In the city of bridges, FTF waves its Terrible Towel and explores both the well-known attractions and the smaller hidden venues only Pittsburgh locals know about.

Formed at the head of three rivers snaking through the Pennsylvania hillsides, the city of steel rivals its sister metropolis, Philadelphia, in cultural diversity, museum attractions, shopping and cuisine galore.

Featuring a catawampus collection of cartoonishly steep streets and enough yellow and gold to make one reconsider their own zeal for their favorite football team, Pittsburgh can be broken down into several major areas of interest to visiting families.

East Side Eats & Attractions

The East side is a culinary wonderland for the hungry tourist, particularly the Strip District area, where shop after shop produces sumptuous and inviting smells of local and not-so-local eats. We love to start out the day at Pamela’s Diner, where the meals are rich and hearty. Upstairs, there’s even a small shop and café, La Feria, which sells beautiful, vibrant hand-woven tapestries and wood-carved Dia de los Meurtos figurines.

Once spanned by industrial and warehouse spaces, the Strip District today features trendy nightclubs and food markets, giving the area the feel of a bustling open-air market by day and a teen pleasing place to stroll at night.

Venturing off one of the side streets, our noses lead us to one of the locations of the famous Primanti Brothers, where sandwiches the size of your face are packed with French fries, coleslaw, and almost every topping imaginable.

While there are numerous places to nip in for a quick afternoon snack, the Coca Café and Dozen Bake Shop are great places to relax with a copy of the local newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and blend in with the locals. Located north of the Strip District in Lawrenceville, or Lola to its residents, this recently up-and-coming section features the 16:62 Design Zone, a 56-block area full of shops with unique home furnishings, antiques and objets d’art.

Though styled as a dive bar featuring live performances most weekends, lower Lawrenceville’s Brillobox has a great atmosphere perfect for a relaxed lunch. Grab a plushy seat at one of the large family-sized booths and enjoy a burger or one of the menu’s many vegetarian options.

Entering the heart of the East Side toward the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History provides a whole day of exploration for the whole family. Our favorite things to do here include touching an ancient dinosaur bone, exploring room after room of dazzling rocks and gemstones, and climbing into a massive, vibrating replica of a whale heart.

Pittsburgh North Side

Across the Allegheny River on the north side of the city, Pittsburgh’s downtown Cultural District has five theatres for live performances of ballet, theater, opera, Broadway, symphony and contemporary dance. The baseball fans in us love to gawk at the impressive Heinz Field and PNC Park -- home to the Steelers and the Pirates -- while the more artsy types indulge themselves in gawking at retro paintings and unusual portraits at the Andy Warhol and Mattress Factory museums. 

The former features a FTF favorite, the “Silver Cloud” room, an area where kids can interact with giant floating pillow-shaped balloons or lie down as if watching the clouds go by, while simultaneously changing the art space by simply being present in the room. Keep in mind, however, that both these museums may have exhibits whose modern art content is not entirely appropriate for children.

Nearby, the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum provides a full day’s worth of entertainment with its many fun hi-tech learning activities, as well as a floor reserved entirely for aquatics.

Pittsburgh South Side

While the steel industry is certainly an iconic image with which we can all identify, the South end of Pittsburgh possesses the famous Duquesne Incline, commanding a spectacular view of the city from Mt. Washington. While it may have only been five cents a day for workers back in the day to take the rickety journey to the top of the hill, the $2 fare today is definitely worth the view.

Farther southeast from the incline along the Monongahela River, the area along East Carson Street known as the South Side Works is home to a movie theatre, countless bars and restaurants and specialty stores, including our favorite, Culture Shop.

If shopping is definitely your thing, Station Square has all you need for Steelers apparel, jewelry and more. Next to a promenade featuring rainbow-colored flowing fountains and sitting areas with riverside views of the city, the Hard Rock Café is a fun place to grab some grub and gawk at rock n’roll memorabilia.

For those seeking a thrill or two, the summer months bring to life the area’s amusement parks, Kennywood and Sandcastle Waterpark, both located farther down on the South Side along the Monongahela River.

Details, Details

Getting around the city is a cinch now that Pittsburgh has its own 25.2-mile subway system. It's free in the downtown area and costs a minimal fare to cross the Monongahela River to the South Side. While public buses are another popular way to get around the city, all sorts of guided tours are available, including Duck Tours for the kids, historic Trolley Tours downtown and scenic rides on the Gateway Clipper.

History might not be a real kid-pleasing subject, but Pittsburgh possesses a past unlike any other city with many fun facts the wee ones will love. For instance, the phrase, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” purportedly originated at the Lawrenceville Bath House. Here, the area residents would form a line to wash up: men first, women and children next, and then babies. By the time the babies would reach the bathhouse to be washed, the recycled water would be so dirty that it was almost useless to bathe the young ones. As a reminder to not throw out the baby with the dirty bath water, the phrase was born.

In the more recent past, Pittsburgh was chosen to host the G20 Conference in early 2009, given its impressive undertaking in reducing smog pollution that once clouded the city in the early 20^th century. 

For accommodations in the city, the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Shadyside on the east side makes for a comfortable stay away from the ballyhoo taking place downtown. Buses come and go on a street adjacent to the hotel, so no one will have to worry about calling for a more expensive taxi. After a tiring day of pounding the pavement, take a dip in the pool or hot tub.

For those who want to be in the center of everything, the downtown Westin Convention Center sits in a prime location between the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. Walk across one of the many bridges lining the river or grab the “T,” Pittsburgh’s transit rail, to Mt. Washington on the south side.

Transporting the city back in time to the Golden Age, the Omni William Penn Hotel, also located in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, gives its guests more luxurious and grand accommodations.

The Sheraton Hotel’s central location in the flashy district known as Station Square is perfect for shopping lovers and there are plenty of great places to eat as well. Enjoy a classy view of the city across the placid waters of the Monongahela River.

The Pittsburgh Tourist Office has lots more fun facts and information on Pitt on their site, and you can call them at 800/359-0758. For even more to do in Pittsburgh, check out FTF's article on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania For Fine Arts And Fun as well as our piece on Pittsburgh for Kids.