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National Geographic Traveler in its current issue lists Pittsburgh as one of the world's 20 must-see places to visit.
Pittsburgh promoters still like to point to an heirloom accolade by distinguished New Yorker essayist Brendan Gill who came to observe the transformation of the city once disparaged as “Hell with the Lid Off.”
“If Pittsburgh were situated somewhere in the heart of Europe, tourists would eagerly journey hundreds of miles out of their way to visit it,” Gill wrote in 1989.
Since then, the whole world has begun coming to Steel City — it hosted the G20 Summit in 2009. In fact, the people at VisitPittsburgh.com are having trouble tracking all the fresh accolades that seem to flow daily into their offices.
“Hearing praise for this great city never gets old,” said Craig Davis, VisitPittsburgh’s vice president of sales and marketing. “But this was a wonderful surprise.”
National Geographic Traveler in its current issue lists Pittsburgh as one of the world’s 20 must-see places to visit. It is the only U.S. city listed and just one of four cities on the entire planet (along with London; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Dresden, Germany). Other must-sees are either regions or nations; Sonoma, Calif., joins Pittsburgh as the only other American destination.
The article touting Pittsburgh’s attributes reads: “Its mourning for its industrial past long concluded, this Western Pennsylvania city changed jobs and reclaimed natural assets: a natural setting that rivals Lisbon and San Francisco, a wealth of fine art and architecture and a quirky sense of humor.”
The flattering notice qualifies as a whopper — even by the standards of a city that in the past five years has become accustomed to hearing top news organizations and travel magazines declare it among the most livable, most affordable, safest, most secure, most literate, greenest, friendliest and prettiest, to name just a few.
It’s like this once ugly industrial duckling has emerged to become America’s Homecoming Queen.
Pittsburgh is renown for its championship sports teams and their spiffy new venues (ESPN named PNC Park as baseball’s best), its Andy Warhol and Carnegie museums, National Aviary, and for a geographic setting that is truly captivating. The city’s three rivers confine its center, known as the Golden Triangle; the only direction downtown can sprawl is straight up.
Davis says the city sells itself when he takes visitors and prospective conventioneers up one of its landmark inclines to enjoy the view from one of the fine dining establishments atop Mount Washington, named in 2003 by USA Today travel writers as the second most lovely vista in all America.
Award-winning travel writer Christine O’Toole nominated the city she calls home and authored the article after years of hearing Pittsburgh’s reputation rise around the world.
“Travelers wherever I go are always looking for authentic cities with real personalities,” she said. “That’s Pittsburgh. European visitors in particular are always impressed by this city. The smaller scale and historic riverfront reminds them of the charming inland cities there.”
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Chris Rodell is a Latrobe, Pa., contributor who blogs at www.EightDaysToAmish.com
Leave a Comment:
What really makes Pittsburgh special is that the friendliness & kindness of it's people are enhanced by the fact that it's a conglomeration of nook & cranny suburban "towns".
The people of Pittsburgh are great and the town is a much nicer place to visit than the Pittsburgh of the 1960's but I can't quite see it as a town on a list of "must see" places.
Ah, didn't the fine folks of Pittsburg completely trash downtown after the Steelers won the last Super Bowl. Yep, I want to go there...not.
Dave -- Yes, we were very excited to win a record-breaking 6th Superbowl to become the greatest team in NFL history. Pardon us for our exuberance, but post-championship thrashing is not new, nor confined, just to Pittsburgh. And, if that is the single reason why you don't want to come to Pittsburgh -- then, on behalf of Pittsburgers everywhere -- we kindly thank you to visit Cleveland instead.
SoundMan71 -- Last time I checked, the Green Bay Packers have won 11 NFL Championships. Since we know Pittsburgh is math-challenged, may I point out that 11 is slightly more than 6. So, that makes the Stillers barely half the team the Packers are...know your place, yinzers.
And, I've been to both Pittsburgh and Cleveland...I'll gladly take Cleveland.
fir114 must be english-challenged. 6 Superbowls. Top on the list for SUPERBOWLS. I have lived in all three cities. I would move back to Pittsburgh if the oppurtunity arrives. I would possibly move back to Cleveland. But Green bay, big negative. Boring city. I feel bad for people that have to go there on business trips.
Jacst66 -- I was focusing on the "greatest team in NFL history" comment. My English is just fine.
Typical Cheesehead! Or is it Headcheese?
You must have us mistaken with Vancouver. This blue collar town works too hard to trash our own city. Don't hate on us because you chose not to live here. Jealousy bores us.
Yinz need to ignore Dave, he's a jagoff...
