So we are taking a trip to Portland in a few days with two of our daughters and their significant others. This will be a first time visit for husband and I , although our daughters have been.
So far , we have a few food places to visit ( daughter is mapping that out )
Any must see, must try places that we need to know about ?
Not from there, but we’ve been a couple of times. The Japanese garden was lovely, and the Saturday Market is pretty cool.
Washington Park has great views of Mt Hood as well as the japanese garden and a lovely rose garden (which probably isn’t in season).
Normally, driving out the Columbia River gorge and stopping at Multnomah Falls and other nearby falls is a “must”. But there was/is a forest fire in the area, and much of the area is closed. We lost a lot of beautiful scenery this year. 
Powells is a must see if you like books. Visiting a bookstore may seem weird, but powells is a really cool.
Pittock mansion is nice too. It’s not far out of downtown at all- maybe five minutes.
If you are into art then the Portland Art Museum.
Not sure about the gorge at this point- haven’t seen multnomah falls since the fire.
And Alberta street is fun at night. Salt and straw draws a crowd pretty much all night.
Ooh- try a McMenamins. The one in troutdale is cool - Edgefield- but the Kennedy School one isn’t bad either. Edgefield is an old poor farm, and the historical buildings are all quite nice.
I second Powell’s Books. Not the little branch store at the airport but the huge multi-block store in town.
If you have enough time to spend a day out of the city, consider the Hood River Fruit Loop. It’s a wonderful drive, full of fruit and nut orchards, wineries, fiber farms, etc. And lovely views!
http://hoodriverfruitloop.com/images/2017-Fruit-Loop-Map.pdf
Great recommendations so far. If you are thinking at all of driving to the coast, Cannon Beach is fun and the area pretty scenic.
We stayed at McMenamin’s-the Kennedy School and enjoyed the soaking pool. I think you can soak there (for a fee), even if you aren’t staying there. Cocktails in the pool were nice!
Great walking City! Voo Doo donuts. The food trucks downtown. Yes, Powell’s. Lots of brewpubs/beer in the Pearl district.
I am not from the area, but we visited a few years ago. We loved the Saturday Market, and we enjoyed just walking around the city. So much to see (and good beer, too)! Voodoo Donuts is a must-stop … even the long wait in line was entertaining. We also drove out to Cannon Beach, and it was absolutely worth it.
For a great casual breakfast/lunch we enjoyed Pine State Biscuits. http://www.pinestatebiscuits.com/menu/
And it would be a shame to be so close to the coast and not stop - another vote for Cannon Beach. Beach walk, quaint downtown.
Powell’s bookstore is a must! Also the rose garden/Japanese garden- included great skyline views. Have been there in March and July, coming from Seattle trips. Have had good random Thai food for lunch and supper. The last trip we stayed on an island in the Columbia River just across the WA border. Nice area and not difficult to go downtown.
We just got back from Portland. Lovely city and we made it to many of the suggested spots from this thread.
W stayed in the Pearl District, which was cool. We rented an apartment in a building that the company we went through has 18 units . That was a highlight for us ! We were able to have all of us ( two daughters and their partners ) for a pre-marathon pasta dinner. The dinner was unfortunatey interupted by a small fire in the building , but otherwise it was great to be able to make meals
We were really overwhelmed by the volume of homeless people …never seen so many despite living in NYC, Boston and frequent visits to Philadelphia and DC. It was staggering and some of the locals chimed in with negative feelings that Portland isn’t handling it well. No doubt that much of what we saw was the result of drug addiction ( we saw people out in the open shooting up without even trying to conceal it )
We went to the Saturday market which was a lot of fun, until a group of homeless young men got into an altercation with some of the venders…that ruined it for us , unfortunately.
Cannon beach was beautiful ! We also drove to Astoria and crossed into Washington via a long and high bridge ( this lady is afraid of heights )
We loved that Portland was such a dog friendly city and the people there were so friendly 
So glad you got to see Cannon Beach! Did you tell your family CC told you this was a “must” stop?!!!
Only my husband and I drove there @abasket …I let my daughter , the marathoner think thta we went there on her suggestion 
Such a quaint little town