Best orientation to Pittsburgh

My daughter is starting at CMU in the fall. We%26#39;re joining her for orientation weekend in mid-August.

Looking for recommendations for best things to see and do to get a sense of the city over about a day and a half before orientation begins.

Thanks,

Best orientation to Pittsburgh

My recommendation would be to go through the last 40-50 entries on this forum. There are many, many ideas and suggestions already posted on must-do%26#39;s and family activities.

After reading them, if you have some follow-up or specific questions, we%26#39;d be glad to answer them.

Best orientation to Pittsburgh

CMU has a page on this subject on their website.

www.cmu.edu/student-life/pittsburgh.shtml

Also be sure to look at the ';helpful links'; box on the above cmu link.

I think the Just Ducky Tour, which you get at Station Square, is a fun general orientation to Pittsburgh.

As she%26#39;s going to be at CMU, you might want to visit the neighborhoods she%26#39;ll likely be frequenting: Oakland, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. All are fun in their own way. And I guess the South Side for college students nowadays, though your daughter might not spend much time there until she turns 21. :)

For first-timers I always recommend a trip up the Incline and a Saturday morning/afternoon visit to the Strip.

Good luck and welcome to Pittsburgh!

www.visitpittsburgh.com is a good place to look for activities.

The Gateway Clipper fleet offers various sightseeing cruises:http://www.gatewayclipper.com/cruises/sightseeing.asp

Pittsburgh History and Landmarks has some walking tours:http://www.phlf.org/

They may be willing to plan one just for your small group, so it would be worth emailing them to explain what you%26#39;re interested in and see what they come up with.

CMU is in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and there is a fair amount to do right there--Carnegie Art and Natural History Museums, Phipps Conservatory, the Nationality Rooms at Pitt. Lots of good little restaurants, it is a nice college area, I think.

PNC Park is a very nice baseball park and worth going to if you like baseball even a little.

For links to downtown cultural events:

visitpittsburgh.com/meeting-planners/…

You can search for other cultural events (usually, the smaller organizations) at:

http://www.proartstickets.org/

Here is a link to tours of several interesting neighborhoods:

www.pittsburghneighborhoodtours.com/pr13/

This response is not well organized, I%26#39;ve just tried to think of things that a college student might be interested in.

Pittsburgh is pretty compact, so if you decide what to do and get good directions, you can do a lot in a short time. Get a good map (the AAA map seems pretty good) and have fun.