You know we are fans of unusual museums in Pittsburgh, and when the one-room Pittsburgh Tattoo Art Museum in Shadyside opened in early 2022, we had to go straight away.
This small museum in a somewhat hidden tattoo parlor is everything we look for in offbeat exhibits- namely a wonderfully curated selection on a topic we don't know much about managed by extremely passionate Pittsburghers.
So if you want to take a dive into the world of tattoos, this one is for you.
You may know that we are avid bikers and explore our local Pittsburgh bike trails as much as we possibly can. As we generally prefer flat rides, we haven't really tackled any of the area mountain biking trails to date.
Thankfully, I was able to visit The Wheel Mill as part of an event where I got to learn the basics of mountain biking and apply them out on the trails at Frick Park via a private lesson. In the process, I was also able to check out some of the insane BMX and mountain biking setups this venue in Homewood West has to offer.
If you like to hit the ramps and jumps or simply want to learn the basics of mountain biking, a trip to The Wheel Mill should be on your radar!
One of the things we love about Pittsburgh's music scene is that there are venues for just about every style of performance. Mega shows at Heinz Field and PNC Park, dedicated pavilions like Star Lake, and intimate music venues like Mr. Small's Theater, and more.
But only a few venues can be described as unassuming hidden gems, and for Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall in Lawrenceville, it really hits both of those terms perfectly!
It really is hard to beat any view you can get of the Pittsburgh skyline. We've found views of our gorgeous city from just about every angle you can think of from on the hills, along the river trails, on the water, and more.
But there is one view that is hard to get without some extra assistance, and that is seeing the skyline from the air. When we fly in and out of Pittsburgh International Airport, we always hope for a quick flyby of the city to capture some photos, but the quality of which is often hit-or-miss from our cell phones (and of course, a flyby is never guaranteed, either).
Thankfully, in 2021 a new tour company opened offering customized helicopter flights over Pittsburgh- Vortex Helicopter Services operating out of Finleyville Airport. If you are looking to capture a unique vantage point over the city, this tour is a must.
Note: I was invited to fly as a guest of Vortex Helicopter Services as part of a 30-minute media tour over the city. As always, all opinions are my own.
The Lincoln Highway is America's first transcontinental highway and runs from New York City all the way to San Francisco.
It was dedicated in 1913 and over the last 100+ years has had a pretty incredible history. To say that this road helped connect the country and opened accessibility to hundreds upon hundreds of small towns and boroughs is not an exaggeration- this one really changed the way Americans work, play, and travel.
While we weren't around to be able to enjoy the Lincoln Highway in its prime, we can get the next best thing in learning all about it at the Lincoln Highway Experience just outside of Latrobe. Next time you're in the area, you'll do well to stop and check this great little museum out!
Curling is one of those sports we've always wanted to try, but never really had the chance. We've tried toned-down variants of the sport in the past at places like Sliders Curling (a seasonal rink outside of Lumberjaxes in Millvale), but when it came to playing via proper rules, well, we never had the opportunity.
Shortly after trying the variant out at Sliders, we heard that the Pittsburgh Curling Club was opening up a new, dedicated curling facility in McKees Rocks and would offer classes for non-members who want to get into the sport.
The facility opened up in early 2020 and we obviously all know what happened just a few weeks later. As such, it wasn't until early 2021 that we got to make it into the facility to try out the sport with their Level 1 Intro to Curling Class.
Although we are not the most athletic of people, we have to say, curling is a blast.
The Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show, aptly themed “Out of This World” for 2020, brings these two beautiful plants (both favorites of ours) to the forefront of the Conservatory.
As always with our show features, we wanted to share a few of our favorite rooms from this show and hope you'll make it out to visit for yourselves!
I'm always into unusual sports, and when Lumberjaxes in Millvale announced the opening of Sliders Curling, their on-site variant of the popular winter sport, I knew I had to go.
So shortly after opening a friend joined me in one of the most unusual outings I've had in a while- going ice curling in Pittsburgh.
As it turns out, this one may be a bit different from what you are expecting.
As a non-golfer, I generally stay clear of driving ranges (and most courses for that matter) as I'll very clearly make a fool out of myself within minutes of picking up a club. But I made an exception to this rule to make a trip to Topgolf Pittsburgh.
This one goes beyond your conventional driving range and adds on many interactive game elements into the mix. The best part of all? By the end of my first outing, I was doing quite well and enjoying it!
We started Discover the Burgh in 2015 as a means to get out and enjoy everything in Pittsburgh. Since then, we have been blown away by all the city has to offer, and are getting close to having personally experienced 1,000 unique things to do in the city.
While this site is mainly an opinion blog sharing our personal views on all of these attractions, restaurants, bars/breweries, events, parks, and more, we haven't really called out any spots are our personal favorites. You can tell if you read our articles which ones we like more than others, sure, but we never had a dedicated feature to this effect.
For a while, we thought we'd unveil an awards series to highlight our favorite spots. But then we realized they are overplayed and clickbaity. Then we worried that perhaps it was always too soon to do this because we still have way more of the city to see. But as we explore more of the city, we realize that we will never, ever be “finished” and have to commit to it at some point.
So this guide to our favorite places in Pittsburgh was born.