Tour was ok, but a little boring for the kids - lots of "dad, can we please get off soon?"…read more We booked for an easy tour, but in retrospect would definitely go with a smaller boat and more unique tour. Would probably be 2-3 stars, but bumped further down to 1 for the very rude tour guide.

Fun time!! Our 1st time in Portland and we decided to take a tour of the city and harbor. If you've…read moreever done the Duck tours in Boston then you know you're in for a treat with Quack N cruise.

One time at the US Custom House I drank pickle juice in what was Joshua Chamberlain's old office…read morewith two of my best friends. The only thing that was missing with Angus King. To be honest, if he had been there I probably would have died of sheer happiness. It would have been horrible to pass away so young, but with that much epic Maine-ness happening all at once, it would have come as no surprise to my friends and family. The United States Custom House here in Portland was built with fire proof granite from New Hampshire between 1868 and 1872. When you first enter, there is a grandiose hall with a checkerboard floor, walnut counters on either side of the room, and an iron-railed balcony encircling the room. From what I know, at the heart of its purpose, it was where merchants used to come to pay their tariffs on imports/exports. Now, here are things I'll probably get in trouble for telling you: 1. This place might actually be a front for Gringotts Wizarding Bank 2. I may or may not have accidentally been locked in the basement after the alarm was tripped and the police showed up (it's much more fun to not know the context of which this story comes from, so I'll leave it at that) 3. I was told there used to be a moat and a dungeon here. I'm not THAT gullible, but... a girl needs something to believe in, y'know? So, I'm going to continue to think this is true regardless if hard evidence is shown to me and proves otherwise. 4. When the zombie apocalypse happens, this is on my list of places in town to possibly secure and make a fortress out of In reality, I've been here multiple times throughout the years for galas and auctions, cocktail tastings, historical tours, and more (KUDOS to the The Greater Portland Landmarks for doing such an unbelievable job at the preservation of this spot which was added to the National Register of Historical Sites [as of 1973]). This place, to me, feels like a living, breathing relic from the days of Portland's yesteryear. The view of our little seaport town from the cupola of the building is also breathtaking. If you love history and ever have the chance to tour the Custom House... do it. Without hesitation, do it. It's one of those spots that will stay with you forever.

I'm a little bit of a history geek, what can I say? I was the kid that relished the opportunity to…read moretalk to my grandparents about their lives growing up, what our community used to be like and look like, what their parents experienced. Finding old photos of towns and cities that I'm familiar with now are unbelievably fascinating, and preserving that which was is something near and dear to my heart. Which is why I'm a little in love with the The Greater Portland Landmarks, the safeguards of Portland's history via buildings, neighborhoods, and outdoor spaces. Through education and advocacy these great stewards of urban conservancy have helped to maintain some amazing spots throughout the city of Resurgam, while thoughtfully bridging the gap from the character of the city that was to the character that the city's beginning to have. I've had the opportunity to explore some of their catalog of public offerings, including Portland Observatory tours (https://www.yelp.com/biz/portland-observatory-portland), Custom House tours (https://www.yelp.com/biz/united-states-custom-house-portland), and a tour of the Homes of Portland's Golden Age (where we walked around the Spring Street Historic District [which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in '71] and viewed an array of impressive architectural styles throughout the past couple centuries. That's just some of their ongoing events; they also host a lot of other awesome shindigs (like an annual decade-specific themed gala at a large mansion in Portland). The folks who work at GPL are dedicated, passionate, and well-versed in all things Portland. I care deeply about the past, present, and future of this great city, and I feel rest assured that there are others that do so as well!

