Pittsburgh walking tour & city guide

The Golden Triangle

Downtown Pittsburgh, known as the Golden Triangle, fills the point of land between the rivers. At its tip, Point State Park has a large fountain and the remains of Fort Pitt, the 18th-century British fort that gave the city its name. PPG Place, a castle-like glass skyscraper, has an ice rink in winter.

The inclines and the North Shore

The Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines are cable railways from the 1870s that still carry passengers up the steep slope of Mount Washington. At the top, the overlooks on Grandview Avenue offer one of the best city views in America.

Across the Allegheny River, the North Shore has the baseball and football stadiums and the Andy Warhol Museum, the largest museum dedicated to a single artist in North America. Warhol was born in Pittsburgh.

A classic walk to Mount Washington

Start in Market Square downtown and walk to Point State Park and its fountain. From here, cross the Fort Pitt Bridge pedestrian route or take the river trail to Station Square across the Monongahela, and ride the Monongahela Incline up to Mount Washington.

Walk along Grandview Avenue past its overlooks to the top of the Duquesne Incline and ride it down. Then cross back over the river to finish on the North Shore. The route is about 5 kilometers, with the view from Grandview being the highlight, especially at dusk.

Visiting tips

Late spring to early autumn is the best season. Pittsburgh's neighborhoods are worth exploring: the Strip District for food, Lawrenceville for shops and bars, and Oakland for the Cathedral of Learning and Carnegie Museums. Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's famous house over a waterfall, is about 90 minutes away.