Steel City Escapes: A Weekend Travel Guide for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I always knew Michael and I would make it to Pittsburgh one day; the art, history, and food culture rival many other large American cities, and its off-the-beaten-tourist-path status is a draw for us as well.

I just never thought our first visit would be a by-product of a different trip.

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The sole reason we flew to Pittsburgh was to participate in an animal encounter in a West Virginia zoo, and Pittsburgh International happened to be the closest airport.

Even though it wasn’t our official destination, we still had a little over two days to be officially introduced to Pittsburgh and begin to get to know it. Today we’ll share our itinerary for a mid-April weekend in the city and some firsthand travel tips and what to expect if you visit.

So, who’s ready to get away?

PITTSBURGH WEEKEND ITINERARY

Exterior of La Gourmandine in Pittsburgh — La Gourmandine

Pittsburgh Skyline as seen at Grandview Overlook — Grandview Overlook

Downtown Pittsburgh skyline as seen from Grandview Overlook — Grandview Overlook

Friday

Our flight landed just after midnight, which meant we quickly picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel to crash; it wasn’t until the following morning that we were able to really take a look around. Before heading to the zoo, we grabbed two coffees from 21st Street Coffee and Tea (now closed) and a pastry from La Gourmandine.

After exiting the maze of downtown, we drove to the top of Mt. Washington to get a good view of Pittsburgh before making the drive to West Virginia. Typically I would have preferred to ride the funicular to the top, but due to the time constraints, we chose to drive instead.

A brick building in Pittsburgh's Strip District — Strip District

A Macchiato from De Fer Coffee and Tea in Pittsburgh — De Fer Coffee and Tea

Pale blue chairs and wooden tables at De Fer Coffee and Tea — De Fer Coffee and Tea

When we returned to Pittsburgh Friday evening after our animal encounter, we freshened up and hit the streets on foot. We walked from our hotel to the Strip District, an area originally filled with mills and warehouses yet now contains small shops, restaurants, and international markets.

It seemed that about half of the businesses were still open at that evening hour, and we grabbed a cortado at De Fer Coffee and Tea to keep us awake (we were still running on about three hours of sleep). The shop was really cute, and the staff was really knowledgeable about coffee.

A beer from East End Brewery — East End Brewing Company

This was also our introduction to just how nice everyone in Pittsburgh is. After visiting Philadelphia, we kind of expected to face some of the rough-around-the-edges attitudes we experienced there, but as a whole Pittsburghers couldn’t be friendlier. After a bit more wandering, we stopped at the East End Brewery Tap Room, which featured a small but creative selection of brews.

Collage of photos from DiAnoia's Eatery, including pasta, the building, and dessert — DiAnoia’s Eatery

Finally, our dinner reservation time arrived, and we walked into DiAnoia’s Eatery, a relative newcomer on the Pittsburgh dining scene. It’s hard to get good, authentic Italian food where we live, so we seek it out whenever we’re in a new city. The dining room was loud – too loud – and service was dismal. Thankfully, our pastas helped to make up for what the atmosphere was lacking.

→21st Street Coffee and Tea // Now Closed 
→La Gourmandine // Multiple Locations 
→Mt Washington Grandview Overlook // 136-160 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15211 
→De Fer Coffee and Tea // 2002 Smallman St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 
→East End Brewery Tap Room // Now at 147 Julius St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 
→DiAnoia's Eatery // 2549 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Saturday

The following morning we woke earlier than expected and leisurely prepared to greet the day. Non-chain coffee is tough to find in downtown Pittsburgh on the weekends; the downtown area caters to the Monday-Friday working crowd. We tried our hand at Fort Pitt Coffee (now closed), located near the waterfront of the Monongahela River. Sadly the coffee didn’t quite do it for us, but hey, you can’t win them all. Thankfully the views from the bridge over the Allegheny River made up for it.

