North by (Pacific) Northwest
There’s much to discover in the Pacific Northwest, from icons like Seattle’s Space Needle and Portland’s White Stag sign to the vintage charm of neighborhoods like Vancouver’s Gastown (pictured).
(Photo courtesy Anthony Maw.)
As summer softens to fall, few regions capture the drama of the changing season as famously as the Pacific Northwest.
From the artful rhythm of Portland’s indie bookstores and college neighborhoods buzzing with the back-to-school crowd, to the rolling fog that softens Seattle’s glass-and-steel skyline, to the changing maple trees that set Vancouver’s parks aglow in streaks of red and gold, this coastal corridor tells a cinematic story of autumn.
Experience the grandeur firsthand with your own journey through the Pacific Northwest. Here’s where to start:
Portland’s iconic White Stag sign watches over the city’s Old Town, a glowing landmark since the 1940s.
(Photo courtesy Zach Spear.)
Select rooms at Kimpton Hotel Vintage Portland feature outdoor hot tubs.
(Photo courtesy Kimpton Hotel Vintage Portland).
Portland in Full Bloom
Portland is known as the City of Roses, a nickname that stems from the city’s marine climate and dense clay soils, ideal conditions for growing roses outdoors. One of the best places to see them in bloom is the International Rose Test Garden, where rows of colorful, late-summer rose varieties linger well into fall.
More outdoor adventures await at the Lan Su Chinese Garden, a Ming Dynasty-style garden designed and built by Suzhou artisans, renowned for their masterful use of water, stone, and asymmetry to craft serene landscapes of beauty and balance.
Or leave the city behind entirely with a visit to Silver Falls State Park, widely considered the crown jewel of Oregon’s state parks system. Discover ten major waterfalls accessible through a variety of trails (including several that allow you to walk behind the falls), a lush landscape of moss-covered rocks and towering old-growth trees: Western red cedars, Douglas firs, bigleaf maples, and more. Plus remnants of the park’s rich logging history, with old cabins and homesteads scattered throughout.
After a day of outdoor adventure, unwind in style at Portland’s Kimpton Hotel Vintage downtown, where several rooms come with outdoor hot tubs on private balconies. Just a five minute walk away, the Multnomah Whiskey Library is the perfect spot for a drink in an old-world atmosphere with the dark polish and hush of a British gentlemen’s club. Think velvet armchairs, stained glass ceilings, and soaring bookshelves lined with more than 1,800 bottles of rare spirits (accessible only by bartenders on sliding ladders).
For a menu that’s equally diverse and far-reaching, head across the Willamette River for a taste of the old country at Kachka. Chef Bonnie Morales draws on her Jewish heritage as a first-generation daughter of Soviet immigrants to reimagine flavors of the former USSR. Among the highlights: beef-and-lamb-stuffed cabbage rolls, vareniki dumplings dressed in butter and vinegar, and silky spinach pudding topped with Oregon Dungeness crab.
Portland’s acclaimed Haitian restaurant Kann offers cuisine from a warmer climate and is the winner of the 2023 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. Chef Gregory Gourdet’s Caribbean-inspired menu features dishes such as akra (taro fritters), handmade epis pork sausage, Cajun-smoked spiced duck, and coffee-rubbed flat iron steak. Koupe dwèt!
No trip to Portland is complete without a visit to Papa Haydn, a local institution since 1978. From the airy boccone dolce — fresh fruit and whipped cream in a meringue shell — to triple chocolate tortes and classic apple strudel, there’s no going wrong.
Head across the Willamette River to discover Kachka, creaing rich Eastern European cuisine.
(Photo courtesy AJ Meeker.)
At Kachka, start with caviar chips and dip.
(Photo courtesy AJ Meeker.)
Kann’s shaved soursop ice is not to be missed.
(Photo courtesy Eva Kosmas Flores.)
The James Beard Award-winning Kann looks as beautiful as the dishes are delicious.
(Photo courtesy Steve Freihon.)
Seattle’s Best
If Portland is the Pacific Northwest’s indie heart, Seattle is its polished, slightly more cosmopolitan sibling. Here, art takes center stage in the city’s architecture, public installations, and creative institutions.
A major hub is the Seattle Art Museum, with collections that span prominent names (Jacob Lawrence, Agnes Martin, and Andy Warhol, among others) as well as powerful works by Indigenous creators from the region, such as Coast Salish printmaker Susan Point, Haida master carver Charles Edenshaw, and Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary.
In the shadow of the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass showcases Dale Chihuly’s intricate and mesmerizing glass sculptures. Inside, the artist’s whimsical, organic forms seem to grow like living flora, transforming the museum into a luminous garden where art and nature intertwine.
Younger visitors might instead gravitate toward the high-tech Museum of Pop Culture, home to interactive exhibits on grunge, science fiction, video games, and more. Perhaps fittingly, all this is housed in a warped, futuristic structure designed by architect Frank Gehry using an architectural modeling program originally developed for aerospace engineering.
A different type of cultural immersion can be found at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, which offers thoughtful storytelling rooted in the Asian-American experience. Located in the historic East Kong Yick Building, a former hotel built by Chinese immigrants in 1910, the Wing Luke Museum shares stories through artifacts, community voices, and also the space itself with evocative recreations of immigrant boarding houses and family-run shops.
Take in the wonder of artist Dale Chihuly’s works at Chihuly Garden and Glass.
(©2025 Chihuly Studio. All rights reserved.)
Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum shares stories of the Asian-American experience through powerful storytelling and immersive recreations inside the historic East Kong Yick Building.
(Photo courtesy Wing Luke Museum.)
Tourist hotspots (like the Space Needle) aside, there are plenty of places in the PNW that even frequent visitors to the region will want to discover.
