Portland, Maine, doesn’t try to compete with major metros on scale. It doesn’t have to. This city by the sea is a meeting planner’s dream destination that takes experience-based meetings to the next level.
Meeting planners who want to turn meetings into experiences choose Portland for its location and unique venues. Thompson’s Point is a hub for meetings and events, offering many indoor and outdoor spaces that accommodate 50 to 6,000 guests. Impress your attendees at Ocean Gateway, a glass-enclosed venue designed to resemble the prow of a ship located on Portland’s historic waterfront. For incentive trips, product releases, and team-building trips, private charters from Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours and James Beard Award-winning Allagash Brewing Co. provide inspiring backdrops for memorable presentations.
With more than 300 restaurants citywide and James Beard Award winners and nominees downtown, Portland lets planners host everything from casual group dinners to intimate client-focused parties. Waterfront dining is at its best at Luke’s Lobster Portland Pier, where attendees might enjoy one of Portland’s best lobster rolls, or family-owned DiMillo’s On the Water, Maine’s only floating restaurant. You can buy out restaurants like the chef-driven Twelve to host exclusive private events. What’s more, the Old Port district’s walkability makes client-prospecting happy hours and pre- or postmeeting get-togethers easy to organize without the added expense of transportation.
And a meeting in Portland is not complete without a bit of shopping for mementos to commemorate the experience. Attendees can shop sustainably at Sea Bags, which makes handmade totes, handbags, apparel, and more, out of recycled sails. The Blue Lobster gift shop on Commercial Street is positively packed with souvenirs. New England’s premier fish market, Harbor Fish Market, is steps from Old Port and features a 50-foot seafood display and surging saltwater tanks housing Maine lobsters—they offer packed-to-travel options and online ordering.
Portland also is easy to get to, with Portland International Jetport conveniently located just 3 miles from downtown Portland. And when it comes to planning your meeting or event, the Visit Portland team is your central point of contact, streamlining the entire process from initial site visit to venue coordination and more.
Plan your meeting where New England hospitality meets coastal flair—Portland, Maine, is ready to welcome you.
