The secret is out about Pittsburgh. It's a great city for food, culture, sports, and business. When you attend W&J College, Pittsburgh's vibrancy and opportunity are just 30 minutes away. You can head there any weekend for free on the Pittsburgh Pipeline shuttle. You'll find no end of fun things to do, a wealth of opportunities for internships in any field, from tech to the arts, and a convenient way to make connections with alumni who now call Pittsburgh home. Our location gives you the best of both worlds: a charming, historic campus with one of the most vibrant and fun cities in the country right in our backyard.

Get the 412 on Pittsburgh

By the numbers, Pittsburgh ranks. It's a place of firsts and a leader in the region and the nation. Past firsts include the first museum of modern art, the first baseball stadium, the first heart transplant, the first robotics institute, the first Big Mac, and the first polio vaccine. In the present, Pittsburgh leads in jobs, entrepreneurship, culture, food, and green living. Come to W&J College and discover for yourself a Pittsburgh connection.

LEARN MORE FROM VISIT PITTSBURGH

Best sports city

Travel destination for Gen Z and food city of the year

Best city to start a career

Shopping

Pittsburgh's many boroughs all provide opportunities to shop and take in the feel of the city. Reclaiming Pittsburgh's industrial past at SouthSide Works or keeping its food market tradition alive in the Strip District, you'll find top retailers, great food, and plenty of local charm all across the city. Hit local boutiques in Lawrenceville or check out the riverfront view of the city while you shop and eat.

Food

Pittsburgh is a foodie town. In fact, it’s the only U.S. city on the BBC Good Food list of Top 10 destinations for foodies 2019. You'll find something for every taste here. Great coffee shops, inventive young chefs trying new things, and old favorites like Pamela's Diner – famous for its breakfasts – and Primanti Brothers – famous for its Almost Famous sandwiches.

Sports

Sports fans have a lot to cheer for in Pittsburgh. The Penguins, the Pirates, and the Steelers are a source of hometown pride. Don your black and gold and enjoy an afternoon taking in a baseball game at PNC Park. State-of-the-art stadiums surrounded by dining and greenspace mean that you can make a day of seeing the city and catching a game.

Annual Events

Pittsburgh likes a tradition, and a number of events occur annually. Enjoy it once or return year after year and make it a tradition for yourself. Some regular annual events to keep your eye on: PicklesBURGH, Restaurant Week, Pittsburgh Marathon (run it, or cheer on the runners!), Kennywood Phantom Fright Nights, Three Rivers Arts Festival, South Side Soup Contest. Grab a friend and a sense of adventure and check one out!

Music

Large and small concert venues across the city will satisfy your urge for live music. Bigger name artists perform at the venues in the Cultural District and Stage AE hosts national tours of rock and hip hop artists. For the local scene, small venues and bars on the South Side, East Libery, Lawrenceville, and Millvale regularly host local and touring artists.

Entertainment

Head to Pittsburgh's Cultural District for theatre, music, dance, film, and stylish dining. Heinz Hall, the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, the Byham Theater, the O'Reilly Theatre, and the August Wilson Cultural Center are all packed into a few blocks of downtown, making it the destination for cultural entertainment. The opera, the symphony, Broadway musicals,
plays, and independent films are all here for you.

Museums

Whether you love art, history, nature, science, or the obscure, Pittsburgh is home to some of the top museums in the country. Take on one of the four Carnegie Museums for a day, or visit some of the hidden gems of Pittsburgh such as Phipps Conservatory or The Mattress Factory.

Recreation

If you like to hit the trails, the water, or just get outside, Pittsburgh has acres of parks and green spaces, and miles of bike trails – some stretching all the way to Washington D.C.

Pittsburgh Fun Facts

It's Mister Rogers' real neighborhood.

It's a super heroes city.

We look good on film.

In addition to Fred Rogers and Michael Keaton, stars like Jeff Goldbum, Zachary Quinto, George Romero, August Wilson, and Christina Aguilera are also from the area. Recent movies filmed all or part in Pittsburgh include The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Jack Reacher (2012), The Avengers (2012), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), Concussion (2015), and Fences (2016), to name just a few. W&J College has been part of the action, too. Several scenes from the Netflix series Mindhunter were shot on W&J's campus in 2017.

We look good in real life.

On a variety of rankings - travel, eats, livability - Pittsburgh looks pretty great. Pittsburgh is the only U.S. city in the London issue of National Geographic Traveler's cool cities to visit in 2019. Also in 2019, Pittsburgh was also deemed "Food City of the Year" by af&co. And, after you graduate, we hope you'll stick around. Lending Tree ranks Pittsburgh among the top three best cities in the U.S. for first-time homebuyers, and the Economist's Intelligence Unit's livability survey ranks Pittsburgh as the most livable location in the Continental U.S. (Only Honolulu outranks us and - let's be fair - it's hard to beat that island sun...)

We did it first.

There's a lot of fun, creative energy around Pittsburgh, making it a city that's seen a lot of firsts. The first Motion Picture theater opened here. The first Internet Emoticon - The Smiley - was created here. So was the Mr. Yuk sticker; the first Big Mac; the pull-tab on aluminum cans; and the Polio vaccine. The world's first Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton is on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The first simultaneous heart, liver and kidney transplant was performed here.
What will you do first?

W&J is a VisitPITTSBURGH partner. Check their website often for upcoming events and more Pittsburgh fun facts.

*Washington & Jefferson College does not officially endorse any of the above establishments, organizations, or events unless otherwise noted.

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