Collage of images of quirky art at Randyland — Randyland

Alyssa stands on the colorful stairs at Randyland — Randyland

We made the two-mile walk to Randyland, which is a building and courtyard area owned by Randy Gilson that has been painted and decorated with repurposed items. It’s a bit on the wacky side of whimsical, but a lot of fun; there were lots of families on the day we visited, and the kids seemed to be having a blast.

A granola bar and a cup of coffee from Commonplace Coffee — Commonplace Coffee

Afterward, I was desperate for a drinkable cup of coffee, and we made the ten-minute walk from Randyland to Commonplace Coffee in the Mexican War Streets neighborhood, which was quite busy at that hour on a Saturday morning. My pour-over was perfect, and we shared a really delicious seed and nut bar.

Collage of images taken of art and the exterior of The Andy Warhol Museum — The Andy Warhol Museum

A visit to Pittsburgh wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the Andy Warhol Museum. The exhibits in this modern art museum feature a timeline of Warhol’s life and work, beginning at the top floor in his younger years and working downward through his later years. It’s popular and has quite a few interactive exhibits, so expect to have to wait a few minutes to view some of the more famous works.

Attendance picked up drastically throughout our visit from when we first entered (around 11 a.m.), though The Factory, where you can experiment with Warhol’s techniques, was empty and we were able to try our hand at screen-printing. Half-priced nights are offered on Friday evenings; these are some of our favorite times to visit museums, but we just couldn’t make it work on this trip.

The menu board at S&D Polish Deli — S&D Polish Deli

The Kielbasy Platter from S&D Polish Deli — S&D Polish Deli

We crossed back over the Allegheny River for lunch at S&D Polish Deli in the Strip. We take every opportunity to enjoy cuisines that we don’t have at home when we travel, and since Pittsburgh has a somewhat large Polish population that’s what we chose. S&D is part shop, part restaurant, and I enjoyed browsing after placing my order at the counter. When our number was called, we were faced with an enormous plate of pierogi, kielbasy, and haluszki. I’m so grateful we decided to share a plate.

Interior of The Church Brew Works — The Church Brew Works

A pint of beer from The Church Brew Works — The Church Brew Works

On our way to dinner the previous night we passed by what looked to be a large cheese shop and made the note that we would want to return on Saturday during opening hours. When we made it into the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. we realized that it was so much more than just a cheese shop; it’s a full-blown Italian grocery store with rooms and rooms of pastas, olive oils, breads, and more.

We were delighted to find so many amazing products that are often difficult to source here in the USA, but only purchased one, the smoked scamorza cheese, which we enjoyed in our hotel room. Were we local, we’d be making weekly trips.

After putting our cheese on ice in the hotel’s ice bucket, we grabbed the keys to the car from our hotel room and drove to The Church Brew Works in Lower Lawrenceville. A novelty brewery if I ever saw one, The Church Brew Works is set in – you guessed it – an old church. The large brewing vessels were housed at the altar, and there were now lots of tables set where the pews would have been.

Next, we did a little shopping stroll down Butler Street, stopping at places like Wildcard, Pavement (now closed), Phoenix Boutique, and Anthony’s Locker (now closed). I don’t like shopping at chain stores when we travel (unless it’s a small, specialty chain), but I love poking around cute boutiques and well-curated shops. I ended up purchasing postcards from Wildcard and a black wool pencil skirt on consignment at Phoenix.

Alyssa drinking a beer, and a platter from Hofbräuhaus — Hofbräuhaus

Before we went I posed a question on Twitter, asking Pittsburgh’s tourism bureau what we should see and do while in the city. We received several responses from locals and one of the suggestions was to visit the Hofbräuhaus brewery, and we did, fully not realizing that we have one in Florida.

It was packed, despite the early hour, and we waited among the crowd at the bar for a table. We were finally seated and ordered the “Works” Platter to share. In retrospect, I think we could have skipped it; it’s not really our scene and we could always visit the one in Florida if we desperately wanted.

