Portland, Maine: Hidden Histories Guided Walking Tour | 2 hours

399 Reviews | Portland
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You can select up to 15 travelers in total.
Adult (5-95) Minimum: 1, Maximum: 15
2
Free Cancellation For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Portland Hidden Histories Tour
2 Adults x $49.00
$98.00
Approx Total
$98.00
Duration: 2 hours

Inclusions / Exclusions

  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English
  • 10% off water tours with Portland Paddle (instructions at confirmation)
  • Two hour fully narrated guided tour.
  • Donation toward restoring the Abyssinian Meeting House, America's third-oldest standing Black church
  • A tip for your guide!

Overview

Meet Portland and the people—of all backgrounds and identities—whose wit and grit have made Maine's largest city what it is today. Your locally-raised guide will captivate you with extraordinary, exciting, and surprising stories largely left out of the history books. Get ready to broaden your sense of what Portland and Maine have been and could be. Brick sidewalks beneath your feet and beautiful Victorian-era buildings nestled around you, we'll casually stroll Portland’s lush, historic Old Port toward the sparkling waters of Casco Bay. We’ll see where Indigenous Wabanaki leaders made their earliest relationships with European colonizers and walk together through the centuries. Enjoy an inclusive, empowering, and surprising constellation of tales that offers a welcome contrast to the more obvious themes you’re likely to experience on other tours. You'll enjoy 2 hours of narration over a 1.5-mile route with owner and guide, Dugan Murphy. He is Portland's top-rated guide on TripAdvisor!

Meeting points

Meet at the corner of Middle and Exchange Streets by the small boulders in the park. Your guide will be holding a sign that says "Portland by the Foot." Check-in time is 10 minutes prior to the scheduled tour time. The park is one half mile from the cruise ship terminal.

End point

Open in Google Maps

Bell Buoy Park is on Commercial Street at the Casco Bay Lines ferry terminal. If you need to head back to where we started, it's only 0.3 miles (6-minute walk) away. It's also next door to the cruise ship terminal. Or sit a while to enjoy the ocean views!

Itinerary

  • N/A

    We'll walk the Downtown District, visiting major landmarks and a few hidden gems. *Highlights include:* Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Monument Square, First Parish Church, Portland City Hall, and gobs of boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, museums, bookshops, and other spots to explore!

    45 minutes

  • N/A

    We'll stroll through Portland's Old Port, uncovering hidden histories of the city and her people. *Highlights include:* Boothby Square, Foundry Lane, John Ford Statue, Post Office Park, Exchange Street, and plenty of boutiques, award-winning restaurants, breweries, bookshops, and more!

    45 minutes

  • Commercial Street

    We'll stroll through the waterfront district along Commercial Street, discovering the people and economic forces that forged it. *Highlights include:* United States Custom House, Custom House Wharf, Portland Pier, Wharf Street, and lots of places you'll want to visit later!

    30 minutes

Sample Menu

Additional Info

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Pets are not allowed on tours unless medically required.
  • Portland is a hilly city. Participants will walk uphill sometimes, along some cobblestones, up a staircase of 6 steps, and down two staircases (24 steps total).

Free Cancellation

July 28100% refund
July 29No refund

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews

5.0

399 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
  • 5 stars
    392
  • 4 stars
    6
  • 3 stars
    0
  • 2 stars
    1
  • 1 star
    0

Reviews by TravelOne travelers

Showing 1-5 of 392 reviews with 5 stars

10/10 Recommend

Published on Nov, 2024

We recently took this tour on a girls trip to Portland and it was one of the best parts of our itinerary. I am a huge history nerd and purchased the tour as a Christmas gift for my three friends on the trip with me and it was well worth the money. Dugan is a fantastic tour guide, I can definitely see why he is so well ranked! We asked a variety of questions on the material and his answers were informative each time. We also really appreciated his commitment to including stories about the influence that women have played in the history of Portland. I would definitely recommend adding one of Dugan’s tours to your Portland itinerary!

Engaging, Fun & Insightful Tour

Published on Nov, 2024

My husband and I live in Portland and figured it was time we took a tour of our own home city. We love taking walking tours in cities we visit. Dugan’s was by far the best we’ve experienced. We’d heard great things about the Portland by the Foot tour and it did not disappoint. Dugan’s knowledge & obvious passion about history was engaging, insightful, and highly entertaining. I was not interested in history throughout my early schooling years, but had Dugan been my history teacher, I would’ve appreciated history at a much earlier age, and it was fun to experience it with him today. 10/10 would recommend! Looking forward to doing the Women in Portland and Black History tours in the future.

Perfection in Portland

Published on Nov, 2024

This tour was fantastic! Dugan was so knowledgeable about the history and very entertaining in his delivery! Would highly recommend.

Walking at a relaxed pace and drinking in the culture and history of an important city.

Published on Nov, 2024

Our guide was an incredibly well informed historian who showed us a city he loves. Great sense of humor and flexibility.

Great way to better understand Portland with a knowledgeable, witty and engaging tour guide!

Published on Nov, 2024

I'm only in Portland for a few days and wanted a walking tour to cover off the main sights in and around downtown and Old Port. This was a great tour to better understand Portland, its history, its people and its place in the world. Dugan didn't shy away from the bad parts of its history as well as the good Portland gave the world which I felt made the tour more comprehensive. Dugan was engaging and informative and kept the momentum going throughout the whole two hours. His stops were well timed and well spaced out as well. I can't imagine its easy to keep an entire walking tour engaged but his humor helped guide us along. In among the historical detail he also was great at adding in recommendations and tips for local food and drink around the area. Can confirm one of his recommends - the Standard Baking Company - was worth the short hop from the tour's end point. Thanks Dugan!

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