Located just east of Old Town, across the Willamette River, is the Lloyd District. Named for Lloyd Center, the venerable shopping mall that lies at its center, Lloyd District is increasingly an extension of downtown, with towering office buildings, major public buildings, sports stadia, convention facilities, and a number of mid-range hotels. All of these destinations are easily reached by the Red and Blue MAX light rail lines, which offer free transport as far east as Lloyd Center.

Most public transportation heading into North and Northeast Portland crosses the Willamette River on the Steel Bridge, with the first eastside stop the Rose Quarter Transit Center.

Eastbank Esplanade

Immediately south of the bridge is the beginning (or end) of the Eastbank Esplanade, a 1.5-mile bike path and walkway along the Willamette’s eastern bank. Part of the path is a floating walkway, and part is on terra firma; cycling or walking the path is an invigorating outing and offers a rare chance to view downtown from the Willamette’s eastern bank.

At 1,200 feet the floating walkway is the longest of its kind in the United States, and it offers the sensation of walking on water. The adjoining 120-foot public boat dock provides moorage for recreational boaters as well as space for a future river-taxi system.

The esplanade ends at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), although the paved trail continues, eventually joining the rails-to-trails Springwater Corridor, which runs all the way to Boring (21 miles to the east).

Portland Rose Garden Arena

Immediately north of the Steel Bridge, the Portland Rose Garden Arena is home to the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trailblazers, while the adjacent Memorial Coliseum hosts the Portland Winter Hawks ice hockey franchise and other sporting and cultural events. Both stadia are also used for major concerts; both Luciano Pavarotti and the Rolling Stones have played the Rose Garden Arena.

Oregon Convention Center

Just to the south, across the MAX lines, the monumental Oregon Convention Center is easy to spot with its twin glass steeples. Encompassing nearly 20 square blocks, this massive structure is the largest convention facility in the Pacific Northwest.

Lloyd Center

Nine blocks further east, through a forest of modern office blocks, is Lloyd Center, Portland’s—and the nation’s—first shopping center. Built in 1960, Lloyd Center is still one of the city’s top shopping areas and the largest shopping center in the state. Centered on an Olympic-size covered ice rink (Tonya Harding once trained here), Lloyd Center boasts more than 200 retail outlets, a food court, and two multiplex cinemas.

NE Broadway

On the north edge of Lloyd District is NE Broadway, a major arterial linking the northeast residential neighborhoods with downtown Portland via the Broadway Bridge (take TriMet bus number 9 from downtown). Between NE 8th and NE 28th Avenues, NE Broadway offers a wide variety of casual and ethnic dining options. The historic Irvington neighborhood north of Broadway, studded with lovely vintage homes, offers a number of fine bed-and-breakfast inns.