Portland, Maine
 
Portland, the largest city in the state of Maine, is the one region where you will find all of the state’s most alluring features: great dining and shopping; hopping nightlife; outdoor recreation; historical and cultural attractions; and stunning natural beauty. Its small scale, accessible waterfront, Old World ambience and youthful vibe are heady combinations that have propelled Portland to the top of many national lists of best places to visit. 

 

Here, a modern city brushes sleeves with Victorian neighborhoods and young professionals and old salts nod to each other over their morning coffee. Cobblestone streets house high-end boutiques and fishing rigs and cruise ships tie up alongside each other.

 

Long known and loved for its 3 staple L’s – Lobsters, Lighthouses and L.L Bean – you’ll have to add other letters to fully describe Maine’s largest metropolitan area these days. ‘F’ for instance, as in Food, Funk and Fashion. And ‘E’ as in Entrepreneurial, Eco-friendly and Edgy. The resulting fusion is generating a buzz about Greater Portland and creating a unique energy that’s drawing accolades from travel writers and visitors alike. If you haven’t already experienced Portland and surroundings, which Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called a “Jewel by the Sea”, let us welcome you here for our conference – you’ll be glad you came.

 

Waterfront

 

Surrounded by water on three sides, jutting out into island-studded Casco Bay, Portland offers some of the best water access to islands, lighthouses and historic forts in Maine.  Greater Portland is home to seven lighthouses, those silent testaments to Maine’s enduring connection to the sea and a favorite subject of photographers from around the world. On a stroll through the Old Port, one of the country’s most successful warehouse revitalization efforts, you’ll hear the squall of gulls and the low moan of bell buoys while you smell the salt brine that wafts off the bay. Portland’s waterfront is still very much a working port, an integral and thriving part of the local economy, which is one of the authentic things that visitors find so appealing. In Portland, you’re never far from the sea and its changeable influences.

 

Architecture

 

With unswerving attention to landmark preservation, Portland has maintained an historic urban landscape with a modern sensibility. The city is replete with fascinating architecture and the means to delve into its past, with guided and written tours of Portland’s historic neighborhoods. Although the area was settled in the 1600s, much of the city’s historic architecture is Victorian, built after the devastating Fourth of July fire of 1866 leveled the city. History is also kept alive with museum homes and maritime museums chronicling the emergence of the area from a trading and fishing settlement into one of the nation’s most active seaports.

 

Visual Arts and Museums

 

Portland’s official Arts District runs along a stretch of Congress Street, the main thoroughfare that connects the East and West End neighborhoods, but the city’s flourishing art scene knows no bounds. Traditional landscapes, which have been the foundation of Maine art, now share the limelight with cutting-edge contemporary work in a wide range of media. The venerable Portland Museum of Art, celebrating three centuries of art and architecture, is known as one of the best art museums in New England.

 

Other local museums and places of historical interest include the Neal S. Dow House, the Victoria Mansion, the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, the McLellan-Sweat Mansion and the Old Port Exchange. If time permits, consider visiting the Portland Head Light lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in the country.

 

Performance Arts      

 

Performance arts also energize the Portland area where the Old Port comes to life at night with an eclectic mix of live music in its pubs and concert halls. Portland has its own symphony orchestra, choral arts society, professional theater and dance troupes, even a repertory opera company. Greater Portland is the perfect combination of small-town intimacy with a heavy dose of large metropolitan culture.

 

Outdoor Recreation

 

Casco Bay’s flourishing art scene is complemented by an abundant variety of outdoor recreational pursuits so accessible that you can kayak, bike, golf or swim all day and still have time to take in a show in the evening. Within 10 minutes of downtown Portland you can visit the state’s largest salt marsh, stroll swim at a state beach, bird watch on a nature sanctuary and photograph Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine. Hike a wooded trail through autumn foliage to discover a hidden waterfall. Every season of the year offers its unique pleasures, but early fall is blessed with distinct charms that delight the senses.
 

Weather

Portland is on a peninsula in Casco Bay on the Gulf of Maine and the climate is tempered by the Atlantic Ocean. In the early fall, average high temperatures are in the mid-sixties with average lows on the upper to mid-forties. The old adage, “If you don’t like the weather in Maine, wait a minute, it will change” applies when choosing a wardrobe for this trip.  Don’t forget your favorite sweater or jacket for the evenings to thwart the cool evening ocean breezes.

 

Other Attractions

 

Greater Portland is fun for the whole family. You can ride on an historic streetcar, steam train or Model-T at one of the region’s transportation museums. From amusement parks to wildlife parks, agricultural fairs to folk life festivals, there are so many things to keep all ages busy.

Hope to see you here!

 

You don’t have to give up the quintessential Maine coast to enjoy all that Greater Portland has to offer – islands, lighthouses, beaches, and surf crashing onto a rocky shore are all within proximity to Portland’s vibrant, historic downtown. As you expand your professional knowledge and insight, you can also experience the Maine region where arts meet adventure!