Dave is full of Jumbo.
have been going to pittsburg for many years for the pittsburg vintage grand prix.while there we have walked to phipps conservatory,the college campus,nearby catholic church,other places in that area.took a trip on the inclined railway,boat cruise and the shops in that area.there's so much to do and see...the new casino,all the different museums....to much to list.be back next year.
Mike--your mention of Phipps Conservatory brought back memories of a half century ago--a little boy marveling at blooming flowers when it was snowing outside. My family moved away shortly thereafter, but I've visited as an adult a number of times. Hope you've had a chance to sample some of the great ethnic food you'lll find throughout the city especially in small, unpretentious eateries. Don't get me started on the bakeries!
Pittsburgh doesn't put on airs. It doesn't beckon to anyone. It humbly waits to be discovered and enjoyed,
this HAS to be payback to the rooneys from nobama: 1st off, pittsburgh is BANKRUPT! along with another failed pa city=harrisburg! (see ACT47) the infrastructure in pittsburgh is ABYSMAL. no beltway. horrible secondary roads. a crumbling bridge with a "catch basin" below it before the squirrel hill tunnels. all of "the arts" are subsidized by the RAD tax or they would have closed. like the symphony and the aviary. for years, pittsburgh has gone neck and neck with LA as america's most polluted city (see american lung assoc) in 1950, pgh was the 12th largest city in america/today it's the 84th! PAT transit is bankrupt for the 2nd time in 5 years. 1st time a 10% drink tax was imposed to subsidize their surplus population. finally, the property taxes are AWFUL. the assessment method in this city/county is a complete failure. read for yourself. pittsburgh is america's largest nursing home. it's largest employer is UPMC that doesn't pay property taxes! this city was screwed up LLLLLLONG before the recession! how pittsburgh made a top 20 list, except in the case of braindrain or aging population, is DUMBFOUNDING!
If you don't like it, move. Easy.
already did over a decade ago.... enjoy your 2% transfer taxes, 3.5% state income taxes, 2.5% city income taxes, and all those giant potholes!
jilted taxPayer reminds me of some old foggy, "Get off my lawn." nobama... har har you are so original you had to post it twice...
Like just about every other city in this country, Pgh does have issues, mostly economic. What city doesn't, in this day and age? But it's an amazing city in every way: the people, the food, the architecture, the entertainment. It's a very historic city-you can still see the remnants of Fort Pitt at the Point (Point State Park). Then there's the Civic Light Opera, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and all the museums for cultural interests. The North Side is amazing-the Mexican War District, the sports stadiums, the new River's Casino, The Carnegie Science Center, restored 19th century homes and gardens-just awesome. No one is asking you to move there-just visit, and you'll be back!
I've traveled to hundreds of cities throughout this country. Yes, Pittsburgh has it's share of problems just like most large cities, but to me it's still "Home Sweet Home". There is no more of a better view as you come out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel and the whole city opens up in front of you. Fantastic! I grew-up in Pittsburgh, but now live just outside in the Burbs. Gotta love the sports teams. Go Big Ben! Love those Steelers! "Steeler Nation Baby!"
dont spend more than a weekend in pittsburgh, you'll run outta things to do! why do you think the G20 summit was only 2 days? nobama didn't want any world leaders to die of boredom while in pittsburgh! BTW no city in america has lost more F500 companies than pittsburgh.
So I guess they put the lid back on Hell? How in the Hell did they do that?
The most beautiful place I have ever seen is Niagara Falls, Canada.
I absolutely love Pittsburgh, regardless of my bias towards it from having grown up here my entire life. I have visited many other cities in many other countries and it is definitely one of the cleanest and its residents some of the friendliest. I was pretty shellshocked when I ventured out of its borders for the first few times - I never thought that established cities and people in them *weren't* like that. Now, though, even though I am in love with the place (and if you can't find things to do for more than two days' worth of time, then I'd say YOU are the boring one - not this place for sure!), I am very pleasantly surprised (heavy emphasis on the VERY and the SURPRISED) that it made it in the top 20 places to visit. I mean, almost everyone loves his/her hometown, but rarely does it make this kind of list!
when i read that Floridians are coming to pittsburgh to spend their vacation dollars, reading where pittsburgh is taking in an influx of tourist revenue, decreasing its crippling taxes as the result of that revenue, where pittsburgh stops being consistently rated @ the bottom of forbes annual list of "cities rated for singles" THEN i might believe this planted propaganda. for anyone who understands demographics: pittsburgh conveniently averages in college student population to mask it's ever aging population. ALSO, the city of pittsburgh is so desperate for revenue, due mostly to overpaid union bureaucrats and their pensions, that the city council attempted to "tax" college students to bail out their mess! as if college students come to "pittsburgh" rather the college they attend.
