Portland Walking Tours

Portland, OR 97204 (Downtown)

503-774-4522

Website

Update attraction details

Expose the myths of the Shanghai Tunnels

Courthouse across the square where the tour group meets

EMF meter reading "activity," as all the lights were lit.

163 visitor photos

Ranked #11 of 97 activities in Portland

580 Reviews

Book Now

Type: Tours

Owner description: Portland Walking Tours’ fun and award-winning events explore the excitement, history, food, architecture, neighborhoods, bridges, parks, fountains,... more » Owner description: Portland Walking Tours’ fun and award-winning events explore the excitement, history, food, architecture, neighborhoods, bridges, parks, fountains, artwork, and just plain weird places in Portland Oregon. Tours include the award-winning “Best of Portland,” showcasing what makes Portland such a fabulous place to live and visit (daily, 10 AM and 2 PM); our scandalous “Underground Portland,” aka "the worst of Portland," revealing both the physical and metaphorical subterranean story of Portland's sordid past; the eerie “Beyond Bizarre”, a hands-on exploration of Portland's paranormal, using real ghost-hunting equipment as seen on shows like "Ghost Adventurer" (TM) and "Paranormal State" (TM); our delicious “Epicurean Excursion” walking tour, a tasty immersion into Portland's amazing culinary "slow food" scene; our indulgent “Chocolate Decadence Tour," exploring and sampling chocolate in its many solid and liquid forms, from bean to bar and everything in between; "Roses Gone Wild!", which dishes the dirt on Portland's famous International Rose Test Gardens; and "Flavor Street," where you taste the best of Portland's incredible food cart scene - and skip the rest.

Useful Information: Bathroom facilities

Write a Review

580 reviews from our community

Vasilikouda

1 review

“"Shanghai tour shanghai-ed us out of our $40"”

Reviewed 18 June 2013 NEW

We took the "underground" tour, which to their credit is advertised as being primarily above ground, but the tour was just anecdotes I could have found by walking around Portland with a Wikipedia article open. The kicker was that the underground part was just a walk into their BASEMENT! They had fluorescent lights overhead, but they were turned off, to... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

pjm97140

Sherwood, Oregon

2 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

“Loved our Portland Walking (Epicurean) Tour”

Reviewed 17 June 2013 NEW

Great tour guide (Adam) and lots of yummy food - entertaining, we even got to ride the Portland streetcar. Tried yummy desserts, beer, wine, stopped at a Portland food cart, bakery, great Father's Day treat. Looking forward to trying some of the other tours!

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Dear pjm97140, Thanks for the words of praise! We really appreciate your compliments, but also your specific comments about which parts you liked best. That helps us continue to improve our tours. And thanks for letting us know which guide you had so we can share the praise! We should let you know that each Epicurean tour is different -... More

Poetguy

Portland, Oregon

1 review

“A Walk On Portland's Wilder Side”

Reviewed 17 June 2013 NEW

Some friends were visiting from out of town so I decided to introduce them to Portland's "seedier" side by taking them on the Portland Walking Tours' Underground Tour. I'm so glad I did. Melanie, our guide, was knowledgable, sassy and an absolute pleasure to spend 90 minutes with exploring Portland's sometimes-dark past. Unlike one recent reviewer, I was not disappointed... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Dear Poetguy, Thanks for the great words of praise! Of course we should expect that from a poet, should we not? We're thrilled that you enjoyed the Underground Portland tour. As you mention, some prefer the true history of Portland's seamier side - what we provide - while others prefer fantastical fiction and "re-enactments," which we don't. We're glad you... More

abrxas

Ashland, Oregon

1 review

“Fantastic!”

Reviewed 17 June 2013 NEW

Took the Underground Tour and had a great time! Learned more about Portland in one afternoon than in my entire time living there. And Melanie was not just an informative guide, she was fun, thoughtful, and approachable. I recommend this tour to anyone curious about Portland's history and how it got to be the way it is today.

