I started off the day by going on the Harbor Lights & Sights Cruise and the Peek at Portland tour with Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours. Both tours were excellent! The first tour was a cruise through the Portland harbor and surrounding islands. It took about 90 minutes and our tour guide was informative and funny.
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| Lobstermen checking their traps |
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| Portland Head Lighthouse (the most famous lighthouse in the USA) |
The second tour was on a trolley and lasted 60 minutes. Our guide was fantastic and it was a great way to see a lot of the city. If you are visiting Portland, Maine, I highly recommend going on both of these tours.
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| Our tour guide was also our trolley driver. |
I originally scheduled to go on the tours in the afternoon. However, the tour company called me to reschedule the tours for the morning due to potential inclement weather that would not be conducive for the boat tour. I'm so glad they called to reschedule! They were right about the weather and I would have been disappointed if I had missed the boat tour.
A few tips for going on the tours:
- Book your tickets in advance. The tours sell out quickly if you wait to purchase tickets the day of at the ticket counter.
- At the time of this posting, tickets must be picked up from the box office, even if you book your tickets in advance. However, there are two box offices for this company at the harbor. The main box office is on the corner of Moulton and Commercial Streets. It was crowded with an extremely long line. However, if you walk down the block to the corner of Dana and Commercial Streets, there is another box office that had a much shorter line.
- Have an A, B, and C parking plans. As I mention in this post, parking in Portland is expensive! If your lodgings are located downtown, your best option is to walk to the wharf. If your lodgings are not within walking distance, I highly recommend taking an Uber.
- Boarding the boat begins approximately 30 minutes prior to when the cruise leaves the dock, but the line to get on the boat forms earlier. The earlier you get in line the more likely you are to get a prime seat (aka on the top open deck). Although, if you are traveling solo, like yours truly, you will likely be able to grab a single seat on the top deck (I didn't arrive early and I got a seat on the top deck).
- Bonus tip: if you sit on the back row on the top deck you will have an unobstructed view behind the boat!
- Dress warmly. It will be at least 10 degrees cooler on the water than it is on land. If it is an overcast and windy day, like it was for my tour, then it will be 15-20 degrees cooler. I forgot to pack a sweatshirt so I bought a tacky tourist hoodie the day before my tour and I am so glad that I did! I would have either frozen or been forced to go inside the enclosed portion of the ship without that extra layer.
After the trolley tour, I had mind-blowing pizza at Otto's and then I visited the Portland Museum of Art. The PMA has an impressive collection spread across four floors. It also has a historic home attached to the museum. The home contains restored wallpaper and carpets but no historic furniture. Instead, it has art from the museum's permanent collection installed throughout the space. I spent approximately 2-3 hours exploring the museum.
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| Thomas Moran, The Lotus Eaters, 1895 |
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| attributed to Max Liebermann, In the Tiergarten, ca. 1920 |
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| Detail |
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| John Singer Sargent, Ellen Sears Amory Anderson Curtis, 1903 |
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| Camille Pissarro, Gray Morning, with Figures, Eragny, 1899 |
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| N.C. Wyeth, Dark Harbor Fishermen, 1943 |
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| Henri Manguin, Decorative Fruit, 1919 |
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| Franklin B. Simmons, Ulysses S. Grant, 1894 |
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| Their temporary gallery was being rotated when I visited. The public can view it from the floor above. |
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| Floating staircase! |
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