In the Summer of 2026, I was traveling east in my car to relocate the car and pick up a few National Parks that I hadn’t seen yet.  Pittsburgh seemed like a great location to stop off for a day. I believe that I must have gone to Pittsburgh at some point in my childhood since my brother, Rick went to Carnegie Mellon University. It’s safe to say that I haven’t been in over 50 years; so, it was brand new to me. I was really surprised by how many interesting things there were to do in this vibrant medium-size city. It sits at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers as they merge to form the Ohio River in what is called the “Golden Triangle”.  With all the rivers there are 446 bridges. That is an insane amount of bridges. It actually surpasses Venice which sits on top of water; so, isn’t that crazy?

To truly get a view of the entire downtown, I headed up to the Duquesne Incline.  I got a ride to the base of the incline so I could scope out how easy it would be to walk back across the river to downtown and I am happy to report that almost every bridge has a separate pedestrian thoroughfare which makes this bridge-filled city very walkable. The Duquesne Incline was opened in 1877 and at 9 AM on a Monday, I was the only rider.  It’s cash only (exactly 5 dollars round trip); they have change machines to be able to pay the exact fare. Once the green light shines in the depot, you walk around to a trolley car of sorts and the door shuts behind you. It’s quite the adventure up the incline which climbs 793 feet up the side of Mount Washington. It’s basically on a train track and the car sits perpendicular to the tracks. I was a little anxious to travel alone up the side of the mountain in a car with tracks that looked at least a hundred years old and actually were. I was relieved to get to the top and be able see the vast expanse of the city below and at least 20 of the 446 bridges. It was overcast but I had a clear view of the downtown below. I was really glad that this was my first stop so that I had my bearings. 

From the Duquesne Incline, I walked over the Fort Pitt Bridge to Point State Park.  This is a park right at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. The first fort located on this point was Fort Duquesne built by the French in 1754; they destroyed the fort as they retreated from a British attack during the French and Indian wars. Fort Pitt which was built by the British forces in 1759 and its outline can be seen in the present-day park. From this park I walked along the Allegheny River to cross over on the Andy Warhol bridge which brought me to The Warhol art museum.

The Warhol houses a lifetime of art work by the pop artist. Andy Warhol who was born in Pittsburgh. It’s an interesting set up as you take an elevator to the top of the seven-story museum and each floor represents a decade of his work. On the second floor they incorporate his work with another artist or two which is an interesting juxtaposition. It’s the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist. There are also spaces where you are encouraged to touch making it very experiential. There was one room with large silver rectangular balloons that ping and pong around the dark room with several fans keeping the silver objects moving. 

I took a ride share to the Carnegie Art and Natural History Museum. The museum is in the heart of the University of Pittsburgh campus which is next door to Carnegie Mellon University. The museum was built by Andrew Carnegie in 1896. There are some wonderful spaces in the building with a huge marble staircase and a room of imposing columns and replicas of ancient Greek statues. I am always on the lookout for impressionists and this museum had its fair share of Monet, Renoir and Degas. 

The Heinz Chapel is on the Pitt campus as well and well worth a quick visit. It reminded me of the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal with its huge blue stained glass. It’s one of those spaces like the Long Room in Dublin or the Sagrada Familia where it takes your breath away when you walk in. There is also the Cathedral of Learning which is a 535 foot tall Gothic Revival skyscraper in the middle of the Pitt campus. Completed in 1937, it reminded me a little of the Empire State Building. I was most impressed by its nickname “Cathy”as I didn’t realize I had an entire building named after me. An Uber driver told me about the nickname since she knew (from the app) that my name was spelled with a C. She even claimed that I might be able to find a tshirt with the building and name on it. I didn’t have enough time to hunt for one, but it’s nice to know that my name (correctly spelled) is standing proudly above this interesting city

There is history, art and two major sporting venues all within walking distance of this vibrant multi-faceted city. I highly recommend a visit.