VacationSelector
Sint Servaasbrug over the Maas, Maastricht
MaastrichtSint Servaasbrug over the Maas
Hawthorne Bridge and downtown, Portland
PortlandHawthorne Bridge and downtown

Photos: Maastricht by Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Portland by Cacophony, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Maastricht or Portland?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Maastricht for

  • culture and sights
  • day trips
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Maastricht’s own page.

Choose Portland for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • live music and the arts
  • beaches

What lies behind each score is written up on Portland’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Maastricht 8, Portland 20: Portland leads by 12 points.
Food & drink. Maastricht 58, Portland 68: Portland leads by 10 points.
Culture & sights. Maastricht 60, Portland 38: Maastricht leads by 22 points.
Nightlife. Maastricht 42, Portland 52: Portland leads by 10 points.
Nature & outdoors. Maastricht 58, Portland 84: Portland leads by 26 points.
Day trips. Maastricht 77, Portland 58: Maastricht leads by 19 points.
Good for families. Maastricht and Portland are level on 55.
Getting around. Maastricht 74, Portland 62: Maastricht leads by 12 points.
Shopping & style. Maastricht 60, Portland 52: Maastricht leads by 8 points.
Affordability. Maastricht and Portland are level on 38.
Live music & performing arts. Maastricht 40, Portland 55: Portland leads by 15 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Maastricht 52, Portland 42: Maastricht leads by 10 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Maastricht and Portland.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Too close to call, level with your weighting

Maastricht
52match

Wins on culture and sights and day trips with your weighting.

Portland
52match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and live music and the arts with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Maastricht in July

24 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
73 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Portland in July

27 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
13 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
MaastrichtPortland

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Maastricht: 1991-2020 normals, Maastricht Airport Zuid Limburg (10 km from centre). Portland: 1991-2020 normals, Portland International Airport (9.8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureMaastrichtPortland
Official languageDutch-
CurrencyEuro (EUR)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-8, UTC-7 in summer
Emergency number112911
Elevation49 m152 m
Main airportMaastricht Aachen Airport (MST)9 km from centre5 non-stop destinationsPortland International Airport (PDX)10 km from centre88 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureMaastrichtPortland
City population120,227652,503
People per km²2,0001,736
Museums within 10 km2117
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km50

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Maastricht or Portland somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.