Pittsburgh

This shining city rose from the ashes of "hell with the lid off" thanks to coalitions of local homeowners and businessmen. Once contested as a prize during the French and Indian War of the mid-18th century, the area known as "the forks of the Ohio" became the center of the industrial revolution thanks to Andrew Carnegie and his cohorts. At one time, the city's pollution was so bad, tuberculosis and other diseases ran rampant. Today's visitors will find little of that blackened past now: Pittsburgh has become a vibrant "green" city with excellent restaurants and lodgings, a thriving art scene with outstanding museums, hospitals and places of ...

This shining city rose from the ashes of "hell with the lid off" thanks to coalitions of local homeowners and businessmen. Once contested as a prize during the French and Indian War of the mid-18th century, the area known as "the forks of the Ohio" became the center of the industrial revolution thanks to Andrew Carnegie and his cohorts. At one time, the city's pollution was so bad, tuberculosis and other diseases ran rampant. Today's visitors will find little of that blackened past now: Pittsburgh has become a vibrant "green" city with excellent restaurants and lodgings, a thriving art scene with outstanding museums, hospitals and places of higher learning. And, it's beautiful. Take the Monongahela or Duquesne inclines (inclined plane/gravity cars) to get to Grandview Park at the top of Mt. Washington; the point - where the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers meet to form the Ohio - is crowned with a fountain, bright bridges span the rivers, and glass-sheathed skyscrapers reflect the clear sky. Make sure to enjoy the street vendors at the Strip open market on Saturday.

About the Expert

Joanne Miller is the author of several Moon guidebooks, including Pennsylvania Handbook, Chesapeake Bay Handbook, and Maryland/Delaware Handbook.