If there’s one city in the U.S. that has struggled most to lose its old reputation as a tired, heavy industry steel town, it’s Pittsburgh. However, Pittsburghers would now fiercely argue that the city has long since shed that image and become a place of magnificent sights, sounds, and traditions to explore. If you’re looking for a different city to explore on the east side of the country that’s not New York or Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh would make for a refreshing change.
A stunning geographical location
What’s unique about Pittsburgh is its topography and geographical location. With such a wide array of hills, valleys, and rivers that merge and flow throughout the city’s landscape, it’s unsurprising that Pittsburgh has as many as 88 individual neighborhoods.
The remarkable network of waterways is truly wonderful to explore, with the Allegheny River flowing all the way to the north of the state in the Allegheny National Park.
Mount Washington’s breathtaking scenery
There’s no better way to understand Pittsburgh’s topography than to take a trip to Mount Washington. This place used to be known as Coal Hill, thanks to its plethora of coal seams. It was even named the second most beautiful place in all of the U.S. by USA Weekend’s Annual Travel Report in 2003. Little has changed since then!
Once the cable car gets you to the top, you’ll get magnificent scenery of downtown Pittsburgh. A ride on the vintage cable cars themselves is worth experiencing for travelers.
The city bleeds gold and black
If you want to visit a city that’s truly in love with its sports teams, look no further than Pittsburgh. The locals adore their sport, with the Steelers and the Pirates some of the most respected NFL and NHL sides in their respective games. The Steelers have a proud history in the NFL, having won six NFL championships—more than any other NFL franchise—with the latest coming a decade ago. A Super Bowl LIV place in 2020 looks unlikely, given that the Cleveland Browns are heavily tipped to win the AFC North division.
Few cities are tied together by bridges quite like Pittsburgh
We’ve already touched upon Pittsburgh’s network of waterways, but with that comes an impressive amount of architecture on the city’s skyline. Pittsburgh claims to have more bridges than anywhere else in the world—446, to be precise!
With three huge rivers and hundreds of hills rolling their way through the city, it’s unsurprising. Given that the city is obsessed with gold and black colors for the Steelers, you won’t be stunned to hear that many of the city center’s bridges are also decorated in the unmistakable golden yellow that helps to reinforce the city’s character and personality.
If that’s not enough for you, how about hundreds upon hundreds of lush pastures and forests? Or the city’s unique dining scene, with its one-of-a-kind Primanti Brothers sandwiches?
Don’t miss out on experiencing Pittsburgh’s truly wholesome way of life, without the glitz, glamour, and pretense of other cities on the east coast.
This is a guest post. It was not written by Skye Sherman.