Conference Venue

The conference will be held at the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, USA

Address:
The Benson Hotel,
309 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205, United States

Homepage:
https://www.bensonhotel.com/

Additional information about the accommodation will be provided in the second half of April.

About Portland

Getting around Portland and practicalities

The main downtown area of Portland is quite compact; you can walk to most places of interest from the conference venue. The city is divided into West and East sides by the Willamette river (pronounced with the stress on the "am"). The conference is in the main downtown area on the West side. The main North-South streets in Portland are numbered avenues, except for Broadway (which would be 7th Avenue) and Park (which would be 9th Avenue). The East-West streets are usually named. In the South-West quadrant of the city near the Benson, these have no particular pattern, but in the North-West quadrant the names are alphabetized (Broadway, Couch, Davis, Everett, ...). You can find a good map of the downtown area here, and another good one here.

Portland is also well-served by public transport including the MAX light rail, city street car and numerous bus lines. These all belong to a common organization called Tri-Met, so all tickets work for multiple forms of public transport if you need to change during your trip. If you are spending much time traveling in a given day, you may want to consider buying an all-day pass. Travel in the main downtown area near the Benson belongs to a `fareless square' where all public transport is free.

Shops in downtown Portland

The downtown area has numerous shops, restaurants and cafes in walking distance. For example, the Pioneer Place shopping mall, located on the two blocks framed by 3rd and 5th Avenues and by Morrison and Yamhill streets (these streets also have the two MAX lines), contains many specialist retailers, an underground food court, and a cinema. If you need a pharmacy, the closest is probably Rite Aid at 622 SW Alder Street, just a few blocks away from the Benson. There are numerous small convenience stores scattered around the general area, but to get to a larger grocery store you will need to walk 10 minutes or so. The three closest are probably the following:

Bibliophiles will probably want to visit Powell's Books, arguably the best bookshop in the English-speaking world. Their large main store is at 1005 W Burnside Street, a few blocks North-West of the Benson. However, for their scientific, technical and mathematical books, you will want Powell's Technical a few blocks away on 33 NW Park Avenue. There are several popular shopping districts, including:

Some attractions in Portland

A few restaurants

There are far too many good restaurants to list here. For more comprehensive information see, for example, the Best 50 Restaurants list published by the Willamette Week. But here is a biased selection of a few that some of the organizers happen to know and like:

Further afield

If you're willing to drive 20-100 miles, there are many other interesting attractions. Here are a few: