Pittsburgh Neighborhood Press Tour

3 Day Sample Itinerary

Learn about all of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods

Tuesday:

10:00am

Arrive at Pittsburgh International Airport, ranked "Best Airport in the Nation" and third in the world by Conde Nast Traveler. Taxi cab voucher provided for transportation to Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh.

11:45pm

Meet VisitPittsburgh staff member in hotel lobby.

Ride the Duquesne Incline to the top of Mt. Washington. Check out the fantastic view of the city, ranked the second most beautiful spot in America by USA Weekend Magazine.

12:30pm

Lunch at Coal Hill Steakhouse, overlooking Mt. Washington. Voted “Pittsburgh’s best casual Bistro with a view.”

2:30pm

Tour the Andy Warhol Museum, the most comprehensive single-artist museum in the world. This unique museum housed in a former factory encompasses an extensive collection of work by pop art icon and Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol.

3:45pm

Visit the Mattress Factory, a museum of contemporary art that commissions, exhibits and collects site-specific installations. It is one of the few museums of its kind in the country.

Drive through the North Shore. Highlights include PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Heinz Field, home to Super Bowl Champions the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.

5:30pm

Return to hotel.

6:45pm

Meet VisitPittsburgh staff member in hotel lobby.

7:00pm

Dinner at Lidia's. Enjoy the aromas, atmosphere and flavors of acclaimed restaurateur Lidia Bastianich's distinctive northern Italian cuisine, located in the heart of the Strip District.

Wednesday:

Day 1 of Neighborhood Driving Tour (eastern neighborhoods)

9:00am

Meet VisitPittsburgh staff member in hotel lobby.

9:15am

Breakfast at Pamela's Diner in the Strip District.

10:30am

Free time to browse the Strip District, comprising several city blocks at the edge of downtown offering enticing food markets, coffee shops such as The Enrico Biscotti Company and La Prima Espresso Company, dance clubs, brew pubs, great restaurants and one-of-a-kind shops.

11:30am

Continue into Bloomfield, Pittsburgh’s "Little Italy." The bustling business district along Liberty Avenue is filled with restaurants and grocery stores which have been passed down through generations of Italian families.

12:00pm

Within Shadyside is one of Pittsburgh’s trendiest shopping districts along Walnut Street and Ellsworth Avenue, home to a variety of upscale boutiques and restaurants. Stop briefly along Ellsworth Avenue to browse the shops.

1:15pm

Lunch on the grounds of the Frick Art + Historical Center at the quaint Café at the Frick.

3:00pm

Continue to Squirrel Hill, an ethnically diverse neighborhood with a large Jewish population. You’ll find a Middle Eastern bakery, pizza parlors, and Greek, Malaysian and numerous Kosher restaurants in this old and venerable Pittsburgh neighborhood.

Drive into Oakland, home to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University as well as many great cultural attractions including:

• Carnegie Museum of Art, featuring distinguished masterpieces of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and 19th Century American art. The large collection of paintings, prints and sculpture by old masters shares space with works by contemporary artists in the Scaife Gallery. The Carnegie Museum of Art is host to the prestigious Carnegie International.
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History is one of the six largest natural history museums in the country. Called the “home of the dinosaurs” for its famed skeletons of Tyrannosaurus rex, Diplodocus and other extraordinary fossils, the museum also displays more than 5 million specimens from all areas of natural history and anthropology.
• Phipps Conservatory + Botanical Gardens was built more than 100 years ago and offers a feast for the senses. Tropical plants, a butterfly garden, Bonsai, miniature orchids and seasonal flower exhibits are just a few of the pleasures that await visitors in this charming glass palace.

 

5:30pm

Return to hotel.

Free time to explore Downtown Pittsburgh. Within downtown, you’ll find the Cultural District, which encompasses a 14-block area, as well as two major department stores: Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.

6:45pm

Meet VisitPittsburgh staff member in hotel lobby.

7:00pm

Dinner at Penn Brewery, a German restaurant and brewery located in "Deutchtown" on the North Shore.

Thursday:

Day 2 of Neighborhood Driving Tour (southern neighborhoods)

9:15am

Meet VisitPittsburgh staff member in hotel lobby.

9:30am

Breakfast at Tom’s Diner on the South Side, one of the liveliest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, consisting of 20 blocks running along East Carson Street parallel to the Monongahela river.

10:30am

Explore the hip, unique stores and brilliant architecture of East Carson Street.

11:30am

Drive through the SouthSide Works, a newly developed retail and entertainment district. Time to browse if desired.

Continue to Station Square. Once the site of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad yards, today this 52-acre riverfront complex thrives with some of the city’s most unique dining, entertainment and shopping. Explore Bessemer Court, the dancing fountain synchronized to music, and the Shops inside Station Square.

1:00pm

Lunch at the Grand Concourse. Here you can enjoy fresh seafood, homemade pastas and steaks served amid the regal architecture of a national historic landmark.

Browse Station Square.

4:00pm

Return to hotel.

5:45pm

Meet VisitPittsburgh staff member in hotel lobby.

6:00pm

Dinner at Café Zao, located in the heart of the Cultural District and within walking distance of the hotel, featuring Portuguese cross-cultural cuisine. The restaurant's sophisticated ambience and menu attracts patrons from across the region.

Friday:

Depart hotel for Pittsburgh International Airport.