3 perfect days in Pittsburgh

In a 1868 issue of Atlantic Magazine, James Parton described Pittsburgh as “Hell with the lid off.” The city that provided the steel that helped build a nation—hence the nickname Steel City—Pittsburgh was once a pretty unforgiving place. But gone are all the smokestacks that belched forth soot and carbon and in their place is a city of row houses, bridges and gleaming skyscrapers connected by rivers and hemmedin by hilltops. The history is fascinating, the neighborhoods have character and charm, and the culinary scene is on the rise. Here’s how to spend three perfect days in Pittsburgh.

Also: Check out 10 amazing American castles

Day 1: Downtown Pittsburgh
A mid-afternoon arrival puts visitors in the perfect position to check into and spend some time exploring the new Ace Hotel which is slated to open fall 2015 in the old YMCA building in East Liberty. True to the Ace experience, guests should be on the lookout for cozy crash pads emphasizing comfort and urban cool,and a lobby where young ones obsess over their laptops or recline all afternoon on comfy couches.

Make a beeline for Steel City’s bustling urban core where tall buildings reach for the sky and performing arts venues beckon the city’s culture vultures. PPG Place is a five-and-half acre complex designed by Philip Johnson and constructed of nearly 20,000 pieces of glass—a clever rebuke to a city whose nickname pays tribute to metal. Walk around the plaza and revel in the neo-Gothic forms, take a stroll through the glass-encapsulated Wintergarden and give the MassMutual Ice Rink a whirl during the colder months.

Photo: Jason A. Heidemann

Nearby Market Square is abuzz during weekdays with office drones darting in and out of numerous power lunch spots and stealing rays during afternoons when the sun is cooperating. A ballyhooed destination for both tourists and visitors alike, tasty Primanti Bros. is justly celebrated for its signature “Almost Famous” sandwiches made up of Italian bread that somehow manages to hold together a choice of piled high meats and cheeses, tomatoes, crunchy coleslaw and—wait for it—an artery-clogging pile of french fries.

Photo: Jason A. Heidemann

Famed pop artist Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh in 1928, so its no surprise that a museum—with the largest collection of art devoted to a single artist—was constructed there in his honor. The Andy Warhol Museum is an astounding tribute to the “Pope of Pop” that devotes an entire floor to every decade of the legendary artist’s relatively short life (Warhol died during a routine gall bladder surgery at age 58). Wander through a room filled with silver balloons, gaze upon his large-scale works and become a “superstar” by filming your very own screen test. The museum stays open late on weekends.

Another fine lodging option is the Hotel Monaco whose lobby contains a stunning chandelier and whose attached restaurant Commoner is a large, sprawling eatery serving up dishes divided into cutesy categories like “nibble,” “feed” and “graze.” The brick chicken is a marvelously succulent half bird resting over brussels sprouts and roasted potatoes, and the wood-oven roasted cauliflower swimming in a pool of basil pesto is no slouch either.

Day 2: The neighborhoods

Diminutive in stature—Pittsburgh’s population is slightly larger than 300,000—the city nevertheless is chock full of charming neighborhoods that beg for itinerant wandering. Butler Street takes its time snaking through the city’s eclectic and pedestrian-friendly Lawrenceville neighborhood, which is a magnet for the city’s artists and young entrepreneurs. Duck into Vandal for a quick, unfussy and completely satisfying breakfast. The bare bones menu spoils no one for choice, but every option is a bulls eye, including thick slices of bread from Five Points Artisan Bakeshop lovingly slathered with walnut butter and heaping mounds of huckleberry jam, or or a delicate breakfast biscuit layered with egg, ham or bacon, and greens.

The Cathedral of Learning serves as an architectural anchor for the University of Pittsburgh, which buzzes with student activity during the school year. The steel frame structure towers over the campus and contains 29 explorable Nationality Rooms dedicated to the different immigrants who helped build the city. Its Gothic archways are irresistible and the building is the second tallest university structure in the western hemisphere.

Photo: Jason A. Heidemann

Victorian-era row houses abound in the charming Mexican War Streets neighborhood on the city’s central north side, but their thunder is stolen by Sampsonia Way, a narrow nook of a street that includes painted residences like House Poem, Winged House and Jazz House which provide shelter for endangered and exiled writers. Sifting through the street’s multiple treasures also yields the Mattress Factory Museum, a museum of contemporary art that revels in lively and immersive room-sized installations and intoxicating skyline views.

Photo: Jason A. Heidemann

In Upper Lawrenceville there is Cure, a meat-focused eatery that is perhaps the city’s best restaurant at the moment and a legitimately difficult place to score a table on weekends. The food at Cure is superb and presents the city with an opportunity to showcase its emerging attention to all things culinary. A poached black cod in lemon and olive oil custard is so light and fluffy it withers under the first cut of a standard dinner knife while the squid ink and leek ash gnudi pairs a dozen expertly textured dumplings with octopus, beef heart and guanciale bolognese.

Photo: Jason A. Heidemann

Smooshed between an Italian eatery and a bike shop on the city’s South Side is an ostensibly boarded up storefront that is actually an overly serious craft cocktail bar called Acacia. Sidle up to the bar and order the daily punch or find a high table under a hanging Tiffany lamp and browse the exhaustive menu’s many handcrafted libation, which come served in antique glassware.

Day 3: Mount Washington

On your way out of town, swing back through Lawrenceville and stop at La Gourmandine Bakery for perfectly replicated versions of French pastries, simple savories like pan au chocolats, and excellent clafoutis and baguettes layered with butter, ham and swiss cheese. Take the order to go and make the curvy, swervy drive to the lookout point at Mount Washington, an elegant neighborhood where homes and condos fetch a high price thanks to their commanding views of where the Monongahela, Ohio and Allegheny rivers converge—the focal point of beautiful Pittsburgh.

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