Portland, the largest city in Oregon, has been referred to as the greenest city in the United States, or the ‘City of Roses'. The city has good weather throughout the year and thus the ability to grow anything almost all of the time. One of the results of this climate is the International Rose Test Garden, established in 1917. You can see over 9,000 roses of 590 varieties.
The city has the Willamette River running through its center and the three surrounding stratovolcanoes, Mount Tabor, Mount Saint Helens, and Mount Hood, are visible from many places in the city. Of the 145.4 square miles the city covers, 8,100 acres are natural areas, protected from development.
The city is also known for its large number of microbreweries and microdistilleries. One of the most famous in Oregon is the brewery of the Widmer Brothers.
Another benefit of Portland is that there is no sales tax. Enjoy shopping without paying large amounts of taxes.
The TAUS User Conference will be held in The Benson Hotel, which lies in the heart of downtown Portland, close to the Pearl District and the shopping area.. The hotel opened its doors in 1913 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel is also the home of the President when he is in town. Located on the lower level of the hotel is The London Grill Restaurant, which was recently awarded the AAA 4-Diamond award for service and style.
Other great hotels in Portland are The Heathman Hotel, which displays an art collection with 250 original works by artists including Claude Gellee, Gus Van Sant and Andy Warhol, located at 1001 SW Broadway; Hotel Monaco Portland, another favourite of TAUS, located at 506 SW Washington Street, TAUS has hosted many meetings in Monaco hotels in San Francisco and Cambridge; The Nines, which serves dishes made with local, organic ingredients, located at 525 SW Morrisson Street. All of these hotels provide free access to wireless internet.
Portland is also home of Powell's Books, which claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. The headquarters ‘Powell's City of Books' is located in the Pearl District, on the edge of downtown. It occupies a full city block between NW 10th and 11th Avenue and between W Burnside and NW Couch Streets. It contains over 68,000 ft² of retail floor space. You can find many rare and out-of-print books at Powell's. It is a family business, started by Walter Powell in 1971. Apart from the headquarters they have six more, smaller, stores in Portland.