Nat'l Geo and Travel Channel say Pittsburgh a vacation spot. (York: place to live, cost)

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by pman

given that a lot of the new hotels are in oakland, bakery sq, and especially downtown the tourist market is being driven by people who want to stay in the city proper.
I'm the opposite of SCR, the last thing I want to do is stay in a motel outside the city and drive an hour each way everyday to do tourist stuff. i just want to get there and stay put. to each their own. I did once stay at the lincoln motor court, honeymoon suite for $63

Driving an hour would be a bit much for me as well, but I'll happily be 15 minutes removed from the action if it means I have significantly more money to spend on the attractions themselves.

[portroyalsound]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

For our "big" vacation next year I'm already considering having us stay in a roach patrol motel in a podunk town along I-95 in SC in order to be within an hour of both Savannah and Charleston. Sure, we could "splurge" and spend a couple of nights in EACH city, but why not spend a fraction of the price on a hotel room and use the extra money to indulge on better dining and entertainment options in the cities?

You should stay in Beaufort. It's halfway between Charleston (60 miles) and Savannah (45 miles) and a great place in and of itself. It's sort of a mini Charleston with a antebellum mansions, a great main street, waterfront park and great scenery nearby. There are cheap rooms to be found on the outskirts of town as long as you avoid Thursdays (Parris Island graduation).

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Where can I get an annual pass to the Liberty Bell?

I've seen it once and I'm done. I'm sure it looks the same if I went again. I've heard you used to be allowed to touch it.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Katiana

What don't you get? People go to DC to see the nation's capital and all the accoutrements that go with it. Does Pittsburgh have the same? People go to NYC to see, well, NYC! The Empire State Building, Broadway, Central Park, all the other attractions. Does Pittsburgh have that?

Not everyone wants to see the Empire State Building or these buzzword/checklist type places. Pittsburgh is VERY rich with history and some of the people that actually built the US resided here. To be quite honest, Pittsburgh is much more beautiful the NYC, DC and Philly. DC doesn't have a city feel at all and we go there often. If Pittsburgh was in Europe it would be a tourist destination on covers of magazines. People that visit here and go to the Carnegie Museum can't believe what is in there. Plenty of VERY famous artist's paintings are there, not to mention the amazing dinosaur exhibit. Central Park is nice, but it is more than boring compared to being at the point to be honest. Sure CP is filled with people because there are so many people in NYC, but please, it is not nearly as nice as looking at our skyline and across the rivers to the stadiums and the Carnegie Science Center, not to mention the active rivers with people kayaking, cool paddle boats, crew boats and more.

You are off base on your assumptions trying to compare the huge cities with Pittsburgh as if we don't measure up. We do more than measure up, we IMHO surpass many of them. I love visiting NYC and DC, but they are nearly as attractive as Pittsburgh. The inclines and really the whole package, Pittsburgh is nicer. NYC is just huge with everything known to man in one place and that in itself is something to behold, but that is an aspect that not thrills everyone. There is no view as cool as going up the incline in Pittsburgh in NYC, DC or any city that I know. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Pittsburgh really is all that.

[Der Schwabe]

I would like to learn more about this the New York City.

I had friends from Germany who have been visiting the states for 20 years come back last year for a full week because their visit the prior year didn't cut it with only four days here. Started with falling water but they really fell in love with it. Unlike bigger cities, it does seem that the right person to show you around makes a world of difference.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

There is no view as cool as going up the incline in Pittsburgh in NYC, DC or any city that I know. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Pittsburgh really is all that.

I dunno - your post makes some great points, but the view of NYC from top of Empire State Building is pretty mindblowing. Seattle viewed from Queen Ann hill when Rainier is out? Chicago from the lakefront? Denver with the Rockies in the background?

Each to their own ...

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Katiana

In case you didn't notice, I disengaged after post 34, at 4:33 PM yesterday. Since then, there have been eight posts (out of 14 more) disparaging me, including one 24 hours later. Some of them have been pretty nasty. Who's not letting go? So much for "Pittsburgh nice", too.

It was 6.33pm yesterday in Pittsburgh when you posted, Kat, the last of 3 posts in approx. 2 hours. My reply was 2 hours and 4 minutes later. And not sure how a post can be 24 hours later as you only posted approx. 16 hours ago .... I guess time is different in Boulder.

Enjoy visiting your daughter in MN. I'm sure there's lots of fun to be had around there in summer. It's a place I'd like to explore - I always seem to go there in winter.

[sammy87]

Growing up in Pitt and living elsewhere now, there are some great thigns about Pitt and some I miss a lot. I go back once a yr to visit family, but if I had no ties I would not go out of my way to visit. There are some nice things that make it unique but its not NYC, DC, San Fran, San Diego, Chicago, SEA, Denver, Boston. A long weekend is fine, but I don't think many people are considering a Pitt over Cabo for a vacation. And if that were true, PIT wouldn't look like a ghost town.

[pman]

Originally Posted by sammy87

Growing up in Pitt and living elsewhere now, there are some great thigns about Pitt and some I miss a lot. I go back once a yr to visit family, but if I had no ties I would not go out of my way to visit. There are some nice things that make it unique but its not NYC, DC, San Fran, San Diego, Chicago, SEA, Denver, Boston. A long weekend is fine, but I don't think many people are considering a Pitt over Cabo for a vacation. And if that were true, PIT wouldn't look like a ghost town.

this is often how people view the world but it's more often than not, inaccurate. people aren't choosing Boston over Cabo either, two entirely different destinations. The reality is Pittsburgh doesn't need to be the next nation's capital to grow as a tourist destination.it's like the argument over Philadelphia'sports. sure Philadelphia will not likely become a major port but that doesn't mean it can't grow its role as a niche player and good money at it. likewise, Philadelphia was not a place anyone stayed over. you drove in, saw the liberty bell and left before dark. that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. people go for the museums, the food, etc. to see an old american city that's different from their own.
Hotels in Philadelphia are the best rated in the U.S. - Philadelphia Business Journal

there are four times the number of rooms in DC as there are in Pittsburgh. when we visited Italy we didn't just visit rome. in fact, we liked bologna better than florence or venice. I suspect that Pittsburgh is benefitting from an increase in domestic tourism as well as the benefits of simply being a more interesting city to visit than it used to be.

[sammy87]

Originally Posted by pman

this is often how people view the world but it's more often than not, inaccurate. people aren't choosing Boston over Cabo either, two entirely different destinations. The reality is Pittsburgh doesn't need to be the next nation's capital to grow as a tourist destination.it's like the argument over Philadelphia'sports. sure Philadelphia will not likely become a major port but that doesn't mean it can't grow its role as a niche player and good money at it. likewise, Philadelphia was not a place anyone stayed over. you drove in, saw the liberty bell and left before dark. that has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. people go for the museums, the food, etc. to see an old american city that's different from their own.
Hotels in Philadelphia are the best rated in the U.S. - Philadelphia Business Journal

there are four times the number of rooms in DC as there are in Pittsburgh. when we visited Italy we didn't just visit rome. in fact, we liked bologna better than florence or venice. I suspect that Pittsburgh is benefitting from an icnrease in domestic tourism as well as the benefits of simply being a more interesting city to visit than it used to be.

Pitt isn't a bad place to live at all, but it is by no means a world class destination. A long weekend will cover just about everything. Outside the city there isn't a whole lot to draw tourism either. Seattle is a great city, but it also has Mt Rainer, Olympic Natl Park, Puget sound, all near by. Pitt just doesn't offer a whole lot. Ive been to the zoo, museums a number of times. They aren't that great.