Solo travel · Pittsburgh · United States
Solo travel in Pittsburgh
How to enjoy Pittsburgh at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Popscreenshot, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Pittsburgh is friendly and affordable for solo travellers, with walkable central districts, chatty bars and museums that reward unhurried time alone. Many solo travellers base themselves in Downtown.
Key facts
- Base
- Downtown
- Getting around
- Bus
- Emergency number
- 911 (police, fire, ambulance)
- Language
- English
Solo travel tips
- Stay downtown or on the North Shore to walk to the main sights and the Warhol.
- Sit at the bar at a Lawrenceville restaurant or a South Side pub; locals strike up conversations easily.
- Walk or cycle the riverfront trails, which are popular and busy during the day.
- Use rideshares rather than long walks between neighbourhoods late at night.
- Join a guided walking tour or Rivers of Steel tour to meet other travellers.
Where to stay
$$$ · Best for first-timers, culture and solo travellers
Downtown
Downtown fills the triangle of land between the Allegheny and Monongahela, with PPG Place's glass Gothic towers, Market Square and the Cultural District's theatres including Heinz Hall and the Benedum Center. Point State Park at its tip marks the confluence. It is the most central base, with the T light rail to the North Shore and Station Square.
- Good
- Central for everything; Theatres and Market Square on the doorstep; Light rail to the North Shore
- Watch out
- Quiet on weekday evenings outside the theatres; Expensive parking
- Nearby
- Point State Park, Market Square, PPG Place, Cultural District
Great on your own
Experience · Mount Washington
Duquesne Incline
Ride up just before sunset and stay until the city lights come on; look through the window into the old winding machinery at the top.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Views
- History
- Kids
- After dark
Museum · North Shore
Andy Warhol Museum
Start at the top floor and work down chronologically, and check when the basement printing studio is running.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Iconic
- Rainy day
Museum · Oakland
Carnegie Museums of Natural History and Art
Start in Dinosaurs in Their Time, then cross to the Hall of Architecture; allow a full afternoon for both.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Iconic
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Landmark · North Shore
PNC Park
Walk across the Roberto Clemente Bridge from downtown before the game, and pick seats on the third-base side for the skyline view.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- After dark
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Viewpoint · Mount Washington
Grandview Avenue overlooks
Walk the 1.5 km between the tops of the two inclines, then ride down the Monongahela Incline to Station Square for a different view.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Photo spot
- Couples
- After dark
Architecture · Oakland
Cathedral of Learning
Check the Nationality Rooms tour schedule; some rooms can only be seen with a guide, and December brings holiday decorations.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Rainy day
Meeting people
- Strip District grazing — On a Saturday morning, sample biscotti, cheese, fresh fish, coffee and Asian street snacks along Penn Avenue, ending with a sandwich at Primanti Bros.
- Lenten fish fry — On Fridays in Lent, church basements and fire halls across the city serve fried fish, haluski, mac and cheese and pierogies to queues of locals; it is cheap and friendly.
- East Carson Street, South Side — The densest strip of bars in the city, busy and loud on weekend nights.
- Lawrenceville — Cocktail bars, breweries and live music along Butler Street with a slightly older crowd.
Sensible precautions
Central areas are generally safe with normal precautions; East Carson Street can get rowdy late on weekend nights, and car break-ins happen in parking areas. Stairways and steep streets become slippery with ice in winter.
- Emergency number
- 911 (police, fire, ambulance)
- Staying connected
- US SIM cards and eSIMs are easy to buy; free Wi-Fi is common in cafés, libraries and at the airport.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Pittsburgh good for solo travellers?
Pittsburgh is friendly and affordable for solo travellers, with walkable central districts, chatty bars and museums that reward unhurried time alone.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Pittsburgh?
Downtown: The Golden Triangle of office towers, theatres and Point State Park between two rivers.