Cheap things to do in Pittsburgh
Markets, breweries, free culture and great pizza for under $50 a day
This is Pittsburgh for people who want the real thing: Saturday market graze, neighbourhood bars, wooded park trails and a $6 banh mi. You'll move between the Strip, Lawrenceville and Squirrel Hill without spending much and without missing anything that matters.
Day 1: Strip District, market to bar
Start with espresso in the Strip, load up on Pamela's pancakes, catch the free spectacle that is Randyland, then wind the day down with a burger, cold beer and the classic Primanti Bros. crowd.
- 9:30 AM
La Prima Espresso Company
An old-school Italian espresso bar in the Strip; a cheap cappuccino at the counter among the regulars.
Map - 12:30 PM
Pamela's Diner
Crepe-thin hotcakes with crisp edges at the Strip diner famous enough to cook at the White House.
Map - 2:00 PM
Randyland
Free joyful corner covered in mirrors, mannequins and salvaged signs, a Pittsburgh original and costs nothing.
Map - 4:30 PM
Point State Park
Walk out to the big fountain where the Allegheny and Monongahela meet to form the Ohio. Free.
Map - 7:30 PM
Moonlit Burgers Uptown
Cheap, well-made smash burgers from a small Uptown counter near the arena.
Map - 9:00 PM
Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar Strip District
The iconic Primanti Bros. bar, cold beer, local crowd, and you're already in the neighbourhood; closes out the night perfectly.
Map
Day 2: Butler Street and Bloomfield
Victorian Allegheny Cemetery, a banh mi worth crossing town for, glass blowing you can watch for free, and a night split between Bloomfield Thai and a Grist House pint.
- 10:30 AM
Allegheny Cemetery
Free to wander: 300 hilly acres of Victorian monuments off Butler Street, Stephen Foster's grave among them.
Map - 12:30 PM
Banh Mi & Ti
Cheap, fast Vietnamese banh mi in Central Lawrenceville, wallet-friendly and highly rated.
Map - 2:00 PM
Pittsburgh Glass Center
Pittsburgh Glass Center, city-guide pick where you can watch (or try) glass blowing; free to watch demos.
Map - 7:30 PM
Thai Gourmet
A tiny Bloomfield Thai kitchen with cheap curries and noodles cooked to your spice level.
Map - 9:00 PM
Grist House Craft Brewery
A Millvale brewery with a big outdoor patio and food trucks, a short ride across the river.
Map
Day 3: Frick Park to Squirrel Hill
Earn the pizza slice with a proper morning through Frick Park's ravine trails, then spend the afternoon in the Cathedral of Learning's wildly decorated classrooms before finishing the trip at a neighbourhood brewery.
- 10:30 AM
Frick Park
Pittsburgh's biggest city park: wooded ravine trails from the Squirrel Hill side, free and quiet.
Map - 12:30 PM
Aiello's Pizza
Cheap, no-fuss Squirrel Hill pizza slice, ideal thrifty lunch after a morning walk.
Map - 2:00 PM
Cathedral of Learning Nationality Rooms
30+ Gothic classrooms each decorated in a different nation's style, one of Pittsburgh's best cheap culture stops.
Map - 7:30 PM
Everyday Noodles
Hand-pulled noodles and soup dumplings made in the front window on the critics Avenue; cheap and fast.
Map - 9:00 PM
Independent Brewing Company
Neighborhood brewery right in Squirrel Hill South, easy walk from dinner, good local pints.
Map
Where to stay
Hampton Inn Pittsburgh University Place
Single-dollar pricing, right by Oakland and the Cathedral of Learning, easy bus access to everywhere else on this plan.
Hampton Inn & Suites Pittsburgh-Downtown
Cheapest downtown option and a short walk to Point State Park, Primanti Bros. and the Strip District on Day 1.
Make Pittsburgh your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: a few days ahead
- Acrisure Stadium: weeks ahead
- Mystic Rock Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Shepherd's Rock Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Ohiopyle State Park: a few days ahead
- Fallingwater: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Judging Primanti's anywhere but the Strip original, chain and ballpark versions are a lesser sandwich.
- Grandview Avenue view restaurants other than Altius sell the skyline and plate average food at splurge prices.
- The Gateway Clipper cruise is slow and priced for tour groups, a kayak or the river trail gives the same water for less.
- Driving between neighbourhoods at face value distance, bridges and tunnels turn two miles into 25 minutes.
The full Pittsburgh travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around