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City Guide: Pittsburgh, PA
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items For anything food related - check out my Pittsburgh Eats list. This list is for all of the other non-food focused things to do and see in Pittsburgh! View this list in Map view to see where the recommendations are located!
Map
Sections
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Shops
Free Activities
Paid Activities
Pamper Yourself
Shops
Curated shop full of Pittsburgh related items or items created by locals. Great for souvenirs with impact.
love, Pittsburgh
The most eclectic mix of books, games, and stationary. Check them out if you're looking for a fun card for any occasion, need a small and funky gift, or if you'd like to pick up the latest bestsellers. Conveniently located near a ton of great food op...
Kards Unlimited
While we don't love the business practices of the Terminal (brought in national chains instead of local businesses), the area has been revived. The Strip District has a number of restaurants and shops along a stretch of Penn Avenue. Great for grabbin...
Strip District
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Organized alphabetically to find any kind of spice or seasoning.
Penzeys Spices
Technically a chain store, but still worth a visit given its large selection of sweets, candies, and small novelty gifts. Find nostalgic favorites here too!
Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop
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A shopping center in Pittsburgh, mostly national retailers - I like to think of it as a strip mall in the city. However, this was a former site of the Homestead Steel Works and twelve smokestacks still stand in welcome.
The Waterfront
Free Activities
Huge park in the city full of walking trails and shaded sections. You may see deer, rabbits, or other small woodland animals. It's also home to the bridge that infamously collapsed right before President Biden visited (and sent another poor Port Auth...
Frick Park
Another great city park, this one has a playground and Flagstaff Hill where you can see Pitt's Cathedral of Learning and is right beside CMU's campus and the Phipps Botanical Garden. In the summer, there's a public swimming pool and in the winter, th...
Schenley Park
Part shop, part museum of bicycles (and we mean everything from penny farthings to racing bikes and the space-looking ones from the mid 1900s). Check them out on Instagram!
Bicycle Heaven
Eclectic and always changing, Randyland is the brainchild of (you guessed it) Randy, a local resident whose found art is a visual playground for the senses. Great for fun photos as there's always something new.
Randyland
Note: fee required to ride
Pittsburgh is a city of hills and actually features the steepest recorded public street in America (take that San Francisco!) featuring a 37% grade. Terrifying for a city that actually has a winter, but I digress. The Duquesne Incline was opened in 1...
Technically not free to ride, but the observation deck at the top is free (excellent views of the city) and watching the machinery work is free. To ride, exact fare required, it's part of the city of Pittsburgh transit system cash fare system and las...
Pittsburgh is a city of hills and actually features the steepest recorded public street in America (take that San Francisco!) featuring a 37% grade. Terrifying for a city that actually has a winter, but I digress. The Duquesne Incline was opened in 1...
Technically not free to ride, but the observation deck at the top is free (excellent views of the city) and watching the machinery work is free. To ride, exact fare required, it's part of the city of Pittsburgh transit system cash fare system and las...
Duquesne Incline
Note: fee required to ride
Like the Duquesne Incline, the Monangahela incline was built in 1870 to transport workers up and down “Coal Hill”, now known as Mount Washington. Without this funicular railway, it was pretty much inaccessible from the city proper. It's been in nearl...
Also not free to ride.
Like the Duquesne Incline, the Monangahela incline was built in 1870 to transport workers up and down “Coal Hill”, now known as Mount Washington. Without this funicular railway, it was pretty much inaccessible from the city proper. It's been in nearl...
Also not free to ride.
Monongahela Incline
Site of the original Fort Pitt (think Revolutionary War era), now a park at the point where the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers meet. The fountain at the point is beautiful in daytime or nighttime in the seasons when it's on (aka not winter)....
Point State Park
Paid Activities
Literally next to the Museum of Natural history and one ticket gets you into both! Gorgeous space full of art - especially contemporary art. Contains a broad spectrum of visual arts, sculptures, digital mediums, and decorative arts and design. The bu...
Carnegie Museum of Art
Literally next to the Museum of Art and one ticket gets you into both! Like most of the other museums bearing his name, this one was founded by Andrew Carnegie in his philanthropist years. Did you know that he was was a big dinosaur fan and funded pa...
