If you are new to Pittsburgh, the name can be a bit confusing, but it refers to being a literal…read morestrip of land between the river and steeper banks. Although some also say it is from the strip mills that were once in the area. Regardless of how it got its name, it is a wonderful place that anyone spending time in Pittsburgh should visit! There are restaurants of every variety. Polish, Vietnamese, seafood, Italian and the original Primanti Brothers location! There is a winery, butcher shop, places to buy kitchen items, a spice store, tons of Pittsburgh themed sports and souvenir shops. Candy stores, Pittsburgh popcorn. Maybe the most known entity is Wholey's Market with their amazing selection of fresh seafood. The strip is always busy during the day, especially on Saturday and Sunday. It is a little less crazy in the evenings because a lot of the retail stores are only open until 5, but there are still plenty of great spots to grab a bite. It is easily walkable and there are a wide variety of parking options (a municipal garage near one end, surface lots, metered spots and some businesses (like Wholey's) have their own lots. What is great is that anyone can enjoy the Strip District. You can enjoy time with your family, wander on your own, have a girls day our or have a date day. So many fun things to choose from. Definitely one of the top Pittsburgh "things to do"

Yes it's a must see strip. Lots of food places , something for everyone. Cafes to choose from …read more Shopping , road side vendors. We went to play mini golf, amazing place , it's huge, kids area is separate, restaurants is separate, people host birthdays, there is a bar, but lots of shops closes at 4 pm on a Sunday .

Andrea Polli's masterpiece in the heart of the Cultural District is an absolute gem of immersive…read moreart! A place I would often take visitors to our great city and a spot I still swing by whenever I'm home. The canal aka Garrison Place was originally a dank and dark alley (Garrison Alley) that transformed with the Cultural District coming into fruition. The LED art installation wasn't unveiled until 2018 but is still considered a vital and iconic piece of Pittsburgh art & history. The idea of the artwork is to mimic swimming under water. The lights change colors depending on weather. The animated waves also shift & change around the weather. If you're visiting Pittsburgh, be sure to check it out (after the sun goes down) in the 900 block of Liberty.

"Garrison Canal" is a piece of artwork that was designed by artist Andrea Polli and installed in…read morethe Garrison Place alley between Liberty Avenue and Exchange Way. The artwork consists of thousands of lights that were recycled from the "Energy Flow" art on the Rachel Carson Bridge. According to the website for the artwork, Polli describes the artwork as waves of big-data lights under which visitors "swim." The lights change color in response to the weather. Recently late in the evening, my husband and I walked under this artwork. The shimmering lights looked very beautiful. Unfortunately, a man stopped and really stared at us, and even my husband felt worried that we would be robbed. We were not harmed at all (phew!), but I recommend that people walk with a buddy and keep a safe distance from others.

Some of the best views of the Pittsburgh Skyline…read more I ended up using my tripod-mounted DSLR and 70-200mm lens to get some great photos of the Pittsburgh Skyline from this location. Although the park itself is safe with visitors typically present...the surrounding area is very very quiet. In driving to the park's parking lot on Fairview Avenue, you will notice this. At no time did I feel unsafe, even with my photography equipment on hand. A police cruiser did circle around the parking area during my visit...which is reassuring. There are about 15 parking spaces in the main lot. There is also a port-a-potty there.

While not as well known as it's more famous sister on Mt. Washington, the West End Overlook is a…read moregreat spot to get a head on view of downtown and look up the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. I love to come here as it's a little quieter than Grandview Ave and has lots of trees and greenery about.

What's not to love about the place that gives you incredible views of Pittsburgh?!…read moreThere are so many neat things here. Public parks, some interesting sculptures, viewing platforms, the top stations for both inclines, tons of great restaurants, bars and bakeries. It is such a cool place! Really something for everyone. And the absolute best views of the beautiful Pittsburgh skyline.

It's a bit of a stretch to call this a "mountain", but it is an absolutely STUNNING place to…read morephotography PGH from! I recommend coming around sunset/sunrise or even at night! Fading natural light is a great contrast to artificial city lights. If you do this, I highly recommend bringing a tripod. There are some decent places to eat up here as well! I hiked up through a trail system from the Sheraton, it was a blast!

Strawberry Way is an alley in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh that's been transformed into an…read moreeclectic outdoor seating area that attracts people from all walks of life: business professionals, students and artists. The street has been painted in a vibrant and funky pattern and in the summer months filled with multi-colored tables and chairs. The seating area provides a fun experience for lunch hour or just to take a break and enjoy the views of surrounding buildings. This is one of those little gems I'd love to stumble across as a tourist in another city. Definitely worth enjoying and not taking for granted as a city resident or area local.

Fun, funky, quiet, an oasis. This little neighborhood alley can be anything you want it to be. The…read morewalkway has been painted in a multitude of colors/shapes and there are planters and tables and chairs throughout to take a load off and just relax. If you need a spot to unwind, come on down!

