Lonely Planet, the travel guide publisher, has named Pittsburgh one of the top 10 destinations for 2025. The city’s authenticity and ambition for the future helped earn it a place in the publisher’s Best in Travel for 2025 list.
The other destinations include Toulouse, France; Pondicherry, India; Bansko, Bulgaria; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Genoa Italy; Osaka, Japan; Curitiba, Brazil; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Edmonton, Canada.
While it isn’t exactly a list of the world’s first-string destinations, they are places where everyday life is more accessible to the visitor, giving the traveler a sense of being part of it rather than acting strictly as an observer.
“Pittsburgh’s most recent renaissance is a pitch-perfect dynamism marked by old favorites and new gems, often side by side,” said Nitya Chambers, executive editor of Lonely Planet in a press release.
“The city’s affordability makes it low-key and unpretentious, while its vision for the future feels ambitious, authentic and delightful.”
Old staples such as Kennywood amusement park and the Duquesne Incline are listed as two of the big attractions along with Lorelei, the beer hall with communal tables in East Liberty. Other attractions include the museums, the murals, the enthusiasm for our sports teams and the abundance of green space.
Other publications that have named Pittsburgh a top travel destination this year include National Geographic, USA Today and Men’s Journal.
Seeing the city through the eyes of a traveler can be a new experience for those of us who live and work here, especially when it comes to day trips.
Seven day trips were listed on the Lonely Planet website, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater house, biking along The Great Allegheny Passage (the trail goes all the way to Washington D.C.), Old Economy Village and Ohiopyle State Park for hiking and whitewater rafting.
Descriptions for all of the cities mentioned on list can be found on the Lonely Planet website.
First Published: October 23, 2024, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: October 24, 2024, 1:09 p.m.
