Introduction to Portland, ME

Portland is 106 miles N of Boston.

Maine's largest city, Portland sits on a peninsula extending into scenic Casco Bay. It's easy to drive right past on I-295, admire the skyline at 60 miles per hour and be on your way to the villages and headlands further up the coast. After all, urban life isn't what one usually thinks of when one thinks of Maine.

But Portland is well worth an afternoon detour or overnight. This historic city has plenty of charm -- especially the renovated Old Port, with its brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets. In addition, travelers who stop here are rewarded with ferries to islands, boutique shops, some top-notch historic homes, graceful neighborhoods -- and the food. Portland is a culinary mecca of Maine, blessed with an uncommonly high number of excellent restaurants for a city its size (65,000, roughly half that of Peoria, Illinois).