Best Portland Shopping

Portland’s compact downtown is made for shopping, with easily-walkable half-blocks, a free downtown streetcar and no state sales tax. The downtown shopping district centers around Pioneer Courthouse Square, which is bordered by several major department stores, as well as national-brand shops and the flagship stores of two homegrown sporting goods and outdoor apparel giants, Nike and Columbia Sportswear. North of downtown, renovated brick buildings in the Pearl District are filled with everything from couture wear to colorful imports; this is also the home of the immense Powell’s City of Books. In the Northwest sector of the city, Victorian houses of the Nob Hill neighborhood are filled with eclectic offerings, from jewelry to imported linens. East of downtown, the Hawthorne and Alberta neighborhoods are prime shopping spots, with a broad array of boutiques, bookshops and eateries along Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and along artsy Alberta, between 12th and 31st streets. To the south, the Sellwood and Westmoreland neighborhoods brim with antiques shops. The city’s most-famed shopping venue is the Saturday Market crafts fair (actually held both Saturdays and Sundays).