The Mattress Factory excels at site-specific imersive installation art, and their permanent…read morecollection has some origami art by some of the biggest names in installation art. The museum also hosts private events, a few of which I've attended, and they were outstanding. The staff are very welcoming. The museum gives back to the local community in a big way.

I've visited the Mattress Factory many times over the years, and it's always a place I enjoy…read morereturning to. I love the main building and how the exhibits are constantly changing, while some of the iconic spaces--like the mirror rooms--remain favorites that you can always count on seeing again. During this visit, I noticed the Dollhouse building has been completely redone. The new exhibit is much darker and heavier in tone, which honestly made me a little disappointed since the dollhouse installation used to be a staple of my visits and something I always looked forward to. The third building had construction going on on the first floor, but from what I could see it looks like it's going to be an incredible new display once it's finished. I was also a little sad to see the delayed recorder projector piece gone, but the new installation in its place was still interesting. One thing I still absolutely love is the water flowing down the handrails--it's such a small detail but always one of my favorite parts of the experience. Overall, it's still a place I enjoy visiting and seeing how the exhibits evolve over time.

You don't have to shell out any Dough to visit the Doughboy, because of course it's free…read more This is a popular little roundabout with an ice sculpture in the middle of it... actually it's a "nice sculpture" but google dictate hates me. Having said that, an ice sculpture would probably survive here for several months a year in icy Pitt. So it's pretty awesome, and one which is located in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighbourhood. As you can see Barbie came here, and like her, it adds a nice little bit of culture and artistic flavour to the neighbourhood.

4.5 stars. The Point State Park Fountain is located where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet…read moreto form the Ohio River. It was built in 1974 and renovated in recent years. Operational in warm seasons, the fountain water comes from pumps, and its height of up to 150 feet is adjusted by park staff depending on weather conditions. For many years, I have visited Point State Park to view this fountain. Most recently I visited on a hot day in June, and the wind blew a refreshing mist of fountain water onto me. The fountain looked beautiful, especially with the backdrop of the rivers, football stadium, and boats sailing by.

An iconic Pittsburgh landmark! The fountain is at the middle of the "point" part of Point State…read morePark. It is a really cool site to see and love that you can spot it from so many different vantage points and angles! It was recently renovated again (although I'm not even sure what they did or if there were any real changes). I think my favorite vantage point is trying to catch a glimpse coming out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel. Either that or if I'm lucky enough to be on a boat that makes a pass past the fountain. (like the Gateway Clipper). It is also great to visit up close which is where you get a real sense of just how high the fountain really shoots! (Although on windy or otherwise bad weather days they can adjust the height to prevent issues). The fountain is a great gathering space. You see all sorts of pictures being snapped here. Weddings, proposals, families, proms etc. It makes for some really great people watching.

This is my 2nd time taking advantage of this event and it was as delightful the second time as it…read morewas the first. First of all, it's free. I believe they announced there were 53 sites handing out cookies. We didn't make it to nearly half of the venues but it did allow us a visit to Lawrenceville for shopping nonetheless, cookies or not, so fulfilled the intention of the event and we left some money in the town shopping for furniture, shoes, chocolate, pastry, signed book, artwork, earrings, at the very least and having both breakfast and lunch. Oh, and the cookies provided came with the corresponding recipe. Not too shabby, I'd say!

Love getting to do this tour every year. Living in Bloomfield makes it so convenient to enjoy…read moreeverything that is Butler Street all year round. This however is so much fun and really brings the holiday spirit!

If you're from the Crafton area, you're probably aware of Industrial Highway, a.k.a. "The Highway…read moreto Nowhere". I was reminded of this highway yesterday when I stopped for lunch at nearby Sharp Edge Creekhouse. Industrial Highway is another one of those quirky little incomplete projects that have always fascinated me. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the road, it's an approximately .6-mile long stretch of highway that's built to expressway standards. It's actually in the Fairywood section of the city and it runs from Roswell Drive to Beechnut Drive. It looks like it may have been intended to start Someplace and go Somewhere by way of Something. But it doesn't and therein lies the mystery. Where was this highway intended to go? According to the website above, "The roadway was to run from PA 60 just east of the Thornburg Bridge northwards along Chartiers Creek to PA 51 in the Esplen Neighborhood that borders the town of McKees Rocks." If that was true, what would be the point of building an expressway connecting Crafton with McKees Rocks? Was it to serve the light industrial park? Was it intended to be a bypass around Broadhead Manor, now abandoned but once one of the most dangerous public housing projects? Whatever the case may be, the highway is not abandoned. You can drive on it, although why would you? The highway seems to have no reason to exist and could be closed because the area streets also serve the industrial park. Pennsylvania has a whole bunch of stalled, abandoned, and never started public works projects and this is one of the more obscure ones.