Laurelhurst Theater

Laurelhurst Theater is a piece of Portland's history, and unmatched in its wide selection of contemporary, indie and art house cinema. Its glowing neon sign has lit up the city's south-east quadrant for nearly a century (no, it's not a bathhouse – wait, it might have been at one time, Portland has a downright filthy history). Once you make your way past the harming ticket window, you'll find a selection of craft beers and fresh baked pizza. If you're catching a matinee and have some time to kill before the show, head across East Burnside for some vintage shopping at Smut and Rad Summer (both of which might or might not have previously been bathhouses).
• 2735 E Burnside Street, +1 503 238 4088, laurelhursttheater.com

Compound

In what is affectionately referred to as Portland's "Old Town", Compound sits in a strange flurry of human activity. A retail space, gallery and bookstore, it brilliantly curates selections of streetwear fashion, design magazines, giggle-inducing vinyl toys and a potent gallery upstairs, which consistently offers some of the best contemporary art and graphic design in town. You'll know you've arrived when you see the array of special edition and rare sneakers lined up in the window. The first Thursday of every month is the best time to kick your way in through the crowd. You'll be rubbing shoulders with heavy hitters in the creative community and some borderline hostile crack slingers. It's cool. And after absorbing Compound, check out the surrounding blocks for galleries and stores such as Table of Contents (33 NW 4th Avenue), which touts the latest from Comme des Garçons.
• 107 NW 5th Avenue, +1 503 796 2733, compoundgallery.com. Open Mon-Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 12pm-6pm

Living Room Theater

This place is a cinema, restaurant, music venue and the most comfortable seat in all of Portland, and by comfortable, we mean supplied by a full bar. When your feet hurt from traversing the endless aisles at Powell's Books (if you're in Portland and do not spend an afternoon in Powell's, shame on you, don't come back), head across West Burnside Street to the Living Room Theater. Indie cinema just screens so much better with your feet up on a footstool and a cocktail in your hand. There is food, but the cocktails! Additionally, when you visit the loo, there's some weird mirror programme going on in there. Enjoy.
• 341 SW 10th Avenue, +1 971 222 2010, livingroomtheaters.com

Land

Land is a store but first it was a website of curated goods, the nationally beloved buyolympia.com. The upstairs gallery space is a cute as a button, and famed as the setting of the "Put a Bird on It" sketch in the hipster-baiting Portlandia TV show. ("Put a Bird on It" is what Satan shouts when he opens the Gates of Hades.) When you see a show upstairs, you can buy the art downstairs. Vertical integration. It's in the historic Mississippi neighbourhood, so you will find plenty to see just outside the door. In the car park the Wolf & Bear's food cart has a delectable falafel that you should put in your face immediately. After a visit to Land, never, ever mention "Put a Bird on It" again. Thanks.
• 3925 North Mississippi Avenue, +1 503 451 0689, landpdx.com. Open daily 10am-6pm

Disjecta

Though Disjecta is in the extreme north end of the city (NoPo man, you're gettin' in it now), like most things in Portland it's just a hop and skip from a light rail stop (call it the Max, though). Despite the less-than-central location, this former bowling alley is the centre of contemporary and performance art in the city, and regularly hosts installations, live music and sweaty summer events that spill out into NoPo's carpeted, friendly and shirt-optional dive bars.
• 8371 N Interstate Avenue, +1 503 286 9449, disjecta.org. Open Fri-Sun 12pm-5pm or by appointment, admission free

Museum of Contemporary Craft

Located in the North Park Blocks city park in the heart of downtown, this is the place where Portland's reputation as a community of makers, dreamers and craftspeople is illustrated most purely and succinctly. As the primary exhibitor of crafts in the Pacific Northwest, the museum offers a stunning permanent collection that presents the history of craft, beautifully curated. It also features rotating exhibits of work in clay, glass, wood, metal and mixed media by international artists and local craftspeople. To be clear, this level of craft is not in any relation to scrapbooking or quilting. Also, this paragraph used the word craftspeople more than twice. Which in Portland is pretty much the bare minimum.
• 724 NW Davis Street, +1 503 223 2654, museumofcontemporarycraft.org. Open Tue-Sat 11am-6pm; adults $4, students and seniors $3, under-12s free

Courier Coffee Bar

When visiting Portland, there is no getting around the fact that you will consume some of the most absurdly delicious coffee of your life. With consistently sizzling, always quirky art shows, some of the best iced coffee in town and one of the only places in the Northwest, or the nation, where you can enjoy a proper cannelé pastry, the Courier Coffee Bar is on your shortlist. It's easy to miss, but is around the corner from Powell's, and we've already established that you will be visiting, so do pop in. Tip your baristas: they hold the keys to the city. The same is true for drag queens. Unfortunately there are no drag queens at Courier Coffee.
• 923 SW Oak, +1 503 545 6444, couriercoffeeroasters.com. Mon-Fri 7am-5pm, Sat-Sun 9am-4pm

Artists Repertory Theatre

While you're wandering around town you will undoubtedly run across the Portland Armory (pcs.org), home of Portland Center Stage and the Gerding Theater. Even if you aren't seeing a show, this intimidating brick fortress, in the middle of the Pearl District, is worth popping into for a latte and a looksie. For a live show, head a few blocks south-west to the Artists Repertory Theatre in the Goose Hollow neighbourhood (no geese allowed, please and thank you). This well-considered, intimate performance space is home to a fantastic company that puts on original productions in addition to classic pieces, from polished to kitsch. We prefer the kitsch. That's probably clear by now.
• 1515 SW Morrison Street, +1 503 241 1278, artistsrep.org

Nationale

A cosy hallway of wonders tucked away on the east side, Nationale is an arts and culture destination that perfectly embodies the spirit of the city. A small mixed-use gallery and retail space, it puts on some of the most thought-provoking and diverse art and performance pieces in Portland, which is a strong statement. The focus is on quality over quantity, and substance over flash. The tiny stark environment makes every object feel precious and well-considered. Just like you.
• 811 East Burnside Street, +1 503 477 9786, nationale.us. Open Wed-Sun 12pm-6pm

Floating World Comics

Portland is awash in comic-book stores, but none captures the Rose City's art and comic culture like Floating World. With consistently fresh art shows and an unparallelled selection of comics and graphic novels, Floating World is a hotbed of nerd-tastic frenzy. The space is packed with visual stimulation, the kind of place where you can lose an afternoon, or a month of your life. If you make it through the gallery and the stacks of comics with a bit of time on your hands, dig through the well-curated used vinyl section. Comics read better with gently used, gently loved music previously listened to by strangers.
• 400 NW Couch Street, +1 503 241 0227, floatingworldcomics.com. Open daily 11am-7pm

Portlanders Aaron Rayburn and Ben Vickery are co-founders of the culture, art and design blog fortport.com

• For more information on holidays in the USA, visit DiscoverAmerica.com