We returned to our hotel and got ready for our dinner reservation at täkō, which, because we booked our reservation so close to the day of our visit, was scheduled for 10:45 p.m. With time to spare, we meandered toward the heart of downtown, looking for a place to settle in and have a drink.

The downtown atmosphere feels a bit unusual; it’s part-tourist/part-local youth, so it has a very loud and clubby vibe. I do prefer a place that is busy and exciting, but I don’t like yelling at my companions to be heard.

We first visited Butcher and The Rye, which is located next to täkō, and had a drink while waiting for a spot at the bar to open (yes, you read that right). The drinks were very good, but where we were instructed to stand was in the path of the waitstaff. We grew tired of shuffling out of everyone’s way and paid our tab.

An online search did little to help us find a place we’d like, but we did stumble upon The Warren nearby. We did manage to get a seat at the busy bar and ordered a drink off of their inventive (and confusing) menu, which describes their cocktails without listing what’s in them. The drinks were sufficient, but it was time for dinner and we didn’t linger.

Some very dark photos taken inside täkō in Pittsburgh — täkō

At täkō, we were again faced with blaring music with the addition of orange lighting (which is why all of our photos came out terribly) but the food was so worth it. We shared a guacamole filled with tuna belly, soy sauce, and shishito peppers; the queso fundido, and an order of the bistec tacos. The mezcal margarita was strong and delicious, and all of the food was incredible.

Michael was sneaky and told them that we were visiting for my birthday, and they sent out an order of house-made choco-tacos as well (I nearly died). While the restaurant is probably a bit overhyped and tries to be hyper-cool (there was a DJ and the tables were lit with prayer candles), the food was really good and I’d go back in a heartbeat. Just make sure you hydrate beforehand – I definitely felt the sodium in my system the next day.

→Fort Pitt Coffee // Now Closed
→Randyland // 1501 Arch St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
→Commonplace Coffee // Multiple Locations
→Andy Warhol Museum // 117 Sandusky St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
→S&D Polish Deli // 2204 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
→Pennsylvania Macaroni Co // 2010-2012 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
→The Church Brew Works // 3525 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
→Wildcard // 4209 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
→Pavement // Now Closed
→Phoenix Boutique // 3627 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
→Anthony's Locker // Now Closed
→Hofbräuhaus // 2705 S Water St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
→täkō // 214 6th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
→Butcher and The Rye // 212 6th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
→The Warren // 245 7th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Brunch at Whitfield in the Ace Hotel — Whitfield

Sunday

Sunday called for sleeping in just a bit, and we finally checked out of our hotel and headed for brunch at Whitfield (now closed), located inside the Ace Hotel (now called The Maverick from Kasa). We arrived a few minutes before our reservation and took a quick stroll through the hotel, which plays on its history as the local YMCA. We looked into staying at the Ace, but couldn’t justify spending the additional $400 on a smaller room we’d only be asleep in. The atmosphere and staff attitude felt a little “forced,” like trying too hard to be cool, although the space is certainly unique. The brunch menu offerings weren’t remarkably different than those we’ve seen at similar joints, though they skewed fairly evenly between breakfast- and lunch items, which was a pleasant change for Michael, who doesn’t eat eggs. He ordered the roast pork sandwich, and I chose the two eggs any style (basic, yes, but I expected everything to be well-sourced and executed). His sandwich was enormous, and my dish was a bit lacking. My poached eggs reeked of the vinegar water they were cooked in and I had to ask for jam as a toast accompaniment. We left with a sweet treat featured on special, however; the iced cereal milk latte was a great to-go beverage since the temperature was rising.

Interior of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, taken from above — Carnegie Museum of Art

Since parking in the area is free on Sundays, we left our car parked and made the 1.5-mile roundtrip walk to Bakery Square to visit Ragged Row (now closed). We didn’t end up purchasing anything but enjoyed checking out their selection of Rag and Bone and other goods (and I got to try on the Rains Curve jacket, an item I’ve been considering ordering for a while) before heading back to the car.

