24 hours is not a lot of time to spend in a city. It’s not a lot of time to spend with your friend who lives there, either. So what is the traveling friend to do? Some research. I studied up on what I wanted to do and leaned on my friend to fill in the gaps, make recommendations and tell us the best approach to maximize our time.
Guess what? It worked. We had a fabulous day in Pittsburgh with some tried-and-true activities and a few things that were new to my friend as well. It didn’t hurt that it was 75 degrees and sunny, either. 😉
We started our day here, getting there shortly after it opened at 10am. We’d arrived in Pittsburgh (late) the night before so we had the entire day to explore. The museum was great. It claims to be the only museum in the world dedicated to a single artist and with 7 floors filled with works of art, media, photographs and more items in boxes it wasn’t hard to believe!
Each floor explored a different decade of Warhol’s life and work. We started at the top and worked our way down – it was more than simply learning about an artist. His work was at the core of so much culture and his influence is still seen everywhere. $20 per person and totally worth it. Do it.
A View of Three Rivers
Get yourself to the top of Mount Washington. You can do it via the incline or by car like we did but whichever way you go, you won’t be disappointed. The views of the all bridges, the point where the three rivers meet, the city skyline, the surrouding lush hills dotted with houses – VERY unique. Oh, and if you drive yourself and park on the street somewhere like we did, this activity is FREE.
Time for Lunch – The Strip District It Is!
We were on our own for lunch (our friend had to work for a few hours). Everything I’d read said to check out the Strip District, a warehouse district with lots of shops, markets and restaurants. There were plenty of options – Vietnamese, seafood, Italian, Thai, American…but we eventually went with the Primanti Bros., a Pittsburgh insitution. Sean had been but I had not. It was a pretty chill place for lunch – I was expecting lines out the door. But it was a random Wednesday afternoon, so I’m not really surprised.
Sean chose wisely, ordering the pastrami. Topped with coleslaw and fries, it was a pretty unique bite and the pastrami was yummy. I chose poorly. The burger was a pre-cooked, pre-frozen dried out and tasteless thing. Had it been an actual hand-formed patty from fresh ground beef, it would have been amazing. Hindsight is 20/20, y’all. But it was cheap so it was nothing to get worked up about in the end.
We went into Italian markets with imported pastas, olives, sauces and other interesting food items, found a coffee shop with a special brand of coffee that had Sean smiling from ear to ear, picked up some gorgeous flowers for my mom and generally just enjoyed the day. It wasn’t very busy so it was hard to get a true “vibe” but I imagine at nights and on the weekends, the area is hoppin.’ 
Naptime!
The only thing with getting in late the night before is you get tired on a jam-packed schedule the next day. As timing would have it, it started raining right about the time we got back to our friend’s apartment. So we took a nap and waited for him to rejoin us.
It worked out perfectly because we were refreshed when he got back and the rain had slowed a bit.
Sean and I traveled somewhere and went to a brewery – shocking, I know. But our friend Eric picked this place as it’s his local haunt and favorite place to fill his growlers. Turns out, this place was just our speed. A little off the beaten path, in an old building and with a very casual vibe this turned out to be the perfect place for happy hour. It didn’t hurt that the beers were good, too! 😉 We especially liked Crystal Schip, a sour brown ale, and Monkey Boy, a hoppy wheat beer.
Dinnertime – Cafe Zinho
I didn’t know where to go for dinner – my list was filled with interesting places but long. Eric picked this place and it was perfect for us. This small Portuguese/Mediterranean restaurant was nestled right into the Shadyside neighborhood and with it’s BYOB policy was a charming local spot. It was also listed as one of the best restaurants in Pittsburgh in 2015.
With no website, we couldn’t check out the menu beforehand and I must admit – I found it refreshing to sit down and peruse the menu. It opened up the conversation between the three of us, let us explore the specials they had that night and choose a mix of what felt right at the time. Everything we had was fabulous and the service was perfect. There were some standouts, though – namely, the vegan mushroom soup, the octopus with peppers, onion and garlic, the crab cakes and the smoked salmon appetizer. My mushroom ravioli and Sean’s goat cheese puff pastry with pear sauce were also good.
Late Evening Socializing
We went back to Eric’s apartment to visit some more at the end of our day. We packed in a lot of activity into one day, but it was well worth it. Should you ever find yourself in Pittsburgh for a short time, I hope this list gives you some inspiration.