City of Portland

Portland is Maine's largest city with 66,000 full time residents. However it swells to 2 million if one includes annual visitors and part-time residents. Portland is an old seacoast town. It is also a funky city filled with galleries, one-of-kind boutiques and shops, and incredible restaurants serving everything from New England clam chowder, lobster rolls and Maine seafood to nouvelle cuisine.


Portland was originally called "Machigonne" by the native people who first lived there. The first European settler of Portland was Christopher Levett, an English naval captain who was granted 6,000 acres (24 km²) from the King in 1623 to found a permanent settlement in Casco Bay. Levett proposed to call the new settlement 'York,' after the town of his birth in England. The next (and permanent) settlement by the English came in 1632, as a fishing and trading settlement. The town was then renamed Casco. In 1658 its name was changed again, this time to "Falmouth."


With so much to see in Portland, it's hard to decide which attraction to visit first! Downtown Arts District, centered around Congress Street, is home to the Portland Museum of Art, Portland Stage Company, Maine College of Art, Children's Museum of Maine, SPACE Gallery, Merrill Auditorium, and Portland Symphony Orchestra, as well as many smaller art galleries and studios. Baxter Boulevard around Back Cove, Deering Oaks Park, the Eastern Promenade, Lincoln Park, Riverton Park and the Western Promenade are all historical parks within the city. Other parks and natural spaces include Payson Park, Post Office Park, Baxter Woods, Evergreen Cemetery and the Fore River Sanctuary. The non-profit organization Portland Trails also maintains an expansive network of walking and hiking trails throughout the city and neighboring communities.