Take their tours, donate, support this worthy and well-run cause…read more... In August, I was visiting Portland to eat and relax and look at the water. When my companion suggested (ah-hem, insisted) that we take the Greater Portland Landmarks walking architectural tour, I agreed but had no idea what I was getting into. Like, what? The headquarters or main building is on Spring Street behind the MFA, where I'd been several times already. It's a straight ten-minute walk from the Old Port area, so pretty easy to access. When we got there, we were greeted warmly by the staff and invited inside to wait for the tourists to gather. They allow (and encourage? insist upon?) on-line reservations, which we had. We pad electronically with credit cards using their portable chip reader. It was good to see historic preservation embracing technology. Ten bucks each, totally worth it. Our group of about ten tourists was led by two men, both school teachers, who tag-teamed the direction of the group and the speaking. They were warm and funny and kind and helpful and full of information. When one of them knew that the other was the expert, he'd say, And now XXXX is going to talk about the roofline of Federalist style buildings. Or some such. And the information is transferrable. I was recently in downtown Philadelphia where I was able to identify architectural styles that I learned about in Portland. The walk isn't that long distance-wise because they essentially keep close to the neighborhood around their building but it is strenuous and takes a while because they cover so much, including the Victoria House (from the outside). They encouraged questions and engagements and were helpful and attentive to those with limitations (slow walkers, the deaf, etc). At one point, we Zillowed the price of a house that was on the tour, which connected past and present. The guides even got us an inside tour of the private Cumberland Club. I would do it again. I would do their other tours (including of the Observatory on Munjoy Hill). If I lived in Portland....

Lovely visit to the Portland Observatory…read more We had intended on a self-tour but were told that self tours would start at 4:30pm...and that before that time, you would have to take a toured guide up the tower. As there was a scheduled guide about to start soon...we opted to take the guided tour. At that time (mid-week in late August around 12pm) there were only four of us on that tour. Our tour guide, an older woman, was wonderful. As we ascended the tower during the 45-minute tour, we stopped off at each floor and she explained a bit about the tower and its history. Lots of interesting facts! We made it to the top to take in some amazing views of the area. Tours are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6-16 and free for those 5 and under. The stairs (there are about 100) throughout the tower are spiral-ish...so be careful of your foot placement on the narrowed parts of each step while ascending and descending. Street parking signs can be a bit tricky in the area reading "...no parking on the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th ___day of the month..." Be sure to properly read those signs and park accordingly.

My plans only have me in town for two days, so I asked my local coworker one sight I had to see…read morewith a short time frame, and was sent here. Just a fun little local tip. The history itself is cool enough: this was a lookout for ships coming into the harbor before radio, and is the oldest currently standing in the USA. But I really appreciated the elevation for getting a good look of the downtown and harbor area, walking around the tower in the breeze and seeing the ocean peaking through the islands in the harbor. Worth the $10 to the top. (Note: the stairs are steep and there's no room inside for an elevator. We're talking large curving internal staircases. Maybe not for those with mobility issues.)

This was a super interesting Locally owned tour of Portland . We visited some beautiful historic…read morelight houses and toured the downtown areas. The driver (and owner) had lots of local interesting information to share and he was enthusiastic and really made the tour fun for our group. Actually was one of the best local tours I have ever been on. Highly recommended when visiting Portland for the first time.

loved this tour! great commentary and good jokes! Very interesting and well done. I would…read moredefinitely recommend this trip!

