I visited Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. The weather the entire time was rainy and overcast. If you have never been to Pittsburgh, you will be amazed at the level of civic participation there is in the city. I usually stay on Penn Avenue in the downtown area of Pittsburgh. This is considered the Cultural District of Pittsburgh. There are a bunch of huge ornate theaters lining this street. Most of them carry the name of one of the corporate benefactors in this city. Heinz is a big contributor here (their name is on Symphony Hall...and also on one of the stadiums).
The downtown itself has a someone gritty feel about it. It definitely had a industrial steel-town influence. One of my favorite parts of Pittsburgh is the drive from the airport to downtown. Right before you hit downtown, you enter a long underground tunnel. When you exit the tunnel on the other side of the mountain, you are on a steel bridge over the river that faces downtown. The view of downtown when you exit the tunnel is amazing!
One of the other things I like about downtown Pittsburgh is that it is a very walkable city. Being from Atlanta, I almost always get a rental car when I travel. Not in Pittsburgh. You can pretty much walk anywhere in downtown (and it feels relatively safe).
In past trips, I stayed at the Westin Hotel on 10th/Penn Avenue. This time I decided to save some money and stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott on 9th/Penn. Both hotels are within walking distance of the gyms in Pittsburgh.
Last time I was in Pittsburgh (a few years ago), I went to the Ballys on 6th Street. Since my last trip, that gym has closed (probably because the gym needed a renovation bad!). In the past year, a Gold's Gym has opened downtown in Pittsbugh. I decided to try it out. All I can say is WOW! What an improvement over the Ballys!!! This gym is not only nice (with great equipment).....but if you go during the 5pm after-work rush....it is FILLED with some of the HOTTEST straight guys you have ever seen. And....unlike most gyms....the hot straight guys all shower after they workout! So, as you are changing to head to the gym, there are hot straight guys walking around in towels everywhere. It is a HOT scene!!
The only negative I found with staying downtown (without a car) is the food options at night. I found that most of the places to grab a quick bite to eat closed around 6pm....so I ate Wendy's every night (that was just about the only place I could find open). I have a feeling there are probably some nice sit-down restaurants downtown that are open later....but when I am traveling alone I like to eat quick (but healthy). Thank goodness Wendy's has some healthy things on the menu (as long as you know what to order).
Now for the picture at the top of this posting. There is a cute park right in the middle of Penn Avenue in the Cultural District. It was filled with funky sculptures. It looked like someone on crack might have designed it. But it was fun....so I decided to take a picture of it.
