Venice is known as the City of Bridges, but Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania actually has more.  Three more in fact, for a total of 446!

Ruth and I planned our trip to Pittsburgh with a primary goal of watching a football game, but we had plenty of other fun things planned as well (see the posts about Fallingwater and the drive through southwestern Maryland and western Pennslvania).  We spent most of Friday exploring the city, walking over bridges, and soaking up the history, architecture, and culture of Pittsburgh.  Over 6 miles, and too many photos to count later, we felt we’d gotten a real taste of the city.

Many of you have posted photos of locks of love on bridges from around the world, and it appears that Pittsburgh is getting into the act, too.

Some of the bridges in this river city have pedestrian walkways which join a riverwalk. The Three Rivers Heritage Trail evolved from five separate trails and today comprises several unique sections over 37 miles.

The confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River is at Pittsburgh’s 36 acre Point State Park.  It is there that they form the Ohio River.  As we walked along the riverwalk, we passed a vibrant collection of runners, walkers, cyclists, and dogwalkers.

Expansive views of the city can be found from many vantage points, including the Monongahela and Dequesne Inclines (more on these in the next post).

Three of the 446 bridges are known as The Three Sisters.  Similarly built self-anchored suspension bridges that span the Allegheny River, the bridges have been given formal names to honor important Pittsburgh residents:  Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Carson.

We walked over 2 of the 3.

We were never at the right vantage point to catch a photo of the 3 Sisters in one view, so I downloaded this one so you could see how beautiful they are.

The melding of the historic and the modern are everywhere.

What a fabulous city!

Next post:  Pittsburgh – Buildings and Architecture