You want some cheese with that whine? Yes because when people go to the polls, they are going to say... hey National Geographic Traveler rated Pittsburgh as a top 10 destination.... I think I will vote for Obama! I feel sorry for you, what kind of warped view of the world you have where everything is political and negative... LOL planted propaganda, I think you dropped your tin foil hat over there bud.
i think your reading cumpreshun is off a little dave. i wasn't connecting nobama to pittsburgh except that he is CZAR ROONEY's buddy. voting for nobama has nothing to do with this article
Hey Jilted.....are you so angry because it snowed on your tent over the weekend on Grant Street? Typical "Occupy" Protestor ranting about nothing they know anything about.
i dont live in @!$%#zburgh (as sienna miller called it) idiot. i abandoned that BANKRUPT city over a decade ago!
Still haven't found that Kenyan birth certificate, jilted taxPAYER?
WTF does President Obama have to do with any of this? You're simply a hater. Get back to us when you figure out how to blame President Obama for your toe nail fungus.
Here's some Pittsburgh advise for you: Any jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a carpenter to build one.
Fortunately, for evey one crabby local who doesn't appreciate their hometown, there will be ten, quiet but very happy locals who help make Pittsburgh such a great city. I am so impressed with the city's resilence, capacity for change, the strength of their renaissance and the quality of their downtown and neighborhoods. It is a great city to visit and explore - wonderful restaurants, great sports (Go Steelers and Pirates!) diversity and culture. What a city!
Amen.
great restaurants? where? in the city paper yinzers voted OLIVE GARDEN the 3rd best italian restaurant? sad that in ANY city that would happen! capacity for change? like jim roddey said: "if the world ended today, it would take the fallout 10 years to reach pittsburgh". all cities have "diversity and culture"/LAME cant put that on a brochure. for a northern city, pittsburgh is one of the most segregated!
I'm definitely not one to obsess over the area (actually, I don't even live in Pittsburgh myself), but having lived there previously for several years (and having moved around throughout the northeast and Michigan and traveling for work), there are, without a doubt, many other places that are far worse off. You might find that you'd benefit from getting out a bit more.
With regard to food, it can be hit or miss (or could be, I should say, given that I haven't lived there for almost five years), depending on what you're looking for. You'd think that if Olive Garden were that beloved, it would also be at the top of, say, yelp ratings for Italian restaurants - somehow, it didn't make it with the first 40 results I got when sorting by highest rating (I'm not going to sit here and sort through this until I find Olive Garden - sorry). The Italian food, at least when I lived there, was not world-class relative to other cities in the northeast. However, I don't think anyone ever proclaimed Pittsburgh as a mecca for Italian food. In fact, I don't think that anyone prior to you even mentioned anything about Italian food, so I'm not sure what the relevance is, but alright - fair enough.
Concerning the segregation remark, if you've traveled at all and have actually explored cities on foot, you should know that there are plenty of other cities that are similar or worse with respect to segregation. See the link below (if you check other lists, you'll find that the results converge). (...and for the record, you'll note that the majority of the cities listed are in the north, several in the northeast - whatever relevance that has, since you brought up the "northern" thing originally) ...
#1-milwaukee-wisc-has-a-796-white-black-dissimilarity-score-22
You'll also find that Pittsburgh is not as high as many other cities on a related variable, income inequality. A recent census report puts three cities from your beloved Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Gainesville) in the top ten for what that's worth, however.
At any rate, there's little need to respond to each of your remarks; from what you've written elsewhere, you don't seem as though you care to reason. I definitely agree that the city and surrounding region have flaws, but so does anywhere else, pal - except Florida, apparently. If you want to be angry and demean people (as you seem to be resorting to), that's totally fine; no one's forcing you to go back. For someone going for a trip (given that, after all, the article had to do with places to travel to, not places to pay property taxes), though, it's a nice place to visit - the majority of the people I know that have spent time in the area have almost always enjoyed themselves (and are often pretty surprised). Try not to get yourself too worked up.
Wow...the hatred you spew towards Pittsburgh is amazing. I really hope that it's been only a couple of days since you left southwestern PA because if you've been carrying this with you for much longer than that you have other issues that need to be addressed...
nah, the bitter truth hurts yinzer. not one thing i listed is not true! (minus the sarcasm) i am a happily adjusted floridian. 12 lane highways, no state income tax, i can buy a six pack @ the grocery store NOT from the beer nazis, and my property taxes are very reasonable. enjoy the snow and potholes yinzer....
