Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the steel city that reinvented itself without losing its edges.
Three rivers meet at the Point beneath a wall of green hills, more than four hundred bridges stitch the neighborhoods together, and a pair of nineteenth-century cable cars still haul riders up Mount Washington for the best city view in America. The industrial fortunes that built the place paid for treasures you can visit for the price of a ticket: the Carnegie museums of art and natural history in Oakland, the glasshouses of Phipps Conservatory in Schenley Park, and seven floors devoted to Andy Warhol, the city's most famous son, on the North Shore. Down by the river the Strip District still smells of roasting coffee and fresh pierogi, and ninety minutes into the Laurel Highlands stands Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's house over a waterfall. This guide books the few things worth booking, from the Fallingwater day trip and a Strip District food tour to a ghost walk and a whiskey history tour, tells you which days the museums close, and matches you to the right hotel, from a Fairmont with stadium views to a former Federal Reserve bank with free breakfast.
Duquesne Incline
A wooden cable car from 1877 that climbs Mount Washington to the most famous view in Pittsburgh: the Point, the three rivers and the downtown towers laid out below. It runs every day of the year until after midnight, costs a few dollars, and takes cash or a ConnectCard only.
Fallingwater Day Trip from Pittsburgh
A private driven day trip from downtown Pittsburgh to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, the house cantilevered over a waterfall in the Laurel Highlands. Rated 4.9 from 39 reviews; you book the house tour yourself with Fallingwater, and the house is closed on Wednesdays.
The Andy Warhol Museum
Seven floors of art and archives devoted to Pittsburgh's most famous son, on the North Shore a short walk from downtown. Soup cans, silver clouds, screen tests and the time capsules Warhol filled with his everyday life. Closed Tuesdays, open late on Fridays.
Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History
Two great museums under one roof and one ticket in Oakland: dinosaurs, gems and dioramas on one side, old masters, modern art and a hall of plaster architectural casts on the other. Closed Tuesdays, open to 8pm on Thursdays, half price on weekday afternoons.
A wooden cable car from 1877 that climbs Mount Washington to the most famous view in Pittsburgh: the Point, the three rivers and the downtown towers laid out below. It runs every day of the year until after midnight, costs a few dollars, and takes cash or a ConnectCard only.
A private driven day trip from downtown Pittsburgh to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, the house cantilevered over a waterfall in the Laurel Highlands. Rated 4.9 from 39 reviews; you book the house tour yourself with Fallingwater, and the house is closed on Wednesdays.
Seven floors of art and archives devoted to Pittsburgh's most famous son, on the North Shore a short walk from downtown. Soup cans, silver clouds, screen tests and the time capsules Warhol filled with his everyday life. Closed Tuesdays, open late on Fridays.
Two great museums under one roof and one ticket in Oakland: dinosaurs, gems and dioramas on one side, old masters, modern art and a hall of plaster architectural casts on the other. Closed Tuesdays, open to 8pm on Thursdays, half price on weekday afternoons.
A Victorian glasshouse in Schenley Park packed with tropical forest, orchids, palms and seasonal flower shows, warm and green even in a Pittsburgh winter. Open every day with late Fridays; timed tickets are strongly recommended, and the holiday show must be booked ahead.
A two-hour guided tasting walk through the Strip District, Pittsburgh's old wholesale market quarter, with a behind-the-counter look at its Italian bakeries, Mediterranean and Latin American shops, European delis and famous cinnamon bread. Rated 4.9 from 46 reviews.
The most popular way to get your bearings in Pittsburgh: a two-hour small-group walk through downtown's architecture, industrial history, robber-baron stories and hidden public art, with a local guide. Rated 4.9 from 474 reviews, and kids and dogs are welcome.
An evening walk through downtown's historic landmarks with true-life ghost stories from Pittsburgh's past, told by a local guide. Spooky without being a haunted house, and suitable for most ages. Rated 4.8 from 256 reviews, about two hours.
A two-and-a-half-hour walking tour of Pittsburgh's boozy history, from the 1790s Whiskey Rebellion against the federal whiskey tax to hidden Prohibition speakeasies, with two craft cocktails along the way. Rated 4.9 from 121 reviews; adults 21 and over only.
An hour of mind-bending rooms, holograms and optical tricks on the North Shore, next to the stadiums and a short walk from the Warhol. Open every day until 8pm, and until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. A good rainy-day pick for families.
A fully narrated cruise of about two hours on the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, sailing from the Station Square dock past the Point, the downtown skyline, the stadiums and the bridges. Tickets start at $25, with the final price including fees shown at checkout.
A buffet-style lunch or dinner on the rivers, cruising from the Station Square dock past Point State Park, Mount Washington, the stadiums and the yellow bridges, with narration of the landmarks. Sailings last two to three hours, and tickets start at $25, with fees shown at checkout.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Downtown (Market Square)
Downtown's luxury tower on Market Street, with 185 rooms behind floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to PNC Park, Mount Washington and the skyline, a big health club and spa, the fl.2 restaurant and a welcome for pets of every size.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Downtown (Mellon Square)
Pittsburgh's grande dame since 1916, a renovated landmark on William Penn Place with chandeliered ballrooms, a famously grand lobby, The Speakeasy Lounge downstairs and the convention center, Market Square and the T light rail all within an easy walk.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Downtown (William Penn Place)
A colorful boutique hotel in a 1903 Beaux Arts office building on William Penn Place, with The Commoner restaurant downstairs, a rooftop biergarten, playful rooms full of art and the warm, pet-friendly Kimpton style.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Oakland
A stylish modern hotel in Oakland, the university and museum district, a short walk from the Carnegie Museums, Phipps Conservatory and the Cathedral of Learning, with the Spirits and Tales lounge looking out over the neighborhood.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Downtown (Grant Street)
The best-value downtown stay, in the restored former Federal Reserve Bank building on Grant Street: 207 rooms, a free hot breakfast, a free 5:30 Kickback with hot food and drinks every evening, and an indoor pool and whirlpool.
Rates on Expedia →The practical primer for a first visit: the few tickets worth booking ahead, the closing days that catch people out, how downtown, the North Shore, Mount Washington, the Strip and Oakland fit together, and a three-day plan with a Fallingwater day trip.
How to choose a base in Pittsburgh, with the right hotel for each area: a Fairmont tower by Market Square, the 1916 Omni William Penn, a playful Kimpton, a museum-district stay in Oakland and a former Federal Reserve bank with free breakfast.
