The Portland Metropolitan Area is a region in Oregon that includes Portland, Oregon City, Hillsboro and other cities around the Portland area.
The suburbs of Portland tend to be divided into the "Westside" and the "Eastside" depending on which side of the Willamette River they are located. The oldest cities are found along the Willamette River directly south of Portland, while most of the new suburban development is happening in Washington County to the west of Portland.
As well as Portland, the city proper, the area includes:
Portland International Airport (IATA: PDX), 45.5894°, -122.5936°, +1 503-460-4234. Major airport to Oregon and Southwest Washington for commercial flights from all over the U.S. and international connections from Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea, The Netherlands, Iceland, Great Britain and Mexico.
There are additional airports serving the Portland Metropolitan area, operated by the Port of Portland, for general aviation and private VIP planes in:
-  [I-5](Interstate_5#Portland_Metropolitan_Area) is the primary north-south connection from other parts of Oregon and Washington to the region. I-5 crosses the Willamette River on the Marquam Bridge.
-  &  I-84 end/begins at its junction with I-5 in Portland and it goes across [Central](Central_Oregon) and [Eastern Oregon](Eastern_Oregon) towards Boise, Idaho. Travelers will likely use US-26 for eastside destinations or I-5 via US-20 and OR-22 for westside destinations. WA-14 begins/ends in Vancouver (north of Portland) and runs parallel alongside I-84 from the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge to its eastern terminus at I-82 north of [Hermiston](Hermiston).
-  begins at its intersection with US Hwy 101 south of [Seaside](Seaside) at the Coast, goes through the Portland Metropolitan Ara as __Sunset Hwy__ and __SE Powell Blvd__; and continues east towards [Bend, Oregon](Bend) via [Sandy](Sandy) and [Mount Hood](Mount_Hood). US Hwy 26 crosses the Willamette River on the Ross Island Bridge.
-  __NW Yeon, NW St Helens Rd, Fremont Bridge__ goes north and than west towards its western terminus in [Astoria](Astoria) via Scappoose and St Helens through the northwest industrial/warehouse areas. Going east, US Hwy 30 runs concurrently on I-5 (via Fremont Bridge and I-5 south) and along I-84 to Bliss, Idaho. It eventually goes across the country and ends in Atlantic City, New Jersey later. There's a business bypass of US 30 across St Johns Bridge, through North and Northeast Portland along various streets to I-84 at NE 238th.
See the Portland page for information about how to get around within the city. To get to the eastside suburbs, use I-84 and I-205, while I-5 and US-26 will be the main routes to the westside. OR-217 is a diagonal highway between east/west US-26 and north/south I-5 that is used to reach Tigard and Beaverton. Expect slow traffic along this route, unless it's late at night.
TriMet serves most of the region with the MAX light rail and "Frequent Service" bus routes providing the most flexible routes. Between 1 and 4 AM there are a select couple of routes on hourly service (including one to the airport), but generally everything is shutdown. Routes and service are great to excellent near the urban core of Portland, and generally acceptable to good in the eastside suburbs. On the westside, however, you may have a significant walk from the MAX station or bus stop to a residential destination.
Ride Connections operates the 'Community Connector' buses/shuttles from the nearest Tri-Met bus stop or transit center to more places in rural Washington County, Forest Grove, Tualatin, King City, and North Hillsboro (all in westside) not served by Tri-Met buses and trains.
Sandy, Wilsonville and Vancouver are not in the TriMet district and are served by SAM, SMART and C-Tran respectively. See By public transit in the Portland, Oregon article for a list of additional transit providers in the area and from adjacent counties.
Many of the suburban areas are not hospitable to cyctlists, but there are a few comfortable routes that cross the metro area:
TriMet bus and light rail trains can accommodate bikes.