{"id":118170,"date":"2026-02-19T16:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/118170\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:37:11","slug":"im-a-pittsburgh-local-here-4-great-areas-of-the-city-that-tourists-usually-ignore-and-the-best-things-to-do-in-each","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/118170\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m a Pittsburgh local. Here 4 great areas of the city that tourists usually ignore \u2014 and the best things to do in each."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Kling Car in HomesteadJess Simms<\/p>\n

I’ve lived in Pittsburgh<\/a> for 15 years, so I’ve found great local gems outside of touristy areas.<\/p>\n

Millvale and Garfield are really great creative hubs for live music and art.<\/p>\n

You can have fun while exploring Pittsburgh’s history in Homestead and Point Breeze.<\/p>\n

Growing up in a small town in Western Pennsylvania,<\/a> I visited Pittsburgh often when I was younger.<\/p>\n

I thought I knew it really well until I actually moved there in 2010 and realized some of the city’s best parts really exist outside of downtown and the touristy areas I saw as a kid.<\/p>\n

At the risk of blowing up my own spots, here are a few neighborhoods and areas that feel habitually overlooked by visitors \u2014 and some of my best recommendations for experiencing the authentic Steel City.<\/p>\n

Millvale is a creative haven on the Allegheny’s northern shore\"Street<\/p>\n

MillvaleJess Simms<\/p>\n

Located along the Allegheny River, Millvale feels like a small town<\/a> plopped down in the city, complete with a “main street” of locally owned shops along Grant Avenue.<\/p>\n

The standout highlight of the borough is Mr. Smalls, an 18th-century church turned music venue that books national names along with local acts.<\/p>\n

\"Mr.<\/p>\n

Mr. Smalls is worth a visit.Jess Simms<\/p>\n

However, my personal favorite Millvale venue is Poetry Lounge, a bar with nightly live entertainment that also publishes poetry, where you can order chapbooks or zines off the menu alongside drinks.<\/p>\n

\"Poetry<\/p>\n

The Poetry Lounge in Millvale is one of my favorite spots.Jess Simms<\/p>\n

Speaking of drinks, there are also three breweries \u2014 Grist House, Strange Roots, and Burghers \u2014 and several neighborhood bars between the brick row houses of Grant Avenue if you want to kick back like a Yinzer (Pittsburgh native<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Burghers<\/p>\n

Burghers is a must-visit brewery in Millvale.Jess Simms<\/p>\n

Artsy Garfield is packed with galleries and restaurants\"Street<\/p>\n

GarfieldJess Simms<\/p>\n

Garfield hosts Unblurred, Pittsburgh’s longest-running free art crawl. Every first Friday, the galleries on Penn Avenue open to the public, usually with some live entertainment to accompany the art.<\/p>\n

If you’d rather get hands-on, the Pittsburgh Glass Center offers glass-blowing classes along with exhibits.<\/p>\n

\"Grafitti<\/p>\n

GarfieldJess Simms<\/p>\n

My go-to spot in Garfield is Bantha Tea, a Star Wars-themed caf\u00e9 with delicious tea (I recommend the Bloomfield Fog) and evening events like poetry readings and a recurring music improv lab.<\/p>\n

\"Dimly<\/p>\n

I try to stop at Bantha Tea when I’m in Garfield. Jess Simms<\/p>\n

Garfield also has a slew of restaurants, including my favorite pho spot <\/a>in the city (Pho Minh), Pittsburgh’s best vegan pizza (Spak Brothers), and an excellent Indian lunch buffet (People’s Indian Restaurant).<\/p>\n

One of Pittsburgh’s most unique museums<\/a> is here, too: The Center for PostNatural History, which is focused exclusively on animals and organisms intentionally altered by humans.<\/p>\n

See industrial relics while you shop in Homestead\"An<\/p>\n

Yellow Dog in HomesteadJess Simms<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh today is more “eds and meds” than soot and steel, but it’s kept the blue-collar vibe from its industrial past. I’d say Homestead is the best place to see traces of this history.<\/p>\n

Until 1986, the Homestead Steel Works was one of the world’s largest steel-producing plant. It was mostly demolished to make way for the sprawling open-air Waterfront shopping center, where you can find everything from independent comic shops<\/a> to big-box retailers.<\/p>\n

The Steel Works smokestacks still loom over the AMC Theater as an incongruous reminder of the past.<\/p>\n

\"Smokestacks<\/p>\n

Smokestacks in HomesteadJess Simms<\/p>\n

East from the stacks is the Pump House, one-time setting of the violent 1892 Homestead Strike that is now a trailhead of the Great Allegheny Passage, a roughly 150-mile trail that connects to Maryland.<\/p>\n

Across the Monongahela is Carrie Blast Furnaces, another Steel Works remnant that hosts events like graffiti tours, blacksmithing workshops, and the annual Festival of Combustion.<\/p>\n

Find history, books, and beer in the Point Breeze and Regent Square area\"View<\/p>\n

Stay Gold Books is a great place to stop at.Jess Simms<\/p>\n

Point Breeze also has steel-era history, though here it’s all about the Fricks \u2014 specifically Henry Clay Frick, who managed the Homestead Steel Works throughout the 1890s.<\/p>\n

Frick Park (Pittsburgh’s largest park) is named for him, and the Frick family is buried in Homewood Cemetery to its north.<\/p>\n

\"Frick<\/p>\n

Frick ParkJess Simms<\/p>\n

Near the cemetery is the former Frick estate, now the Frick Museums and Gardens, which is free to enter.<\/p>\n

Just southeast of Frick Park is Regent Square, a commercial stretch that feels like a small-town downtown. My personal highlight here is the community-focused bookstore<\/a> Stay Gold Books.<\/p>\n

I’ve also downed my share of Yuenglings while playing pool at Murphy’s Tap Room, and there are plenty of other bars and restaurants along South Braddock Avenue if a semi-divey Irish pub isn’t your speed.<\/p>\n

Read the original article on Business Insider<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kling Car in HomesteadJess Simms I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for 15 years, so I’ve found great local gems…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[41703,12722,56082,8833,73,22925,75,74,10668],"class_list":["post-118170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-henry-clay-frick","tag-homestead","tag-homestead-steel-works","tag-millvale","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-glass-center","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-point-breeze"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}