Jeremy

Jeremy is the co-owner of Discover the Burgh. His favorite Pittsburgh activities include discovering unusual attractions, trying new breweries, and seeking out the city's best happy hours. He also runs the long-term travel blog, Living the Dream.

Heinz History Center – Learning the History of Pittsburgh

Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA

Every city needs a great museum to let its history shine, and in Pittsburgh that museum is the Heinz History Center in the Strip District.

Our first observation after entering the Heinz History Center was that it was much like the popular Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC.  But instead of having separate buildings for each theme as in our nation's capital, the Heinz History Center has everything in one building.

Well, as it turns out the museum is in fact affiliated with the Smithsonian, and the legacy of the nation's most popular museum collection shines in every exhibit in this city gem.

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Pittsburgh Local Resources We Love

When it comes to websites and social media for the city of Pittsburgh, we're not alone here at Discover the Burgh.  In fact, there are dozens of websites out there run by the city, neighborhood associations, or other individuals like us that we think are simply awesome or quite valuable to know.

If you are looking for more content from the city of Pittsburgh outside of this site, be it news, events, emergency updates, city info, or simply great local content, we recommend starting with these sites first!

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An Evening at Mr. Small’s Theater in Millvale

Mr Smalls Funhouse in Millvale

Much to the chagrin of music lovers in the city, Pittsburgh's concert scene often gets poor reviews.  Sure, a super group may play at Acrisure Stadium once a year, a few big bands will play at the impossibly frustrating First Niagara Pavilion, and smaller but still well known bands may show up at Stage AE from time to time.

The frustration music fans have stems not from a lack of venues, we do have quite a few in the area, but more from the fact that for whatever reason, the huge bands people want to see just don't come here like in other cities. (To be fair, the music scene of lesser known groups can be quite good if you are looking for it).

Luckily for us, one of our favorite bands, the bluegrass-inspired Punch Brothers led by MacArthur Fellowship award winner Chris Thile (a musical God if there ever was one), loves to play in Pittsburgh and often hit a new venue during each visit.   The most recent of which led us to a night out at Mr. Small's Theater in Millvale, where we have one of the most enjoyable music experiences in recent memory.

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Healthy Ride Pittsburgh – A New Way to Explore the City

Biking on the North Shore Trail

In April 2022, Healthy Ride formally launched a rebrand to be called POGOH. Stations are being replaced and availability is presently limited. We will update this article accordingly when the POGOH stations are fully available in the coming weeks.

Over the past several months you've likely seen Healthy Ride bike kiosks popping up all over the city.  These bikes are one of the many new services coming out to help encourage visitors and locals to get out and explore the many bike trails the city has to offer, and with over 500 bikes and 50 stations, they're doing a great job at it.

We finally got the chance to try one of these bikes on a day out exploring the North Shore bike trail, and had a pretty interesting experience with the service.

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Maggie’s Farm Rum Review – Award Winning Rum in the Strip

In August 2025, Maggie's announced the closure of their South Hills location. The Strip District location appears to have re-opened in late September.

We are spoiled to have many great distilleries in Pittsburgh. Pick a spirit, and odds are good you can find it being made locally.

Some of our local distillers are highly specialized, and focus on one (or a small handful of products). One such distillery is Maggie's Farm Rum, producing all things, you guessed it, rum!

This one is proof that you don't have to fly to the Caribbean or Indian Ocean to find amazing rum, and their accolades speak for themselves. Maggie's has won numerous national awards including Pennsylvania Distillery of the Year at the NY International Spirits Competition and America's Best Rum by the American Craft Spirits Association to name a few.

Thirsty yet? You know we are, which is why we find ourselves returning to the distillery's two locations again and again.

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The Mattress Factory is a Stellar Contemporary Art Museum

Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh

When it comes to contemporary art, you never know what you are going to get. This is part of the fun in visiting these museums because there never seems to be one particular style that is on display. Sometimes it is disappointing, other times thought provoking, but overall you never really know what will be around the next bend.

At Pittsburgh's contemporary art museum, Mattress Factory, we found each exhibit to be more interesting than the last and left wondering why it took us so long to visit this museum in the first place.

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24 Pittsburgh Wineries, Cider Houses, and Meaderies to Visit

Pittsburgh is not known to be a wine capital in the US, let alone a highlight in the region, but that isn't stopping local brewers and wine makers from producing some pretty incredible beverages. That is enough to get us excited, and we're on a quest to find the gems that are worth your time.

When it comes to wineries in Pittsburgh, many go beyond the standard batch of fermented grapes to produce something completely unique. The following are some of the best that we have tried so far.

Note: This guide also features cider houses and meaderies in addition to traditional southwest Pennsylvania wineries.

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Exploring the Nationality Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning

Chinese Room at the Cathedral of Learning

Note: The Nationality Rooms are now requiring advanced registration for tours. Keep an eye on this one as things could change.

Pitt's Cathedral of Learning is one of the most beautiful university buildings in the country. 

Ignoring the fact that this college building is the only skyscraper in Oakland and its main lobby resembles a European cathedral mixed with Hogwarts, Pitt's flagship building houses one other treasure worth exploring during a visit: the Nationality Rooms.

Let's go to the last place you'd expect to visit in Pittsburgh– back to school!

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Bicycle Heaven Offers Bicycle Overload in Pittsburgh

Bicycle Heaven in Pittsburgh

Update: Bicycle Heaven started charging an admission fee in December 2024.

Pittsburgh's massive specialty stores have a way of embracing their size and end up turning into museums for all to enjoy. There is Artifacts, the import store for the rich and famous; Construction Junction, the re-use store for the rest of us; and in our latest exploration we visited Bicycle Heaven, the store for bike lovers.

Much like the other unusual stores we've visit in the city, when we say that Bicycle Heaven is large, we mean it. The store claims to be the largest bike shop in the USA, sells tens of thousands of items on eBay, and covers two floors with about a dozen rooms in its North Side warehouse.

Naturally, this sounds exactly like the kind of place we want to explore when enjoying our city.

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