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Originally published November 27, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified November 27, 2008 at 8:15 AM

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A classic holiday escape: Portland

Portland has tax-free shopping and lots more to draw Seattle visitors at the holidays.

Get ski and boarding conditions all winter long with webcams, snow alerts and more at seattletimes.com/snowsports

Portland's tax-free shopping is just one of its lures. From the giant 75-foot Christmas tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square to the Christmas Ships that put razzle dazzle on the rivers, you can't miss: If you're a Puget Sounder looking for North Pole fun, head south.

Shopping tips

Portland Saturday Market has more artists and craftsmen than Pike Place, and it's under a bridge to get you out of the weather. Look for amazing duct-tape wallets from 8 Sticky Fingers ($20), Love-Lite's exotic tie-dyed underwear ($7 and up) and shirts decorated with natural alder-bark dye from Oregon Nature Works ($35-$40). Food and music, too. Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 24, under the west end of the Burnside Bridge. See www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com.

Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside, is the place to look for obscure tomes you can't find anyplace else — or just to pick up a $3.95 used copy of a Tony Hillerman mystery you never got around to. See www.powells.com.

• If Finnegan's isn't already your favorite Northwest toy store, give it a try, whether you need a windup hopping sushi (for about a buck), or a really obscure Lego set. 922 S.W. Yamhill. See www.finneganstoys.com.

Cozying up

• For $99, the old-world-charming Mark Spencer Hotel, 409 S.W. 11th Ave., gives you a studio with kitchen, free breakfast and afternoon tea and cookies. A block from Powell's; www.markspencer.com or 800-548-3934.

• More at home with the Jetsons than Jane Austen? Try the quirky-modern Inn at Northrup Station, 2025 N.W. Northrup St. King suite $119, with kitchen. Streetcar stop outside; www.northrupstation.com or 800-224-1180.

• Or indulge at one of Portland's finest: The Heathman Hotel, 1001 S.W. Broadway, puts you in the center of things for $159 for a Saturday in December. http://portland.heathmanhotel.com or 800-551-0011.

Ho, ho, ho time

Ride a decorated steam train during the Oregon Zoo's ZooLights festival (see today's cover photo); $7-$10, www.oregonzoo.org. And tour one of Portland's most highfalutin homes, the historic Pittock Mansion, decorated in a "Night Before Christmas" theme through Dec. 31 (3229 N.W. Pittock Drive, $4-$7). www.pittockmansion.org or 503-823-3623.

Budget bliss

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• It doesn't cost a dime to watch from shore during one of the many holiday-night parades of Portland's all-volunteer Christmas Ships, up to 60 boats lit up far flashier than what you'd normally see on Seattle's tour. These people obsess (in a good way). See www.christmasships.org for where and when.

• Find lodging savings through the Portland Big Deal, which offers free parking (often a $20+ value) and breakfast at many downtown hotels. For cheap and easy travel, go Monday through Thursday and get half-off a second adult fare on Amtrak from Seattle to Portland (using promotion code H779). Details: www.travelportland.com/deals.

More info: www.travelportland.com or 800-962-3700.

— Brian J. Cantwell

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

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