Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Visiting Pittsburgh means you're in for a welcome surprise. Once known as a booming steel town with lots of mills and hard-working people, Pittsburgh has kept its work ethic while transforming the downtown area into a glittering, richly cultural environment. Most students who come here are surprised to find out how contemporary, clean, and safe our city really is. And, they're even more impressed when they realize this high-tech, sophisticated urban setting is surrounded by charming neighborhoods and lush, green hills. Accessibility is the key-you can walk from one neighborhood to another to get the best of shopping, entertainment, and ethnic cultures.
Public transportation makes it easy to go from campus to downtown or into the suburbs.
And a short, 30-minute drive can take you out of the city for skiing, hiking, camping, or just some peace and quiet in the country. When you head off to another city, you'll again be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to travel to and from the city. Centrally located on major air and highway routes, Pittsburgh is just an hour's flight from New York or D.C., and just five hours from the West Coast. Greyhound and Amtrak also operate travel routes between Pittsburgh and all regions of the U.S. Coffeehouses, bookstores, galleries and restaurants are a mainstay of the Oakland area of Pittsburgh, where Carnegie Mellon is located.