Highly recommended tour in Portland, Maine. Gordon was our…read morevisual storyteller and he captured the attention of my whole family,most notably my skeptical 14 year old son who wanted follow up details to go ghost hunting while we are here. This tour combines ghost stories, local history, comedy, and some pretty fantastic storytelling while getting a nice walk in the evening in. Loved it!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Portland, Maine. Aside from some amazing lobstah…read morerolls, what else might you expect out of a historic, coastal New England town? You guessed it.....ghosts. Maine has always fascinated me, ever since I read "Pet Sematary" when I was about 12 years old. In fact, the 1989 version of the movie was just on television. Perhaps no one tackled the Maine accent as well as Fred Gwynn. Ayuh, he nailed his role as the old, weathered, local Maine neighbor, Jud Crandall. (John Lithgow provided a completely different interpretation of Jud in the 2019 version.) It's only appropriate that King, who grew up in Portland, based so many of his novels in the state of Maine. This place is saturated with ghosts, savory characters, and somewhat of a dark history. Last week on my layover I took a Wicked Walking Tour with Gordon, who was absolutely fantastic. Knowledgeable and funny, his theatrical, yet historic tour was well worth my time. Gordon made the tour interactive and got to know each of us on the tour. There was another Lori (spelled differently though), another couple from Cleveland, and some newlyweds amongst our group. We started by learning about some history of the city. Portland buried their dead 18 feet under. Gordon informed us this was to keep the vampires in and the grave robbers out. The Portland Waterfront and the many islands of Casco Bay have stories of pirates, witches, ghosts, fires, and abandoned ships that we learned of throughout the tour. In this particular part of the waterfront a mysterious woman clad in black wanders the dock area, stumbling over lobster traps in search of her sailor. Aside from an occasional wharf rat, there is not much trace of life down here at night. A building that I noticed while walking around the town was the Time and Temperature Building, a building with....you guessed it: the time and temperature displayed on the outside. Gordon talked about this building on our tour. The place is allegedly haunted by a female ghost with fire-engine red hair, who enjoys riding the elevators and who will often play on them, randomly sending them to different floors. Some workers in the building have claimed to have seen an unknown female walking through their offices, and when they follow her or try speaking to her, she vanishes around a corner. Electricians insist that there is nothing wrong with the wiring of the elevators. No one is certain of the back-story here, nor why she does this. Before running through a dark and sinister alley, Gordon pointed out an other creepy building. I don't remember the details, but I remember something about a woman seeing a mermaid, attached to the front of a ship outside her third story window. Apparently the water level used to reach this part of the town and there have been phantom ships, still weathering the storms, to this day. Check out Gordan's tour......I really enjoyed it. His stories are interesting and engaging. Maine is awesome. And the people here are wicked smaht.....

Dugan is an expert tour guide and passionate about history! He provided a superb and detailed…read morehistory of African Americans in Portland, ME from the colonial era to the current day. We loved the amazing story of Susan Rice and her mother (Lois Rice) who each had a tremendous impact on education and public policy. Our family enjoyed learning about the many changes in downtown Portland from the 1700s to the 1950s and hearing the stories of remarkable leaders in the community over generations. We appreciated the enthusiasm and concern of Dugan to make sure the entire group was OK during the walk on a hot summer day (the shaded "rest breaks" were a plus). Also, he was open to questions and made everyone feel welcome. Overall, I would strongly recommend any of the walking tours! You are bound to discover something new.

Dugan was a very cheerful and knowledgeable tour guide. He began his walking tour promptly. Hubs…read moreand I enjoyed hearing about all the nuggets of history in Portland. I heartily recommend his tour for a pleasant two hours of familiarizing oneself with the Old Port surroundings.

Congress Squark Park, an open and public concrete space - and home to Union Station Clock -, was…read morecreated through an urban renewal project in the early 80's. Thankfully, the NPO Friends of Congress Square Park have done a lot over the years to protect it from outside buyers, preserve it, and breathe new life into it. This once deteriorated space has become a hub for arts, entertainment, and community togetherness. Over the course of the past many years I have... - Been entertained by the Circus Conservatory of America - Listened to the Maine Marimba Ensemble perform - Watched fire jugglers - Looked at art - Played an impromptu game of kickball ... in the park. And that was before all of the great things that are now intentionally planned for the space! Now, there's... - copious amounts of lovely seating - food trucks - even more musical and theater performances - outdoor movies - dance lessons - group knitting sessions - yoga and tai chi - kid-friendly activities ... all in the park. So impressed and grateful towards the Friends of Congress Square Park for what they've done. Bravo, folks! Thank you!

Adorable little park with incredible public space offerings & events throughout the year.read more