Pittsburgh: 5 free things to do

PITTSBURGH – This city may have been built around the sooty steel and coal industries, but today it features a beautiful downtown river walk, multicultural neighborhoods and restaurants and even free subway rides.

Point State Park

One of the best free things to do begins where Pittsburgh was founded. The Fort Pitt Blockhouse at Point State Park is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. It was built in 1764 as part of a British fort at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers.

The Blockhouse is open 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, but the surrounding park is always available for picnics, bike rides and runs.

The park connects to a river walk that stretches along both sides of the Allegheny River. It's easy to walk across to the north side of town on historical steel bridges named after baseball star Roberto Clemente, artist Andy Warhol and environmentalist Rachel Carson.

Details: dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/point.

Historic downtown

Subway and bus rides are free in the downtown Golden Triangle, and the no-charge zone includes stops at sports stadiums Heinz Field and PNC Park. You can visit the Cultural District, known for galleries and arts events, as well as business landmarks such as Mellon Green and the U.S. Steel Tower.

There is significant 19th-century architecture on downtown streets because tycoons such as the Carnegie, Mellon and Heinz families spent vast sums promoting the city and its businesses.

Free walking tours of the city in 10 languages can be downloaded at the Robert Morris University website.

Details: rmu.edu/about-rmu/campuses/WalkingTourofPittsburgh.

Strip District

Long home to Pittsburgh's fruit, meat and fish wholesalers, the Strip District has kept many of those businesses while adding specialty-food stores, restaurants and shops.

A seven-block-long area along Penn Avenue features Italian bakeries, Vietnamese noodle shops and stores specializing in Italian, Mexican, Asian, Polish, Greek and Middle Eastern food, along with a large fish market that also sells sushi and sandwiches. There are specialty coffee and tea shops, vegetarian restaurants and neighborhood bars, all fun to browse.

Details: neighborsinthestrip.com.

Mount Washington

This neighborhood provides an iconic view of downtown Pittsburgh and its three rivers; it also has restaurants and shops.

Mount Washington is atop a steep hill that rises about 400 feet above the Monongahela River.

It's easily accessible by car, but many people pay the $2.50 fee to ride the Duquesne Incline. Picture train tracks going up the side of an almost vertical hill and you get the idea.

Details: duquesneincline.org, visitpittsburgh.com.

Frick Art and Historical Center

The former home of 19th-century steel titan Henry Clay Frick shows visitors America's Gilded Age — when industrialists amassed vast fortunes and spent lavishly on homes, art and antiques.

Admission is free and there are rotating exhibits of art from Frick's collection, as well as a car and carriage museum that features a 1914 Rolls-Royce and a 1903 electric car.

The center is on the edge of a 644-acre public park that has trails, playgrounds and lawn-bowling greens.

Details: thefrickpittsburgh.org.