OK. Portland. I think I have a pretty fair angle on this city, because I am not from here. I am from New York and therefore a visitor. I have been spending every summer here for a few years to shoot the show Portlandia. I started visiting Portland around 10 years ago to see my friend Carrie [musician and actress Carrie Brownstein, who also stars in Portlandia], and fell in love with the city immediately.

Once you are in Oregon, you are in the Pacific Northwest. The way I can tell that I am truly in this part of the country is seeing signs at service stations that say "espresso" in bold, black letters. Coffee is a priority here, as it should be everywhere. Even if I've had enough coffee, I like to get a little more – as a message to the service station owners: please always have espresso.

In Oregon, the forests and trees are particularly thick. It's a little intimidating – like, nature wins. The sky is usually cloudy, and I like cloudy. Colours just look better then, as opposed to when the sun is in your eyes, and you have to wear sunglasses. Portland is just south of the Washington state border. There's that feeling when you know you're in a major city – where you start seeing suburban traffic and public transport (in this case, Max light rail trains).

Put a bird on it … Portlandia stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein deliver their unique design aesthetic. Photograph: IFC Films/Everett/Rex

When I first saw Portland it looked like a city that wasn't trying hard to impress. And that is such an attractive trait. Portland looks dark green and light grey, but also with a golden hue, like the sun only appears in reflections off windows in the skyline. The tallest buildings look like they are about half the size of what is considered a skyscraper, but it still looks like a proper city. It really is immediately beautiful. The Willamette river runs through it, with numerous well-designed bridges linking downtown to the east side. Each bridge looks different from the next, as if through its history, planners took care in creating an aesthetically pleasing environment for Portlanders. I picture them as early versions of Jonathan Ive, the British designer at Apple.

Behind the skyline are what people here call the West Hills (they're actually the Tualatin mountains). They give the city a nice, wooden frame.

Portland is not the kind of place where I would want to make a list of landmarks and attractions to see. It's not like that. The best way to get a sense of it is to spend a good amount of time here, and walk around, maybe even a little aimlessly. I like finding good restaurants here by mistake. Record stores, too.

Drop your stuff at whatever hotel you are staying at (I like the Ace, and the Deluxe , but there are good ones all over), and just start walking.

The first place to wander through is the Pearl district. It's clean and pedestrian-friendly, with many little light rail trains that make you feel like you're in another country. There's a soccer stadium where the Portland Timbers play. I went to a game there recently. It was packed and the fans were going insane. It was fun and unlike any other sporting event.

Portland's Pearl district. A must-visit to get a feel for the city. Photograph: Alamy

Also in the Pearl district is Powell's City of Books. You can spend days in there. To me it feels like the very centre of Portland. Burnside is like the main drag of Portland, and Powell's is a very big, multifloored building between Southwest 10th and 11th Avenues. There are floors and floors of books, and the sections are colour-coded in a way that a person who isn't good at finding books (me) can navigate pretty easily.

Most importantly, they have information booths throughout the bookstore, with friendly helpful information-booth people. I don't know what else to call them. Helpers? Whatever they are called, they seem happy to be here. They are symbolic, I think, of Portland. Friendly and smart. They should have a statue of them at the airport.

Powell's is the best bookstore I have ever been to. There are new sections that have everything. And the used sections are incredibly well-stocked and clean. You know how some used bookstores seem dusty? This is not like that. And there are plenty of tills. That's what makes this place so great. Quick and easy to get your books and make an exit. Powell's is actually better than I am describing it.

Powell's City of Books, Portland. Photograph: Geoff Moore/Rex Features

Mississippi Avenue is another great area with lots of cute shops. You can say that about any part of Portland really. Let's just assume that if I mention an area, there are lots of cute little shops there. By cute I mean with well-made wooden items on display. Or wool. Wood and wool. All the "woo" words. My favourite shop is a place called Paxton Gate . It's mostly decorative items, but somewhat dark and museum-like, with a lot of art and things like framed spiders and bats. We filmed a scene for Portlandia there with Jeff Goldblum, called The Knot Store.

A good place to catch live music is Mississippi Studios. There's a law that all bars have to serve food. I love that law. Made for me. I always want to eat when I'm at a bar. This area is kind of picturesque and quiet.

At the corner of Southeast Yamhill and Southeast 33rd Avenue is the most Portland-y spot in the city. There is an artwork painted on the actual road. It's like a sun or something. It's too big for me to remember exactly what it is. It just looks cool and feels cool. I feel the most like I am in Portland when I stand in this spot. You'll see what I mean. It's residential, but there's something about it that makes me feel very much at peace. Not like nature-guy peace. I hate that. I mean like "Hey, I am going to stand here for a few minutes and not think." It's quiet but you can still hear some cars go by a street over on Belmont. It feels European but still American. I stand by that description. The one other thing about it that makes it so ultimately Portland is that there seems to be green all around. I don't know if it's that they haven't trimmed any of the trees or what, but there is just green everywhere.

Hawthorne Boulevard is busier, but still nice. There's a Jackpot Records store here . It has knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff, and if they don't have what you're looking for, they will happily order it. I ordered a re-issued LP of Paul McCartney's Ram, and it arrived very quickly. It's great, but all the record stores in Portland are great. There are so many. It's amazing to me that record stores can exist so comfortably in this city. The same can be said for bookstores and hi-fi stores. Seriously! I've never seen so many high-end hi-fi shops in one place.

Portland cuisine has a personality all its own. In my mind it is: lots of cooked greens, very meat- and fish-based, rich, usually with some rice or quinoa as the starchy part and – this seems very Portland to me – with a poached egg on top. They seem to put an egg on almost everything, making it very YUMMY.

There are some pretty great food carts/vans all around Portland, sometimes clumped in groups in a designated area, and sometimes just alone, as if the cart has a little humble smile on the front, saying: "Hi! I'm just here if you want something." I forget most of the names. I seriously think they don't even register. You just drive around and look for one that seems good. There is one, though, called Fried Egg I'm In Love, which does breakfast sandwiches and is really good.

For now, I'll leave it at that for Portland. There are parks and places to go on hikes, but I haven't done as much of that.

If you get to Portland, I promise you will really love it. It's wonderful and amazing.

Fred Armisen is a US comedian, musician and actor. He is the co-creator and co-star of the TV comedy Portlandia

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