@jilted: I grant you this: Quaker State beer laws (buy from bars or from the distributor by the case) are pretty asinine. That's a Commonwealth of PA problem.
Olive Garden. Okay, anyone can eat there--anywhere. I found a great little 50-seat restaurant in town where a rather elderly Italian woman suggested her own handmade meatballs to add to my pasta dish at 50 cents a pop. Best I've ever had.
Florida's gain is PA's loss.
guess who buys the most booze IN THE WORLD! thaaaaaaaaaaats right! the PALCB. and it will never change. hey is 5th ave still full of cheesy wig stores? how many years since hornes kaufmanns and gimbels ALL abandoned pittsburgh? oops, lazarus too=what's in that EMPTY building? almost forgot yinzers: cant even get a direct flight out of pittsburgh since us air ABANDONED the city for charlotte! guess you gotta drive to cleveland.
Wrong again, jilter "The Hater" taxPAYER.
Round #1. USEless Air: We demand concessions. Labor: We will agree to concessions. Will you commit to keeping jobs in Pittsburgh?
Round #2. USEless Air: We demand more concessions. Labor: We will agree to more concessions. Will you commit to keeping jobs in Pittsburgh?
Round #3. USEless Air: We demand more concessions and thats our final offer. Labor: We will agree to the concessions. Will you commit to keeping jobs in Pittsburgh?
Conclusion: USEless Air's word is no good.
Have no fear jilter "The Hater" taxPAYER, other airlines have stepped up to fill the void and they are profitable without USEless Air.
Pennsylvania - Republican governor
Pennsylvania - Republican state senate
Pennsylvania - Republican house of reps
pennsylvania-not my problem. looks like the republicans are just as incompetent as "uncle ed". who pays? YOU DO Spike! now bend over.....
useless air: "unions suck but pittsburgh unions are the worse" epilogue: who cares! useless air is GONE! excuses dont attract capital investment (unless you are mayor opie and you bribe a company to build on a 20 year tax abatement! see: PNC and BNYmellon)other airlines? oh, you mean the ones that bought the gates for pennies on the dollar? yeah, those airlines. who pays for that yinzer? YOU DO! next idiot....
thanks Spike for supporting my argument. pa and pittsburgh are so poorly managed and desperate for capital, that govt bureaucrats will give "tax free status" to ANYONE! guess who pays for the gas drilling fees if the EPA ever takes its foot off pa's neck? YOU DO! next pa sucker.....welcome to pa "thump thump thump"
I have heard how much some people love this town and now I see why. I would love to visit this town. It is nice to hear something good about a town. I had no idea it would look the way it does. I have been told about how good the people are there too.
OK, to try to bring this back on track...this isn't about our economy or the fact that USAir left, this is about what the city has to offer to tourists....
1)World-rated symphony and ballet
2) Excellent theatre district
3) Warhol Museum
4) Architecture and infrastructure that has been around for decades
5) Excellent arts and music venues
6) Excellent restaurants
If you can't find something to do in Pittsburgh, and I say this all the time to my friends who complain about nothing to do, you are not looking hard enough. Pittsburgh offers a true melting pot of neighborhoods and adventures!
(Yes, I am a born and raised Pittsburgher--not a Yinzer--and I have steel running through my veins and I bleed Black and Gold!)
@Kristen-thank you for trying to bring the conversation back around to the many positive features that Pittsburgh has to offer. I was born and raised here (and never used "yinz" except as a joke), but I've also had the privilege of living in 4 other states (south, midwest and pacific northwest). And where did I decided to live when given the choice? Pittsburgh. It's a great town with great people. I encourage everyone to come check us out and see for yourself...don't listen to people who haven't lived here (or haven't lived here in a long time) sway you..
@Cidley57 and @Kristen, THANK YOU! I too have lived in several other areas of the country and have traveled the world...and next year, I am thrilled to say, I am coming back home to Pittsburgh, this time for good. Great city, great architecture, friendly and down to earth people, world-class arts and culture, world-class educational institutions, cutting edge medical facilities, booming high-tech industries, beautiful city parks, unique and individual city neighborhoods, The Strip (Penn Mac and Sunseri Bros., how I have missed you!), and of COURSE world-class professional sports (Black and Gold runs in my veins...GO STEELERS AND PENS!!!! [and Buccos too, but...well, you know we still love our losers]) - what's not to love? Yes, I dislike the weather a LOT, especially compared to where I live now, but despite that, I can't wait to come home and never leave again.