Portland on our own

[lauriedun]

We are considering taking a walking tour of Old Port on our own. Any suggestions of stores/sites/eateries that aren't to be missed? We are in port 7am-5pm.

[shipgeeks]

Stop in at the visitors center, right at the end of the pier. You can get a nice map, and talk to nice people there.

We like to walk to the right of the port, up Fore Street I believe, a street with Victorian houses along the way, and at the top a nice view of the bay.  Then Eastern Promenade to Congress Street, which will take you back through town and a number of points of interest, and eventually into the Arts District. You can circle back at any point.

 

[SuzCruise]

I’ve answered this question in the past, so I’ll post it here again. Though this isn’t centered on the Old Port.  Portland is so small, there is lots to do and it is easy to do on your own.  

 

I posted this reply to the same question a couple of weeks ago.  But I’ll repost it here.  

 

 

Portland is so easy to do on your own!  I wrote a post about this last year you can find by searching, but I’ll share some ideas here as well.  FYI - we spend our summers in the Portland Area - and love playing tour guide for our friends who come visit.  

 

The Old Port area is easy to reach from the cruise dock.  Don’t miss Wharf Street, Exchange and Milk Street.  Lots of places to grab a drink or a meal (Lobster Rolls!) along the water or in Old Port.  

 

You can take a stroll up to the Eastern Promenade and walk along enjoying the view.  Then head down to Washington Avenue for some oysters at The Shop.  Great selection of Maine oysters, which I think are the best in the world and I’ve tried them all.  

 

For beer lovers - head to Fox, Anderson and Cove streets (short walk from Eastern Prom or a very short Uber from the Cruise port) for tons of craft breweries.  TONS!  My favorites are Belleflower, Rising Tide, Lone Pine and Goodfire, but there are probably over a dozen more here, not including the wine tasting rooms, hard seltzer and liquor distillers, which are all worth a visit depending on what you like.

 

Want more boat rides - take a ferry from Casco Bay Ferry Terminal.  The mail run is a great option for a long tour or just ride over to Peaks and get a lobster lunch at Island Lobster.  You can also do a tour with Lucky Lobster where they will take you out to harvest your own lobster and then Portland Lobster Co will prepare it for you.  

 

Lighthouses more your thing - get an Uber to Portland Head and spend a while exploring the shoreline walk and Fort Williams Park.  Then head over to Bug Light to see great views of Portland and the Harbor and the very interesting display on shipbuilding in South Portland during WWII.  Or head to Spring Point Light and explore Fort Preble, the beautiful shoreline path and a walk along Willard Beach.  If you want to stretch your legs the walk between Bug and Spring Point Lights is about 20-30 minutes and if you really want to get a long walk in you could walk all 3 lighthouses.  The walk along Shore Road has some gorgeous homes and great views.  

 

Eastern Cemetery has a good self guided tour if that is your thing.  Western Cemetery is also nice to explore, but in my opinion Eastern has more interesting history.  

 

The west side of town has some gorgeous mansions including the Victorian that does tours. 

 

There are great restaurants all over town.  Congress can be interesting to explore and there is a walking tour (it has been years since I did it, but you used to be able to get info for the DIY tour at the TIC near the cruise Port) but the homeless drug addicts seem to be more crazy on Congress than other parts of town, in my experience.  Deering Park is gorgeous on a map, but has been given over to homeless encampments.  We go to the farmers market and steer clear of the park at all other times.  

 

You can rent bikes or kayaks to get around and get different views.  Kayaks are easily available at Eastern Prom.  BTW - Eastern Prom has different paths at the top, bottom and mid slope of the hill.  I prefer the top for the views, but sometimes the Beach Trail has a better breeze on a hot day.  

 

There are tons of gorgeous hikes around and so much more to do!  I’m happy to provide more info if anyone has specific questions.  

[disneyochem]

16 hours ago, SuzCruise said:

I’ve answered this question in the past, so I’ll post it here again. Though this isn’t centered on the Old Port.  Portland is so small, there is lots to do and it is easy to do on your own.  

 

 

I posted this reply to the same question a couple of weeks ago.  But I’ll repost it here.  

