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Portland, Maine
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Portland, Maine, USAOpen-Meteo forecast.
Portland, Maine city overview
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Worth seeing
Old Port
Old Port adds the water-facing side of Portland, Maine, making it a good break from museums, traffic and dense historic streets.
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Portland Head Light
Portland Head Light adds the water-facing side of Portland, Maine, making it a good break from museums, traffic and dense historic streets.
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Eastern Promenade
Eastern Promenade is a named stop in Portland, Maine worth keeping on the route when it fits the day's transport, timing and neighborhood plan.
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Portland Museum of Art
Portland Museum of Art is a key Portland, Maine culture stop, useful for understanding local history, collections and rainy-day planning near the main sightseeing route.
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Casco Bay Islands
Casco Bay Islands adds the water-facing side of Portland, Maine, making it a good break from museums, traffic and dense historic streets.
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Commercial Street Portland
Commercial Street Portland adds the water-facing side of Portland, Maine, making it a good break from museums, traffic and dense historic streets.
View on mapStay overview
Start with City centre for the easiest first Portland, Maine stay, then compare Old Town and Waterfront when price, nightlife, quieter evenings or transfer timing matter more than being beside every major sight.
Hotels & areas
Portland, Maine hotel choice is mostly about repeat journeys: use City centre for sightseeing, Old Town for a different local base, and Waterfront or Airport area when views, parking, airport timing or longer stays matter.
City centre
City centre is the most practical first base in Portland, Maine, keeping main sights, restaurants and short local transfers close.
Best for: first visits, sightseeing, restaurantsSee hotel optionsOld Town
Old Town is the most practical first base in Portland, Maine, keeping main sights, restaurants and short local transfers close.
Best for: first visits, sightseeing, restaurantsSee hotel optionsWaterfront
Waterfront suits travellers who want views, evening walks and a calmer base while still keeping central Portland, Maine reachable.
Best for: views, quieter evenings, walksSee hotel optionsAirport area
Airport area works mainly for early departures, late arrivals or car pickup, not for a first Portland, Maine sightseeing base.
Best for: early flights, late arrivals, car pickupSee hotel optionsFlights & airports
Portland International Jetport (PWM) arrival plan
- Portland International Jetport (PWM)About 4 km from the centre
Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.
- Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (PSM)About 79 km from the centre
Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.
- Augusta State Airport (AUG)About 82 km from the centre
Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.
Rental cars
Portland, Maine day-trip car use
Do not rent a car for central Portland, Maine unless parking and traffic are part of the plan; use one mainly for regional day trips.
Compare rental carsTravel tips
Best base
Choose City centre for a first stay because it keeps main sights, restaurants and practical local movement close.
Airport timing
Leave extra time for Portland, Maine International Airport, especially for early flights, late arrivals, traffic or unfamiliar transfer routes.
Local movement
Plan each day in clusters around Portland, Maine and Portland, Maine so transfers do not consume the best sightseeing hours.
Day trips
Keep one flexible slot for nearby routes from Portland, Maine, checking weather, transport and opening hours before committing.
Nearby ideas
Island · about 20 min · Casco Bay Lines ferry from the Maine State Pier
Peaks Island
A seventeen-minute crossing to an island you can cycle round in an hour.
View on mapTown · about 30 min · car north on I-295
Freeport
The L.L.Bean flagship that never closes, with Wolfe's Neck woods on the coast behind it.
View on mapBeach · about 45 min · car south on I-95 then Route 9
Kennebunkport
A shipbuilding village turned resort, with Walker's Point out on the rocks beyond the harbour.
View on mapCity history
The University of Southern Maine is improving its Portland campus with a 580-bed dormitory, student center, and an arts center.
The first European settler was Christopher Levett, an English naval captain granted 6,000 acres (9.4 sq mi; 2,400 ha) in 1623 to found a settlement in Casco Bay.
In 1676, the village was destroyed by the Abenaki during King Philip's War.
During King William's War, a raiding party of French and their native allies attacked and largely destroyed it again in the Battle of Fort Loyal (1690).
In 1786, the citizens of Falmouth formed a separate town in Falmouth Neck and named it Portland, after the Isle of Portland off the coast of Dorset, England.
Portland's economy was greatly stressed by the Embargo Act of 1807 (prohibition of trade with the British), which ended in 1809, and the War of 1812, which ended in 1815.
In 1820, Maine was established as a state with Portland as its capital.
In 1832, the capital was moved north and east to Augusta.
In 1851, Maine led the nation by passing the first state law prohibiting the sale of alcohol except for "medicinal, mechanical or manufacturing purposes." The law subsequently became known as the Maine law, as.
In 1853, upon completion of the Grand Trunk Railway to Montreal, Portland became the primary ice-free winter seaport for Canadian exports.
The 1866 Great Fire of Portland, Maine, on July 4, 1866, ignited during the Independence Day celebration, destroyed most of the commercial buildings in the city, half the churches and hundreds of homes.
By act of the Maine Legislature in 1899, Portland annexed the city of Deering, despite a vote by Deering residents rejecting the motion, thereby greatly increasing the size of the city and opening areas.
The construction of The Maine Mall, an indoor shopping center established in South Portland in 1971, economically depressed downtown Portland.
The Portland Company, located on Fore Street, manufactured more than six hundred 19th-century steam locomotives, as well as engines for trains and boats, fire engines and other railroad transportation equipment.