3-Day Weekend Trip Ideas: Portland / Austin / New Orleans?

[UglyCasanova]

I love New Orleans, and it's not all about drinking (although there is that). Best food and localized culture in all of the country IMO. It has plenty of problems, but a neat place to visit. And yeah, it's hot in the summer.

That said, I would pick Portland because out of the three I've never been there.

 

[TridenT]

Been to Portland many times ('cause I used to live in the area and I visit a lot since I've been in Seattle). Portland is going to be better in the Summer than Austin (scorching hot, dry, and dusty as fuck) and New Orleans (so much crazy hot humidity it's like walking through a steam engines blow off valve).

Portland is definitely much better to visit in the Summer and is probably the only good time to visit it... If you visit near 4th of July then you can experience the Waterfront Blues Festival which is a free festival with plenty of musicians. (Some headliners too like last year it had Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin. This year it's Gregg Allman apparently.)

 

[HendrixFan]

If the heat won't bother you Austin is great during the summer months. May through August I switch to four ten hour shifts so I can have that extra day to spend outdoors. Hamilton Pool, Barton Springs Pool, Krause Springs or Inks Lake are all good options to spend the day. I would recommend those in that particular order too. You could also spend the day out at Zilker Park people watching, walking the trail, or canoeing.

For music, there is plenty to work with. You might want to time your trip for a certain artist. The bigger venues are the Austin Music Hall, Stubbs and the Austin 360 Amphitheater. If you just wanna browse music and see smaller acts Antones, Continental Club and the Elephant Room are good choices. Beyond that random bars have random acts on random days. That is pretty much localized around sixth street.

For food there are plenty of local offerings, it just depends on your tastes. Some of the recent "visiting Austin" threads have good recommendations. The Alamo Drafthouse is worth visiting IMO, a good place for a movie, food and local beer offerings. I'm not a beer drinker personally but there are local breweries. They might not be worth visiting but tons of places around town will allow you to try them out. I'm going to this thing in a couple days and it says 20 local breweries will be there:

http://drafthouse.com/movies/off-ce...hot-rod-beer-party-w-the-lonely-island/austin

This site has some good recommendations despite being kinda pretentious:

http://austin.culturemap.com/

 

[JManInPhoenix]

of those three, I would take Austin. My favorite cities to visit in the US are NYC, San Diego, Chicago & Charleston SC.

 

[Oil]

NO is full of piss and bums

 

[rednas]

i just spent 3 days in New Orleans after spending 2 days in Austin and for myself and my friend who also had not been to either we both agreed that New Orleans is WAY better than Austin. We are now planning to go back later on in the year. No other place I have ever been to compares to New Orleans.

 

[rednas]

worrying about the weather in New Orleans but not about the weather in Austin is amusing since they are both humid and Austin is even hotter.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

of those three, I would take Austin. My favorite cities to visit in the US are NYC, San Diego, Chicago & Charleston SC.

Charleston is on our "to do" list and I wish we would've gone there instead of New Orleans last week. Or for that matter, just about anywhere besides New Orleans.

 

[AViking]

NO is kinda like Vegas but with much better food and music. Lots of drinking and partying while listening to good music and eating amazing meals. I have been there a couple times and would not go there during the summer. Save that for another time of the year.

Summer time you should hit up the San Francisco Bay Area. It has everything and the weather is really nice. Since you wrote off that and my next suggestion, Chicago, I would probably start thinking about places like Seattle or Vancouver. Portland is nice but it's more of a hub for me to see the surrounding area and maybe not what I'd recommend for 3 days.

 

[Imported]

worrying about the weather in New Orleans but not about the weather in Austin is amusing since they are both humid and Austin is even hotter.

I wasn't aware Austin got humid. I guess I shoulda looked that up. Was thinking dry heat.. lolme

 

[drbrock]

I have been to all three. Portland is head and shoulders above the rest. However I don't think I could do Portland in three days. Austin is still plenty fun and would be better for a weekend warrior trip. Portland you would want to travel to surrounding areas that would eat up a lot of your time.

