10 Things Not To Miss In Pittsburgh PA

Pittsburgh is more than Pirates and Penguins games. It’s more than the city-favorite pierogi and Mount Washington or the Duquesne Incline. Here’s what you really shouldn’t miss when visiting Steel City:

Catch a Concert at MCG Jazz

Catch a Concert at MCG Jazz

 Grammy-winning vocalist Nancy Wilson said, “The space provides the intimacy of a living room with the acoustics of a great concert hall.” A jazz show at this venue is only performers and instruments. Find yourself in the middle of the next Grammy-winning jazz record, as MCG often records its live concerts for release on its private label, which has nine Grammy nominations and five wins.

Visit Famous Movie Sets

Famous movies that use Steel City as the background for certain scenes include Silence of the Lambs, Night of the Living Dead, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Dawn of the Dead, The Dark Knight Rises, Inspector Gadget, and Flashdance.

Explore the future at the Robot Hall of Fame

Explore the future at the Robot Hall of Fame

This record-holding exhibition showcases fictional and real automatons within roboworld® of the Carnegie Science Center. According to Atlas Obscura, a quartet of robots is chosen by a selected jury and ballot submissions from the general public.

Prestigious honorees include science-fiction icons Star Wars’ C-3PO, Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Disney’s WALL-E. Realistic creations include Boston Dynamics creation BigDog and the Roomba.

Walk through Randyland

In the Central North Side of Pittsburgh, a “big, splashy, colorful abode with ephemera affixed to its yellow brick walls” is the home of artist Randy Gilson, the creator of Randyland. Since the 1980s, he revitalized what locals call the happiest space in the city, “combining neighborhood cleanup efforts with public art projects,” according to Pittsburgh Magazine.

Randyland Pittsburgh
Brunot Island

Kayak to Brunot Island

Brunot Island, a 129-acre isle that’s connected to the city by a single railway/pedestrian bridge, is a 30-minute paddle ride from Kayak Pittsburgh. Trade glances with a whitetail deer or take in the history of this former farming homestead of Lewis and Clark.

Complete the Dirty Dozen

an annual bike race that begin in 1983 and is held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Riders converge on the Bud Harris Cycling Track along Washington Boulevard in Highland Park at 10 a.m.

From there, bicyclists tackle Steel City’s toughest streets, including Guyasuta, Ravine, Rialto, and Tesla. The Dirty Dozen is steep enough to steer away even the strongest riders, but the challenge is a can’t-miss chance for a post-turkey day workout.

Paraglide down Flagstaff Hill

Pittsburgh Paragliding helps thrillseekers soar through Schenley Park and over Phipps Conservatory and the Botanical Gardens. While flights last only a few seconds, this adventurous experience is a don’t-miss opportunity.

Trundle Manor: House of Oddities

Get weird at Trundle Manor: House of Oddities 

In the neighborhood of Swissvale, this house looks like its neighbors with the exception of the coffins on the porch. Inside are true obscurities, including collections of vintage taxidermy, such as “rat bird” and “pigeon shark”; “dead things in jars”; gas masks; and animal skulls.

The Addams Family would be jealous of Trundle Manor, as it takes pride in “displaying genuine articles and not cheap Halloween props,” according to Atlas Obscura. Save & Exit

Inspire others at the City of Asylum

According to Made In PGH, the City of Asylum is “a nonprofit that provides a broad range of free literary and arts programs to the community, including residency for exiled writers and Sampsonia Way online magazine, all of which encourage cross-cultural exchange.”

This inspiring small “city” is a writer’s residence and sanctuary for scribes who were persecuted in their home countries. Stop by the House Poem, another home purchased and converted into an artists’ asylum, on Pittsburgh’s North Side.

City of Asylum
Center for PostNatural History

Question everything at the Center for PostNatural History

Of Pittsburgh’s strange museums, the Center for PostNatural History in the Garfield neighborhood clears the top. As the world’s only museum dedicated to plants and animals that were purposefully altered by mankind, specimens include a “biosteel” goat and the domestication of the dinosaur.

Call Now Button