistry air-dropped into Old Town.  Today it’s considered the most authentic outside of China, complete with inlaid pebbled walkways, carved porticos and impressive plant life that includes rhododendrons discovered only recently in Asia.  And who wouldn’t love a place with a tea-house known as the Tower of Cosmic Reflections?

The mission of the Portland Classical Chinese Garden is to create an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony to inspire, engage, and educate.......

Chinese Garden Hours

Next we tour through the Arlington Heights residential areas and the Hoyt Arboretum.  We then enjoy a picturesque ride to the Pittock Mansion,  where lumber baron and newspaper magnate Mr. Pittock made his home. "What's most charming about the Pittock Mansion is the ease with which you can pretend it is your very own summer home.  Richer than God at the time, Henry Pittock was the publisher of the Oregonian at the turn of the Century and built the palatial castle in 1914.  With a regal red tile roof, wrap-around decks, and a sprawling, well-kept lawn, the place is perfect to commandeer as your very own summer retreat (and picnic!)" *.  There's no better place in town for picnics (allow My Chauffeur to arrange the picnic for you!), bird watching, experiencing the change of seasons or surveying Portland's ever-changing skyline.  The Pittock mansion is no ordinary, take-it-or-leave-it tourist attraction---it's a must see.  Pittock Mansion Events

* Mercury Spring Eatin' Guide 2003

 The view from the mansion includes:

1. DT Portland

2. Columbia & Willamette Rivers

3. Mt. St. Helens

4. Mt. Rainier

5. Mt. Adams

6. Mt. Hood & the Cascade Mountains

Pittock Mansion Hours  

503-969-4370  |  1-877-692-4283

Monday - Friday

Saturday

Sunday