You couldn't pay me to go back to New Orleans been there three times now and every time I promise myself I will never go back lol. People hate on Florida but it has nothing on New Orleans.

 

[BergeLSU]

NOLA is very small when it comes to "big cities." Unfortunately, people frequently visit, stay on Bourbon, then leave saying "it smells bad" or "there was nothing to do."

April and May are the two best months to visit (assuming you don't want to come for Mardi Gras). Just about every weekend there is a festival somwhere. Freret St. Festival, French Quarter Festival, Jazz Fest, Bayou Boogaloo are about 6 consecutive weekends of stuff to do. Like any vacation, it is what you make of it.

Though, the biggest misconception about NOLA is that Mardi Gras is not family friendly.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

looking for ideas also.

i thought about doing a weekend at niagra and driving into ontario. has anyone done that?

 

[JManInPhoenix]

Charleston is on our "to do" list and I wish we would've gone there instead of New Orleans last week. Or for that matter, just about anywhere besides New Orleans.

Charleston is a great place for couples. Lots to do & great food, history, etc.

 

[drbrock]

Charleston is a great place for couples. Lots to do & great food, history, etc.

Charleston is a great place. I like Savannah, GA more but every woman that I have taken Charleston to has loved it way more than Savannah. I usually make it a combo trip. Can't go wrong in SC.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Forget about anything in Texas between May and October, unless you like humidity and stifling heat.

 

[rednas]

NO is full of piss and bums

since there are no bums in Austin nor Portland. Nor any other large city for that matter......

 

[nageov3t]

since there are no bums in Austin nor Portland. Nor any other large city for that matter......

funny enough, the bums in Portland are what got my dad to quit smoking in the late 80's.

he was tired of being accosted any time he stepped outside of his office building, so he quit smoking at work (which led to him quitting cigarettes altogether)

 

[CountZero]

I wasn't aware Austin got humid. I guess I shoulda looked that up. Was thinking dry heat.. lolme

It gets humid relative to say Phoenix but it is nowhere near as humid as NO.

Austin will likely have a higher temperature but lower humidity.

I'd do Portland but to play devil's advocate experiencing the oven like heat of Texas or the joy that is 90+ temp with 90+ humidity is certainly a unique experience that will make you appreciate the nice weather we get in the bay area if you don't already.

 

[rednas]

It gets humid relative to say Phoenix but it is nowhere near as humid as NO.

Austin will likely have a higher temperature but lower humidity.

I'd do Portland but to play devil's advocate experiencing the oven like heat of Texas or the joy that is 90+ temp with 90+ humidity is certainly a unique experience that will make you appreciate the nice weather we get in the bay area if you don't already.

it does not get 90 degrees and 90% humidity anywhere in the US.

 

[rednas]

it does not get 90 degrees and 90% humidity anywhere in the US.

except for the miami area.

 

[TuxDave]

except for the miami area.

Or generally the East/Southeast Coast during Summer. Even NJ/NY have hit 90+ degrees, 100% humidity.

 

[CountZero]

it does not get 90 degrees and 90% humidity anywhere in the US.

I lived in NO for ~5 years, it gets that high and worse during the summer. End of September might be better but not by much.

 

[Leyawiin]

Summertime? Portland, no question. The weather will be much, much more comfortable and Oregon is hella prettier than TX or LA.

 

[dainthomas]

Of those three, I'd recommend Portland based solely on planning the trip for the summer when Portland is nice, Austin is hot and New Orleans is humid. Austin and New Orleans have their charms, but delightful summer weather is not among them.

Summer in Portland is about as perfect weather as you can ask for anywhere. 70's-80's, no humidity, and sunny. And even on the odd day it gets hot, it's still down in the low 60's at night.