My perspective on Portland is up in the air.

Temporarily. Three minutes and 10 seconds, to be exact, the time it takes to ride the city’s new US$ 57 million aerial tram (www.portlandtram.org) from the Willamette River waterfront to its upper perch at Oregon Health & Science University. The ride affords the best view of the city and its Cascade volcano bookends, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens, as well as the Columbia River in the distance, but it’s notable also as the newest link in one of the best small-city transit systems in the United States.

That’s what makes Portland, Oregon’s largest city (population: 563,000), such a marvelous West Coast weekend destination. You don’t need a car; you don’t need taxi fare; you don’t need hiking boots. All you need is to land at the airport (PDX), walk 50 paces west of the baggage claim and buy yourself an all-zone TriMet pass (US$ 19.50 for seven days; www.trimet.org), which will get you everywhere in the city worth seeing.

And there’s a lot worth seeing and doing — spectacular gardens, nifty museums, splendid restaurants and some of the best bookstores on the continent. I’m not much of one for shopping, but aside from the marvels at Powell’s Books — a local chain of bookstores claiming to be the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world — Portland offers one more inarguable retail inducement: Oregon has no sales tax, so most of us start shopping with a 10 percent discount.

Powell’s Books was the first major store to shelve used and new books side by side, a practice it follows today with its 1 million titles.

Friday

Take MAX, the city’s tidy and efficient light rail, from the airport to downtown, where you can transfer to a streetcar to reach your hotel. I recommend one of three very different lodgings: RiverPlace Hotel (www.riverplacehotel.com), at the south end of the waterfront, is an upscale modern property with lodge-style decor and luxurious rooms; the Hotel Monaco (www.monaco-portland.com), in the center of downtown, is a whimsically decorated historic property operated by the peerless Kimpton chain; the colorful and artsy Inn at Northrup Station (www.northrupstation.com) is a former motel rendered into distinctive suites in the heart of the city’s dining district.

After you’ve checked in, the first order of business is a weather inspection: Find the nearest high spot and look east and north. Can you see Mount Hood’s landmark snow cone (11,249 feet; 3,429 m) about 50 miles (80 km) to the east? If so, hop on a streetcar and take it all the way south to the aerial tram base.

It’s virtually the same as a gondola. When you ride it, you’re up in thin air, looking out over the city and surroundings, as if in a small helicopter. Magnificent vistas are available throughout the entire ride. If the weather is dreary, save the tram for a clear moment sometime during your trip.

Let’s presume the weather’s gnarly. That’s your cue to hop the streetcar to Powell’s Books (www.powells.com), the sprawling independent megastore at the edge of the Pearl District. Housed in a former car dealership warehouse, Powell’s has been declared best in the world by no less a critic than Susan Sontag, and is so large that you need a map to navigate its expanse.

This was the first major store to shelve used and new books side by side, a practice it follows today with its 1 million titles. One could spend days here; if needed for survival, good food can be had in the airy cafe. The opening of Powell’s in 1971 led the revival of the Pearl, a former warehouse district now transformed into a thriving neighborhood of condos, shops and cafes.

I’d suggest lunch a block away at Fuller’s Coffee Shop (136 NW 9th Ave.), a Portland institution where the best corned-beef sandwich in Oregon, inscrutably called a Sloppy Joe, is just US$ 5.75.

Back to Powell’s for hours more? It’s like the Louvre, impossible to encompass in its entirety. Once you get bored with books, hop back on the streetcar up to Nob Hill to stroll the shops and cafes for which it’s famous, making sure not to miss Moonstruck Chocolate (www.moonstruckchocolate.com), where chocolates are hand-dipped miniature works of art, and the incomparable, utterly unique 3 Monkeys (803 NW 23rd Ave.) oddments and clothing store. Where else can you choose from a wide array of upraised-hand table sculptures?

My favorite dinner stop on Nob Hill is Serratto (www.serratto.com), a delightful Mediterranean bistro in an old storefront with massive old-growth Douglas fir beams. The food isn’t fancy — just the best calamari, spinach ravioli, braised lamb shanks and pan-seared fish in town. Luckily, all you have to do to get back to your room is walk three blocks to the streetcar stop.