Downtown, the best place to stay in Pittsburgh
When it comes to choosing the best area to stay in Pittsburgh, downtown Pittsburgh is an obvious favourite. The neighbourhood is well connected to the rest of the city and region by major highways and has excellent transport connections including the Allegheny County public transit bus and light rail systems. Several building booms have changed the city skyline turning it into a striking hodgepodge of steel and glass skyscrapers and decorative 19th century buildings. There are many attractions in this area, most of which are within walking distance of each other, so it´s a great place to stay if you are short of time.
Pittsburgh’s much-loved green space, the Point State Park, commemorates Pittsburgh’s role in the French and Indian war and is an oasis of wide green open spaces, landscaped gardens and sweeping city panoramas. Bisected by great long ribbons of river, it offers a multitude of leisure activities and the park is often a colourful scene of kayakers, hikers, joggers and rollerbladers. The riverfront promenade is a beautiful place to take a stroll and the large grassy areas ideal for a picnic or pit stop. There are companies within the park that provide rental services for bikes, kayaks, rollerblades and so on.
Inside the Point State Park, you can navigate to the Fort Pitt Museum that is housed within a replica of the citadel Fort Pitt, originally constructed in 1758 by the British. It tells the story of Pittsburgh’s history using exhibitions and galleries. Directly opposite resides the Fort Pitt Blockhouse, the last and only surviving relic of the original Fort Pitt. From there you can also access the park’s centrepiece, the stately Point State Park Fountain whose water surprisingly shoots out from an underground glacial stream.
The area is a great place to stay for cCulture aficionados as they can get their fix at the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol Museum, the latter of which is the largest museum in the world to be dedicated to one artist. Warhol was born and raised in Pittsburgh and this collection features over 4000 pieces of his work as well as extensive archives.
The fifth ranked National History Museum in the country is located right by the Museum of Art and holds many of the country’s anthropological treasures, including the first-ever discovered T-Rex, while kids and adults alike will get excited by the impressive Carnegie Science Museum, which also houses the aquarium and the opportunity to gaze into outer space.
Tucked up against the Allegheny River in the north-east corner of the city overlooking the Allegheny River, the city’s bustling Strip District offers access to boutique shopping and some of the city’s best eating and drinking. The Strip District is an eclectic blend of the old and new and is another great place to stay in Pittsburgh. Interspersed around the many bars and restaurants , this area also boasts many food stalls, organic farm shops and ethnic grocers and with numerous specialist coffee bars, you’ll be able to smell the coffee from a block away. At night The Strip turns into one of the city’s key nightlife areas.
Hotels in Downtown Pittsburgh
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