Seagulls scream, the smell of beer and fish fry flows through the streets like the fog off Casco Bay, and everywhere the salt wind licks your skin. Maine's largest city has capitalized on the gifts of its port history – the redbrick warehouse buildings, the narrow cobblestone streets – to become one of the hippest, most vibrant small cities in the Americas. You'll find excellent museums and galleries, abundant green space, and both a food culture and a brewing scene worthy of a town many times its size.

Set on a peninsula, Portland's always been a city of the sea. Today, the Old Port district is the town's historic heart, with handsomely restored brick buildings filled with cafes, shops and bars. There are more hipsters than fishmongers living here these days, but there's also genuine ethnic diversity – Portland boasts a large African population – generally lacking in the rest of Maine.

Portland is a city in the U.S. state of Maine, set on a peninsula extending into Casco Bay. The Old Port waterfront features working fishing wharves and converted warehouses with restaurants and shops. Nearby, the Western Promenade is a public park atop a bluff, offering river and mountain views. Its surrounding district, the West End, is full of Victorian-era homes, including the Victoria Mansion museum.