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AFTER DARK
Maine’s largest metro area offers many
exciting activities to get the party started—
or keep one going. Fine dining amid the
region’s celebrated culinary scene is a great
way to begin any evening, especially during
Maine Restaurant Week in March. Then
move on to a variety of venues, from small
performing arts spaces to venerable concert
halls to theaters offering arts experiences
spanning the traditional to the avant-
garde. Those craving a specialty cocktail, a
pounding night on the dance floor, or quiet,
romantic banter can choose from dozens of
area nightclubs, bars, and music halls. An
overnight stay in downtown Portland will
position you for a quick and safe walk home
when it’s time for lights out.
(More on pages 35-40, 42-48)
HISTORY LIVES
Portland has kept its working waterfront,
one of the oldest established seaports in the
nation, a functioning port that welcomes
visitors to witness one of the integral and
thriving parts of the local economy. Five
centuries of historical impact have shaped
the city and surrounding towns into a
vibrant destination with deep-planted
roots, from the Colonial-era through the
wealth and opulence of the Industrial Age.
Museum homes and maritime museums
chronicle the emergence of the region from
a trading and fishing settlement into one of
the nation’s most active seaports. Yet
Portland, with a consistent attention to
landmark preservation, has kept a down-to-
earth charm and wears its history openly.
(More on pages 22-23, 26-27, 41)
ARTS ABOUND
Creativity in Greater Portland is bolstered
by a thriving artistic economy and active
patrons-of-the-arts, supporting Broadway-
level theatre, two ballet companies, Opera
Maine, Portland Symphony Orchestra, a
Bach Festival, and dozens of acting and
performing arts companies—even the
aerial-silk elegance of Circus Maine’s
acrobatics. Fine arts also dominate the land-
scape. Portland’s Arts District is bookended
by the popular One Longfellow Square
performance space in the West End, and
the venerable Portland Museum of Art in
Congress Square. Dozens of galleries and
studios fill out the robust Arts District and
open their doors in a festive celebration of
the arts the first Friday of every month.
(More on pages 18-20, 26-27)
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