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

34607David_S

St. Petersburg, Florida

2 reviews

“Well worth the money”

Reviewed 17 June 2013 NEW

My wife and I were fortunate to be last minute additions to Richard's tour of downtown Portland.He was funny and very informative. While we had been staying in Portland for several weeks and making it our business to see as many different things as possible, this added to our sense of the history and culture of the city and how... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Dear David_S, Thank you for the great review of our Best of Portland tour! We're glad you were able to join the tour by buying tickets from the guide. We are pleased to provide that option for our tours, but we have to point out that you got lucky. Many tours sell out in advance, and we hate to turn... More

southwest_traveller9

Lafayette, California

Senior Contributor

24 reviews

Reviews in 23 cities

11 helpful votes

“Excellent, Top-Notch, Informative!”

Reviewed 15 June 2013 NEW

What a great way to get introduced to Portland! I took this approx. two hour walking tour on my first day of my first visit to Portland and I'm so glad that I did. Portland is a great walking city with a lot of neat things to see in the downtown area. With the help of an excellent tour guide,... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 1

Problem with this review?

Dear southwest_traveller9, Thank you for the kind words of praise about our tour! We're delighted you had such a great time and found our guide and tour so top-notch. It sounds like you might have taken our Best of Portland tour, but since we get similar praise for all of our tours, I'd hate to assume. Would you mind writing... More

Jean H

Los Angeles, California

Top Contributor

58 reviews

22 attraction reviews

Reviews in 17 cities

17 helpful votes

“The fun way to learn about the seamier side of Portland.”

Reviewed 5 June 2013

Take the Portland Underground Tour. What a fabulous two hours. Superb guide, Jonah, walked us all around Chinatown and the waterfront regaling us with stories of the disgusting, evil, criminal and perverse side of Portland. Learned so much and never even knew I learned it. What a pleasure. Lots of scandals, racism, shanghaiing of sailors - Portland has had a... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 5 more reviews by Jean H for Portland

Dear Jean, Thank you so much for your fabulous comments and review of our Underground Portland tour! We're glad you found Portland's seedy, greedy past as entertaining as we do. Some may feel it's weird to laugh at all that nastiness, but we all know that Portlanders have a quirky sense of humor. And the way Jonah tells the stories,... More

GEORGIA S

BEND

Reviewer

5 reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

2 helpful votes

“Bizarre Walking Tour”

Reviewed 31 May 2013

Donna was our guide and did a fab job with lots of laughter. We did the 10pm, adults only tour, so it was dark and fun. Learned a lot about the history of Portland and saw some pretty interesting sights. Easy walk with a very special treat at the end. Would recommend for anyone looking for something different and fun... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Dear Georgia, Thank you for your positive, kind review of our Beyond Bizarre tour! We're happy you enjoyed the tour so much. Donna certainly is an informative, engaging guide. You said you "saw some pretty interesting sights... with a very special treat at the end." We would love to hear more about those. Any... ghosts? We'd also like to clarify... More

ECPerkins

Boulder, Colorado

1 review

1 helpful vote

“A fun, lively way to learn about Portland”

Reviewed 30 May 2013

We took the Best of Portland tour. Our guide Richard, a self-confessed SNOB (Strictly Native Oregon Born, if memory serves), was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about his home city, the history, the sights, the districts, and so on. I think he took extra time with us - our tour went three hours. The weather behaved beautifully, as well. Nice little... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 1

Problem with this review?

Dear ECPerkins, Thank you for the wonderful review! We're thrilled that you had such a wonderful tour with Richard. Not all of our guides will claim the title "S.N.O.B." but all are experts on what makes Portland a great, fun city to visit. One clarification for review readers - the tour is designed to be, and typically lasts, about 2-2.5... More

Messmaker

Southern Oregon

Senior Reviewer

6 reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

2 helpful votes

“Treat Yourself to an Eye-Opening Portland Walking Tour”

Reviewed 30 May 2013

Great experience! I've always wanted to learn about the underground of Portland, and this tour didn't disappoint. Joe was our guide, and I'd recommend him for any of the tours this company provides! You could tell he was proud of his city, regardless of its shameless past :) This tour offered more info about Portland in less than 2 hours... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Dear Messmaker, Thank you for the kind words in response to your recent Underground Portland walking tour experience. We love showing off Portland's past, even when it's the seedy, greedy, not-so-nice side... we think it helps show off Portland's great character and how far we've grown from those "bad old days." Just to make sure people understand something you mentioned... More