Pittsburgh experts - Pls review itinerary & answer Qs
Jun 25th, 2007 | 02:13 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,036
Likes: 0
Pittsburgh experts - Pls review itinerary & answer Qs
I'm heading to Pittsburgh next week for a few days with my parents. We'll have a car, but we prefer to walk if possible. My parents are in good health, and probably in better shape than I am.
We are staying at the Pittsburgh Renaissance (107 6th Street) in downtown.
Here's the itinerary:
July 2 (Mon)
Arrive around 2:30pm
Drive into town, park car, check-in
Walk around downtown
Walk from hotel to Duquesne Incline and take the Incline up
Walk around Mt Washington
8pm dinner (thinking of Monterey Bay Fish Grotto)
July 3 (Tues)
Walk from hotel to Andy Warhol Museum
Lunch near hotel (thinking Six Penn Kitchen)
Walk to the Heinz History Center on The Strip
Dinner on The Strip (probably Kaya)
July 4 (Wed)
Daytrip to Mill Run. Reserved tickets for Fallingwater & Kentuck Knob.
Dinner back in downtown (probably Cafe Zao)
July 5 (Thurs)
Frick Art & Historical Center
Lunch at the Cafe at Frick
Carnegie Museum of Art + Cathedral of Learning at U of Pittsburgh
Back to Airport by 5pm
Questions
1) Is it safe to walk around downtown Pittsburgh at night? This pertains to the first two nights we have - walking from the Duquesne Incline back to our hotel after dinner (10pm or later), and walking from The Strip to our hotel (looks like about 1.5 miles).
2) How much time it'll take to drive from Univ of Pittsburgh to the Airport on our last day? It is a Thursday afternoon (July 5th). Will 1 hour be enough?
3) Anything glaring that is incorrect or missing?
4) Any comments on the restaurants I've picked? I haven't made any reservations yet.
We are staying at the Pittsburgh Renaissance (107 6th Street) in downtown.
Here's the itinerary:
July 2 (Mon)
Arrive around 2:30pm
Drive into town, park car, check-in
Walk around downtown
Walk from hotel to Duquesne Incline and take the Incline up
Walk around Mt Washington
8pm dinner (thinking of Monterey Bay Fish Grotto)
July 3 (Tues)
Walk from hotel to Andy Warhol Museum
Lunch near hotel (thinking Six Penn Kitchen)
Walk to the Heinz History Center on The Strip
Dinner on The Strip (probably Kaya)
July 4 (Wed)
Daytrip to Mill Run. Reserved tickets for Fallingwater & Kentuck Knob.
Dinner back in downtown (probably Cafe Zao)
July 5 (Thurs)
Frick Art & Historical Center
Lunch at the Cafe at Frick
Carnegie Museum of Art + Cathedral of Learning at U of Pittsburgh
Back to Airport by 5pm
Questions
1) Is it safe to walk around downtown Pittsburgh at night? This pertains to the first two nights we have - walking from the Duquesne Incline back to our hotel after dinner (10pm or later), and walking from The Strip to our hotel (looks like about 1.5 miles).
2) How much time it'll take to drive from Univ of Pittsburgh to the Airport on our last day? It is a Thursday afternoon (July 5th). Will 1 hour be enough?
3) Anything glaring that is incorrect or missing?
4) Any comments on the restaurants I've picked? I haven't made any reservations yet.
Jun 25th, 2007 | 03:29 PM
#2
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
The Phipps Conservatory (near the Carnegie museum and Cathedral of Learning) currently has a Chihuly exhibit. I haven't seen it, but I've heard it's very good. It's a ticketed event.
http://www.phipps.conservatory.org/chihuly/index.html
http://www.phipps.conservatory.org/chihuly/index.html
Jun 26th, 2007 | 11:52 AM
#5
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 149
Likes: 0
yk,
Pittsburgh is not the most walkable city. You'll see that it's very spread out and by only walking, sadly, you'll miss out on a lot of great things. I can't say for sure that your itinerary is do-able on foot, as I've only driven around the city, but even if it is, take some time to just drive around and see more...you'll enjoy it (and probably get lost, but that's an adventure!!) Also, keep in mind that there are a LOT of bridges! I don't mind driving over bridges, but walking over them freaks me out a little, especially when there are cars driving over them right beside me...no idea why!
Anyway, I'd really post on Tripadvisor's PA forum as well. There are more replies to Pitt q's over there. Of the thousands of people who post on Fodor's every day, it seems like only about 5 are from PA. Again, no idea why!
Have fun!!
Pittsburgh is not the most walkable city. You'll see that it's very spread out and by only walking, sadly, you'll miss out on a lot of great things. I can't say for sure that your itinerary is do-able on foot, as I've only driven around the city, but even if it is, take some time to just drive around and see more...you'll enjoy it (and probably get lost, but that's an adventure!!) Also, keep in mind that there are a LOT of bridges! I don't mind driving over bridges, but walking over them freaks me out a little, especially when there are cars driving over them right beside me...no idea why!
Anyway, I'd really post on Tripadvisor's PA forum as well. There are more replies to Pitt q's over there. Of the thousands of people who post on Fodor's every day, it seems like only about 5 are from PA. Again, no idea why!
Have fun!!
Jun 29th, 2007 | 08:24 AM
#7
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 193
Likes: 0
We stayed at the Renaissance this past April, it's a beautiful hotel.
Drive to the Duquesne Incline, it's too far to walk. There is free parking there.
I can't remember how far the Warhol Museum is from the hotel, but it does involve crossing a bridge.
Six Penn is a great place to eat, just a block from your hotel. There is also a patio on top that could make for a good place to have a drink before returning to your room one evening.
Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob is a great trip. We spent the entire day seeing both houses.
As for walking at night, we felt safe going to Six Penn and back, but I wouldn't want to walk 1.5 miles. The city is pretty dead at night. Probably the worst you would get is homeless asking for money, but parking is so easy that I would suggest just driving.
The traffic can be pretty bad going through the tunnel at rush hour. I would suggest asking your concierge at the hotel if he thought that would be enough time. It's not that far of a drive (I believe it was about 20 minutes with light traffic), but if the traffic is heavy it could cause a problem. Maybe a local could help answer this one better.
Of the restaurants you mentioned, I only know of Six Penn. We also enjoyed Lidia's (italian), and The Original Fish Market.
Have fun! We really enjoyed Pittsburgh!
Drive to the Duquesne Incline, it's too far to walk. There is free parking there.
I can't remember how far the Warhol Museum is from the hotel, but it does involve crossing a bridge.
Six Penn is a great place to eat, just a block from your hotel. There is also a patio on top that could make for a good place to have a drink before returning to your room one evening.
Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob is a great trip. We spent the entire day seeing both houses.
As for walking at night, we felt safe going to Six Penn and back, but I wouldn't want to walk 1.5 miles. The city is pretty dead at night. Probably the worst you would get is homeless asking for money, but parking is so easy that I would suggest just driving.
The traffic can be pretty bad going through the tunnel at rush hour. I would suggest asking your concierge at the hotel if he thought that would be enough time. It's not that far of a drive (I believe it was about 20 minutes with light traffic), but if the traffic is heavy it could cause a problem. Maybe a local could help answer this one better.
Of the restaurants you mentioned, I only know of Six Penn. We also enjoyed Lidia's (italian), and The Original Fish Market.
Have fun! We really enjoyed Pittsburgh!