(Photo courtesy Spencer Davis.)
After an afternoon of art, retire to museum-worthy accommodations at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, an Italian Renaissance-style Seattle landmark featuring an indoor heated pool nestled within a sunlit solarium beneath a skylight. Or escape to the Lodge at St. Edward Park, a Michelin-recognized Romanesque Revival retreat amid the tranquil beauty of St. Edward State Park.
Enjoy elevated fare in an easygoing atmosphere at Atoma; dishes like spot prawns with kumquat aioli and savory rosette cookies filled with farmer’s cheese and Walla Walla sweet onion jam have helped chef Johnny Courtney (formerly of Canlis) and his wife Sarah earn multiple “Best Restaurant” accolades in less than two years since opening.
Meanwhile seasonal, locally sourced ingredients take a starring role at Lark in Capitol Hill, with selections that include smoked ikura caviar and egg salad featuring ingredients from Washington’s Aash Farm, lamb chop kofta from Oregon’s Anderson Ranch, and freshly caught halibut from Neah Bay in northern Washington.
Cap off the evening with a drink at one of Seattle’s standout bars. Just three blocks from Lark, the rustic Canon is worth a visit, if only to savor your first cocktail whimsically served in a light bulb, Russian nesting doll, or even an IV bag. Head west to Foreign National, which serves Asian-inspired cocktails—like the Bad Berry, made with black lime-infused Normindia gin, green tea shochu, and raspberry-mint blanc vermouth—in a sultry and dimly lit lounge that evokes the moody allure of Cold War espionage. The name’s Bond…
Every cocktail is a work of art at the rustic Canon.
(Photo courtesy Canon Seattle.)
Savory rosette cookies filled with farmer’s cheese and Walla Walla sweet onion jam make Atoma worth a visit.
(Photo courtesy Kyler A Martin & Atoma.)
Vancity Vibes
Just across the Canadian border, Vancouver channels sophisticated elegance and a global sensibility, where the line between city and nature seems to disappear. Visitors can go from savoring afternoon tea or sushi omakase in skyscrapers to biking the scenic shoreline trail that circles Stanley Park or kayaking in False Creek, all within minutes.
An essential starting point is Gastown, Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood famous for its cobblestone streets, Victorian-era lamp posts, and iconic steam-powered clock. Named for “Gassy” Jack Deighton (who was talkative, not flatulent, thank you very much), a Yorkshire steamboat captain who opened the city’s first saloon in 1867, Gastown today is a thriving historic district filled with cozy cafes, lively pubs, restaurants, and art galleries.
Gastown is also home to the Michelin-recommended PiDGiN, led by chef Wesley Young. His seasonally-rotating menu blends French techniques with Asian ingredients, resulting in dishes such as gochujang bolognese tteokbokki, foie gras confit empanadas, and salted duck egg custard cheesecake, among other playful creations.
Southwest of Gastown, Granville Island is part creative district, part farmers market. Once an industrial site, this peninsula has since been transformed into a walkable cultural hub on the waterfront, complete with artist studios, performing arts venues, eateries, breweries (including Granville Island Brewing Company, Canada’s first microbrewery founded in 1984), and more. From the shores of downtown Vancouver, Granville Island is accessible by charming mini ferries that arrive every few minutes (and make getting there half the fun).
If all this exploring has worked up your appetite, head to Vancouver’s Chinatown, where chefs Joël Watanabe and Alain Chow are creating Japanese-Italian cuisine like few others at Kissa Tanto. In a mid century-inspired lounge that channels Mad Men-era supper clubs and 1960s Tokyo jazz cafes, enjoy dishes like charred udon with crab and chili butter, or line-caught Canadian bluefin with glazed Hakurei turnips.
At Vancouver’s neo-noir Keefer Bar, beverage director Amber Bruce shatters expectations sculpting crystal-clear ice with a cleaver to craft cocktails that echo ancient remedies with a modern edge.
(Photo courtesy Keefer Bar.)
A proper nightcap can be found four blocks south at Blnd Tger. Yes, it’s a takeout dumpling shop (and yes, the six varieties are genuinely delicious). But order dumpling “number 7” and you’ll be led past a freezer door into Laowai, a speakeasy modeled after the lavish cocktail lounges of 1920s Shanghai, adorned with emerald velvet walls, leather banquettes, and Art Deco glamour. Laowai’s innovative cocktail menu centers on baijiu, the aromatic and complex Chinese spirit. For the uninitiated, a good start is the Jar of Dirt, a tropical blend of Yellow Crane Tower baijiu, juniper-infused genever, ginkgo nut orgeat, and lime juice.
Continue the evening just around the corner at the Keefer Bar with a cyberpunk ambiance that conjures a world straight out of a William Gibson novel. Cocktails here (naturally dubbed “prescriptions”) honor the traditions of Chinese apothecaries, blending ancient remedies with modern mixology. Take your medicine with the Snake & Oil: a potent blend of 12-year Flor de Caña rum, lychee, anise-spiced Amaro Montenegro, and pomelo falernum liqueur. Doctor’s orders.
Settle in for the night at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia—once host to Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and British royalty—where the heated saltwater lap pool provides the perfect reset. Or opt for the vibrant and quirky Opus Vancouver in Yaletown, where bold colors and contemporary art create a fresh retreat. Either way, you’ll wake up refreshed and ready to embrace another day exploring the Pacific Northwest.
Part creative district, part farmers market, Granville Island has been transformed from an industrial site to a walkable cultural hub on the waterfront.
(Photo courtesy Wes Hicks.)
A steam-powered clock greets visitors in Gastown, Vancouver’s oldest neighborhood.
(Photo courtesy Komal Brar.)