We weren’t sure that we were going to make it to the Carnegie Museum of Art on this visit, but we had plenty of time left on Sunday to get there and I’m so glad we did. When we arrived, we discovered that admission was free on the third Sunday of the month (which happened to be the day we visited!). Normally I check for these kinds of things in advance but didn’t have time for this trip – yet it paid off anyway.

The museum has a wide array of art, spanning centuries and styles, and the building also houses the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. There is no way to conquer the whole museum in one day (at least not for me – after a couple of hours I start to feel museum fatigue), and I recommend choosing the exhibits you want to view in advance.

View from and inside Cathedral of Learning — Cathedral of Learning

Just a five-minute walk from the Carnegie Museums is the University of Pittsburgh’s iconic Cathedral of Learning, and our last stop before heading to the airport. We entered on the basement floor near the food court area, and immediately felt out of place, like we weren’t allowed in. It wasn’t until we figured out the elevator system and rode to the higher floors that we saw others who looked like non-students.

We took in the views from up high and then rode down to floors one and three to view the Nationality Rooms, which surround the four-story-tall commons area. Only a couple were open for viewing on the day we visited, but tours are available if you have the time. Each room is painstakingly decorated in the style of the country it represents, and each is used as a campus classroom. This large, grand learning environment is so drastically different than the university we attended, and we both wondered how our college experiences would differ if our setting was more like this.

For once our flight home was on schedule, so it was back to the airport to return the car and board the plane for home (after making our first and last Pittsburgh Left). We felt not sadness at having to leave, but joy at the thought of returning.

→Whitfield // Now Closed 
→Ace Hotel The Maverick // 120 S Whitfield St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 
→Ragged Row // Now Closed 
→Carnegie Museum of Art // 4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 
→Cathedral of Learning // 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

PITTSBURGH TRAVEL TIPS

Pittsburgh International Airport boasts many nonstop destinations and is located about eighteen miles from downtown. We opted to rent a vehicle through Alamo as we were driving around an hour away to our animal encounter. If we were visiting for only a day or two and staying in Pittsburgh-proper, we would probably skip the car rental and use public transit or Uber/Lyft (those are my referral codes; you are welcome to use them to receive free rides – I’ll get credit in return).

Pittsburgh is divided into many neighborhoods, and it would be easy to spend part of the day in one, and then ride to a different section of town for the rest of the day. Our car proved to be a burden downtown, which is a maze of one-way roads and an insufficient number of metered parking spots.

Thankfully we only had to drive in the core just once; the rest of the time we walked from our hotel. While not trendy or luxurious, the Hampton Inn Downtown ticked all of our boxes: safe, clean, reasonably priced, and, since we had a car, free parking (as of April 2018 it is the only hotel downtown to have free parking). The staff was even so kind as to leave a welcome gift for my birthday.

The downtown core and The Strip were easily reachable on foot from the hotel, and the city is pretty pedestrian-friendly once you’re in a neighborhood. There are plenty of hills, however, so it might take longer to walk somewhere than a map suggests. Thankfully, there are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops throughout the city, and the city provides the chance to dine on a world of cuisine, from Ethiopia to Poland to Cambodia to Uzbekistan to Argentina. It seems there’s a movement among young restauranteurs in the city to make Pittsburgh a world-class dining destination.

Sports and culture abound in the city, so be sure to catch a game if it’s your thing and also visit a museum or two. The local newspaper and the tourism bureau both post a calendar of events on their websites in case something catches your eye.

Once you’ve explored Pittsburgh, there are plenty of opportunities in the surrounding area for day trips. In addition to Oglebay’s animal encounters in West Virginia, Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater are both located a little over an hour away from downtown. Or you could take a drive through the Amish countryside up in Lawrence County. No matter what you do, you’ll want to check the weather beforehand; three days before we visited it was snowing, and it was eighty degrees during our stay. Two days after we left? It was snowing again.

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Have you ever visited Pittsburgh? What did you think of the city?

Have a great weekend – I’ll see you on Monday with a Pittsburgh Packing List!