Pittsburgh Travel Answers

Of course, no trip in Pittsburgh is complete without a ride on the inclines - especially if the weather is good: portauthority.org/PAAC/Custo... The Strip District is a great place to graze from market to market - I think the Italian grocers are especially good there: http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com/ The Heinz Chapel and adjacent "Cathedral of Learning" - a 30 story gothic style skyscraper - are good photographic "icons" on the Pitt University campus - it should be very pretty at this time of year. http://www.heinzchapel.pitt.edu/ For more good eats, Murray Avenue in nearby Squirrel Hill has a number of good local favorites - like Kazansky's deli with its famous ruebens. Pittsburgh is really a city of neighborhoods. http://www.heinzchapel.pitt.edu/

Hi Kerry Welcome to Pittsburgh! Yooperprof (Chet) was right on with the recommendations. Pittsburgh is full of dining options, especially if you visit Station Square. There is a great place called the Grand Concourse. It was the old train station and is now an amazingly beautiful restaurant along the river. When they were renovating the building 30-40 years ago, it was just an abandoned building that needed a lot of work. During the restoration, they uncovered a lot of marble and detailed wood. At one point, the developer looked up and saw light peering through the ceiling. He built a scaffold to get a closer look and began to scrape the ceiling. To his surprise, he uncovered a magnificent stained glass ceiling. Turns out that it had been painted black during the war to prevent air raids from targeting the train station. There were never any air raids in Pittsburgh but there was fear that it would be a target because of the steel industry and most of the steel moved by rail. If that is not your speed, there is plenty of casual dining just steps from there as well. They have a nice raw bar in the same building called the Gandy Dancer (Named after the workers who hammered in the railroad spikes). There is a great club for you and your boyfriend across the street called club 5ive. Starts to kick around 11:00PM. Sorry my Pittsburgh page is not very helpful. I really have not spent much time on it (I don't know why). Enjoy your trip. Cheers!

Thanks for the reco's - especially helpful that you included the links! :)

Also - will be sure to check out the Grand Concourse - sounds like our kind of place! :) You were both very helpful! I appreciate it!!

Pittsburgh is gorgeous! I tend to only be there late night, when I visit my friend and we hit the town, and then we usually go to one of the many malls the next day, because they're so much bigger than any of the ones where I live, but I know there's a lot more to see. You'll have a great time.

A ride on the incline to the top of Mount Washingon is a must for a great view and photos. There are some nice restaraunts and bars with good views along the avenue at the top. If you like museums, Pittsburgh has some good ones. FOr art, try the Warhol Museum (Andy Warhol was from Pittsburgh) and the Carnegie Museum. Also, the Carnegie Natural History Museum has one of the world's best dinosaur collections. The Heinz History Center in the Strip District is also interesting, especially if you like sports (it has a secetion devoted to Pittsburgh sports history). The Carnegie Museums are in the Oakland section of the city, which is a few miles east of downtown. That section also features the University of Pittsburgh campus, with its beautiful Heinz Chapel and the impressive Cathedral of Learning. The Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning are interesting to see, if they are open. Another place we like to visit in the Oakland section is the Phipps Conservatory, which has beautiful indoor gardens. For more info, feel free to check out our Pittsburgh page here on VT.