This Is the Oldest Town in the Pacific Northwest-and It Has Victorian Architecture, Movie History, and Coastal Charm

"Pretty and gritty: that's how some locals describe Astoria, Oregon, a far-flung town sitting where the Columbia River meets the Pacific. Beauty, it has in spades; ornate Victorian and Queen Anne-style homes, holdovers from its heyday as a prosperous shipping port, crowd the hills (earning it the nickname "Little San Francisco"). And you'll never be far from a view of the river and the Washington shore here."

"Founded in 1811 by fur traders, Astoria is not only the oldest town in Oregon, but the Pacific Northwest as a whole. Just offshore, the treacherous waters of the Columbia Bar, part of the notorious "Graveyard of the Pacific," have doomed hundreds of ships. It's a scrappy little community that draws the world in-European explorers, Lewis and Clark, fur traders, Scandinavian and Chinese cannery workers, filmmakers and cinephiles, and now adventurous travelers-with its mythos and dramatic setting."

Astoria, Oregon sits where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean and features ornate Victorian and Queen Anne homes that crowd its hills, earning the nickname "Little San Francisco". The town is the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies, founded in 1811 by fur traders. The nearby Columbia Bar, called the "Graveyard of the Pacific," has doomed hundreds of ships. Astoria's history includes fires, maritime tragedies, and fierce winter storms. The community draws explorers, fur traders, cannery workers, filmmakers, and contemporary visitors who come for coastal scenery, outdoor recreation, historical sites, thrifting, seafood markets, and film tourism.

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