 

 

Portland is so easy to do on your own!  I wrote a post about this last year you can find by searching, but I’ll share some ideas here as well.  FYI - we spend our summers in the Portland Area - and love playing tour guide for our friends who come visit.  

 

The Old Port area is easy to reach from the cruise dock.  Don’t miss Wharf Street, Exchange and Milk Street.  Lots of places to grab a drink or a meal (Lobster Rolls!) along the water or in Old Port.  

 

You can take a stroll up to the Eastern Promenade and walk along enjoying the view.  Then head down to Washington Avenue for some oysters at The Shop.  Great selection of Maine oysters, which I think are the best in the world and I’ve tried them all.  

 

For beer lovers - head to Fox, Anderson and Cove streets (short walk from Eastern Prom or a very short Uber from the Cruise port) for tons of craft breweries.  TONS!  My favorites are Belleflower, Rising Tide, Lone Pine and Goodfire, but there are probably over a dozen more here, not including the wine tasting rooms, hard seltzer and liquor distillers, which are all worth a visit depending on what you like.

 

Want more boat rides - take a ferry from Casco Bay Ferry Terminal.  The mail run is a great option for a long tour or just ride over to Peaks and get a lobster lunch at Island Lobster.  You can also do a tour with Lucky Lobster where they will take you out to harvest your own lobster and then Portland Lobster Co will prepare it for you.  

 

Lighthouses more your thing - get an Uber to Portland Head and spend a while exploring the shoreline walk and Fort Williams Park.  Then head over to Bug Light to see great views of Portland and the Harbor and the very interesting display on shipbuilding in South Portland during WWII.  Or head to Spring Point Light and explore Fort Preble, the beautiful shoreline path and a walk along Willard Beach.  If you want to stretch your legs the walk between Bug and Spring Point Lights is about 20-30 minutes and if you really want to get a long walk in you could walk all 3 lighthouses.  The walk along Shore Road has some gorgeous homes and great views.  

 

Eastern Cemetery has a good self guided tour if that is your thing.  Western Cemetery is also nice to explore, but in my opinion Eastern has more interesting history.  

 

The west side of town has some gorgeous mansions including the Victorian that does tours. 

 

There are great restaurants all over town.  Congress can be interesting to explore and there is a walking tour (it has been years since I did it, but you used to be able to get info for the DIY tour at the TIC near the cruise Port) but the homeless drug addicts seem to be more crazy on Congress than other parts of town, in my experience.  Deering Park is gorgeous on a map, but has been given over to homeless encampments.  We go to the farmers market and steer clear of the park at all other times.  

 

You can rent bikes or kayaks to get around and get different views.  Kayaks are easily available at Eastern Prom.  BTW - Eastern Prom has different paths at the top, bottom and mid slope of the hill.  I prefer the top for the views, but sometimes the Beach Trail has a better breeze on a hot day.  

 

There are tons of gorgeous hikes around and so much more to do!  I’m happy to provide more info if anyone has specific questions.  

Thank you for this info!  We’ll be visiting Portland twice next year.  Our first visit is an excursion to the Conway Scenic Railway so won’t be in Portland but will have a full day the following week.  Hubby is a train buff so he wants to go on the railway there—the Maine Railway?  How close to the port is the station? Can we walk?

[shipgeeks]

If you are referring to the narrow gauge railway in Portland, it is right across from the port; absolutely walkable.  You can see it from the ship.  I believe you would go to the light gray building(?) to buy tickets.

[Ashland]

Don't miss stopping in at Holy Donuts. It's the first place we always head to.

[mcmomny]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

Don't miss stopping in at Holy Donuts. It's the first place we always head to.

The line to get in was crazy last week!

[Ashland]

8 hours ago, mcmomny said:

The line to get in was crazy last week!

And why we get there as early as we can. However, even when there has been it moves pretty quickly.

[disneyochem]

On 9/15/2024 at 3:03 PM, shipgeeks said:

If you are referring to the narrow gauge railway in Portland, it is right across from the port; absolutely walkable.  You can see it from the ship.  I believe you would go to the light gray building(?) to buy tickets.

Perfect!  Thank you.