PA Traveler
Service Attendant
Since the Capitol Limited and the Pennsylvanian come through here, I thought I'd provide a little bit of information about Pittsburgh. In spite of a sign that says "Notice. For your safety, wait inside the station until your train is announced for boarding," this is a safe area of town. The sign is referring to not going up the steps to the train platform, but we've met a number of people who seem to take it to mean that the area outside the station is unsafe. It's not. The station is at the edge of downtown Pittsburgh, directly across from the new Greyhound station, close to the convention center, shopping, restaurants, expensive hotels, and some interesting places within walking distance of the station.
The John Heinz History Center is only about a ten-minute walk from the station. Not far from there is the Strip District, with lots of ethnic grocery shops and restaurants. The famous Primanti's is here, but that never did too much for me. DeLuca's is also rather famous for breakfast, but we prefer Pamela's and Jo-Jo's. Pamela's is pretty close to DeLuca's, but Jo-Jo's is a little farther down and on Smallman Street, not Penn Avenue. Roland's is one of our favorites for lunch or dinner, but there are a lot of good restaurants right around here. The Strip is particularly fun on a Saturday morning when street vendors set up outside the shops. It's very busy, but it's our favorite time to go.
As for other sites not so close to the station if you are here a little longer, Pittsburgh has much to offer. If museums are your thing, there are lots of them. Carnegie Museum in Oakland is one of the best and best known if you like dinosaurs, geology, architecture, etc. Phipps Conservatory is outstanding and within walking distance from the museum. You can get out on the rivers with a Ducky Tour or for a longer trip, the Gateway Clipper Fleet is not far away. The ride up one of the inclines to see the view of the city from Mt. Washington is well worth it and the Station Square area where you would take one of the inclines has lots of restaurants and shops and a nice view of the city from across the Monongahela River. If you like amusement parks, Kennywood Park is not far away. If you are going to stay long enough to get out into the mountains, Fallingwater is listed in one of our travel books as one of the best places to visit in the world.
I am only scratching the surface, so I'll provide some links. I always like Trip Advisor and use it extensively to plan my trips.
http://www.tripadvis...nnsylvania.html
Also:
http://www.visitpitt...nia/pittsburgh/
http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/
The John Heinz History Center is only about a ten-minute walk from the station. Not far from there is the Strip District, with lots of ethnic grocery shops and restaurants. The famous Primanti's is here, but that never did too much for me. DeLuca's is also rather famous for breakfast, but we prefer Pamela's and Jo-Jo's. Pamela's is pretty close to DeLuca's, but Jo-Jo's is a little farther down and on Smallman Street, not Penn Avenue. Roland's is one of our favorites for lunch or dinner, but there are a lot of good restaurants right around here. The Strip is particularly fun on a Saturday morning when street vendors set up outside the shops. It's very busy, but it's our favorite time to go.
As for other sites not so close to the station if you are here a little longer, Pittsburgh has much to offer. If museums are your thing, there are lots of them. Carnegie Museum in Oakland is one of the best and best known if you like dinosaurs, geology, architecture, etc. Phipps Conservatory is outstanding and within walking distance from the museum. You can get out on the rivers with a Ducky Tour or for a longer trip, the Gateway Clipper Fleet is not far away. The ride up one of the inclines to see the view of the city from Mt. Washington is well worth it and the Station Square area where you would take one of the inclines has lots of restaurants and shops and a nice view of the city from across the Monongahela River. If you like amusement parks, Kennywood Park is not far away. If you are going to stay long enough to get out into the mountains, Fallingwater is listed in one of our travel books as one of the best places to visit in the world.
I am only scratching the surface, so I'll provide some links. I always like Trip Advisor and use it extensively to plan my trips.
http://www.tripadvis...nnsylvania.html
Also:
http://www.visitpitt...nia/pittsburgh/
http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/
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