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Located right on the riverfront in the North Shore, the third (of four) Carnegie Museums is closer to the Andy Warhol (the fourth) than it is to the Art and Natural History museums located in Oakland. However, if you've got young children (or you're ...
Carnegie Science Center
The fourth and final Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, the Andy Warhol Museum is dedicated entirely to the life and works of (you guessed it) Pittsburgh native, Andy Warhol. It's the largest collection of his art and archives in the world and features r...
The Andy Warhol Museum
If the previous two art museums are too tame or leave you too disconnected from the art, The Mattress Factory will do the exact opposite. They work with artists in residence to develop alternative art forms through site-specific installations, video,...
Mattress Factory
So I still haven't actually visited this museum (because you need a small child to enter), but it's highly recommended. Pittsburgh is also the home of Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood of make believe, so the museum also has quite a few exhibits relate...
Children's Museum
While the National Zoo is down in DC and the National Aquarium is in Baltimore, the National Aviary is right here in Pittsburgh. Develop an appreciation for birds (especially after playing Wingspan - see my Games and Activities list!) as you go throu...
National Aviary
See both land based and water based animals at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. Great for young children and the young at heart.
Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
A National Register of Historic Places landmark, it is the largest memorial in the United States dedicated solely to honoring all branches of military veterans and service personnel. It's a great event space, but the museum itself takes you through a...
Home - Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall ... - Pittsburgh
Affiliated with the Smithsonian Museums (of DC fame), but focused on the history of Western PA and Pittsburgh. From the role this western frontier town played in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War to the Industrial Revolution, it's all l...
Senator John Heinz History Center
Located in Point State Park, the Fort Pitt museum provides more information about the early days of Pittsburgh and the fort that the French originally constructed at the point where the rivers meet that a young George Washington was sent to take over...
Fort Pitt Museum
Take a guided tour of the Carrie Blast Furnaces and learn more about the Pittsburgh area's steelmaking history. Carrie Blast Furnaces are a remnant of the once massive, legendary U.S. Steel Homestead Steel Works (part of Andrew Carnegie's steel empir...
Rivers of Steel: Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark
I haven't checked this studio out yet, but I'm intrigued by the reviews of its welcoming atmosphere. As someone who did dance as a child but never at a competitive level, it's intimidating to try to get back into it as an adult when you have basicall...
Art in Motion Pittsburgh
Not a Pittsburgh-only activity, but a fun option especially if you're checking out any of the restaurants in the Strip District. This is a chain and from my limited experience, it does sound like there's repeated game play in each location.
Puttshack - Pittsburgh
Pamper Yourself
My favorite nail spot in the city with a shared parking lot for easy visits! I love that they use a non-toxic and long-wearing nail polish (that's not gel - no UV curing!) so that the place doesn't smell, though the high ceilings also help. For pedic...
PAINT Nail Bar
I've really liked my visits to Swank with Heather. The space is airy and it's immediately evident that the stylists like and get along with one another. They're great for fantasy colors as well as more natural colors (blondes, brunettes, etc).
Swank Hair Studio
This one-woman shop run by Shanna is perfect for if you're looking for a new cut or blonding. I wouldn't necessarily go for fantasy colors as I felt like it didn't last as well as other salons I've been to, but I really enjoyed talking to her and she...
Wild Rose Hair Studio
I had an enjoyable massage here in the past and would go back. Note that it is not what you would call a fancy day spa, but for a less frills but just as relaxing massage, this is a great option. It's located in Crafton which is just through the Fort...
Massage Services | Pittsburgh | Kneaded Tranquility
I haven't tried this spa yet, but I'm intrigued for two reasons. 1) The number of services offered that go beyond a Swedish, deep tissue, or hot stone massage. You can get a Lomi Lomi (Polynesian technique), Thai stretching massage, reflexology, dry ...
Centre Ave. Massage & Spa
Literally no frills - basically pay per minute massage. It has mixed reviews online, but I found the owner to be quite responsive to my requests for more information. I'm excited to try this out in the future as it's a location that's close to other ...
Chinese Massage Therapy (Squirrel Hill)
After months of searching fruitlessly for head spas in Pittsburgh and speaking it into existence for Instagram to serve it up on an ad to me, Instagram delivered. I do think this is a new service being offered, but I'm excited to try out the Japanese...
Karis Beauty Studio