gj13us t1_j515i02 wrote on January 19, 2023 at 5:57 PM

What part of Pennsylvania are you planning to visit? The Philadelphia area is a lot different from the north central part of the state, and Pittsburgh is different from those two.

History? Amusement parks? Nature?

PA isn't a big state, geographically, but it does take several hours of driving to get from one area to another.

IamSauerKraut t1_j519td2 wrote on January 19, 2023 at 6:23 PM

>PA isn't a big state, geographically, but it does take several hours of driving to get from one area to another.

Veritable definition of "big state."

Surprised no one mentioned HersheyPark. Right next to Chocolate World. Spend all day but bring your $$. They have a "seaworld" venue within and access to ZooAmerica right next door.

Nytroman89 OP t1_j529423 wrote on January 19, 2023 at 9:58 PM

Pittsburg area. Will be coming from Ontario and with kids so didn’t want to drive too far

gj13us t1_j52y70z wrote on January 20, 2023 at 12:55 AM

I was born and raised there. There's a tremendous amount of history to take in, world class art and natural history museums (The Carnegie Museums for example), a cornucopia of places to eat, etc.

Kennywood Park, an old fashioned amusement park with authentic old-time wooden roller coasters, is there.

With kids, I'd spend a day exploring the Carnegie museums and a day at Kennywood. There are lots of places to visit but I think you'll have more fun if you keep it simple.

The University of Pittsburgh is across the street from the Carnegie. Its Cathedral of Learning is worth seeing. The main hall is massive--my kids likened it to a place Harry Potter would study. It also has a number of Nationality Rooms, which are classrooms designed to look like classrooms in a number of different countries from around the world. It's free.

Point State Park is right at....The Point, the confluence of the rivers. It has the Fort Pitt museum, which presents the area's role in the French & Indian War, and is a nice park area to relax in.

Pittsburgh is one big quilt of neighborhoods, each with its own identity.

You'll find Pittsburghers are generally friendly and love more than anything to show off their city to visitors. They (we?) have a tendency to treat everyone like they've known you for years. It's casual. Familiar. It's sort of true that Pittsburgh people talk funny. YouTube videos abound. Pittsburgh Dad is pretty much every adult I knew growing up.

I've lived in Lancaster, PA for over 25 years. If you ever want to visit Lancaster, I've got more than enough recommendations.

Nytroman89 OP t1_j531djx wrote on January 20, 2023 at 1:17 AM

Thanks for all suggestions! I heard that ppl from Pittsburg are very friendly. I’m from Newfoundland in Canada. Are there any areas I might want to avoid in Pittsburg?

gj13us t1_j53aa5w wrote on January 20, 2023 at 2:22 AM

I think the areas you’d avoid are areas you wouldn’t be in anyway, if that makes sense. There’d be no reason to be there.

Some of the bad areas are revitalizing. Used to be you wouldn’t want to spend too much time in East Liberty, or Homewood, or Rankin, to name a few but I think some have turned around. If I’m not mistaken, Google has a big presence in East Liberty now.

Oakland, the neighborhood around the museums (and Pitt and CMU) is safe these days. Downtown is safe. Point State Park is safe, Mt Washington is safe. Squirrel Hill, The Strip District, Station Square, all good.

You’d have to go out of your way to end up in an unsafe place because the cultural attractions are in pretty decent neighborhoods.

And Pittsburgh has an “h” on the end.