Skip to Main Content
Road Scholar logo
Pennsylvania

Go Solo: Signature City Pittsburgh

Program No. 25756RJ
See More Photos
Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
Included
13 meals ( 5B, 4L, 4D )
2 expert-led lectures
8 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Pittsburgh, PA
Go Solo: Signature City Pittsburgh
Sep 24 - Sep 29, 2028
Program Number 25756
Expand All
Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your name tag.
Afternoon:
3:00-5:00 p.m.: After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to meet the Group Leader and confirm orientation time and place.

Orientation: 5:15 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions.

We will learn from the Group Leader as well as local experts who will give lectures and lead field trips. Program-related travel and transfers will be via private motorcoach unless noted otherwise.

Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 14 miles, approximately 1 hour total riding time. Walking up to 3 miles total, no longer than 1 hour at a time. Standing up to 1 hour at a time; comfortable walking shoes recommended; climbing some steps at the Duquesne Incline.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll board a motorcoach and ride to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens for a self-directed exploration. The Group Leader will provide a brief overview of the garden highlights. We’ll learn about the history of the conservatory while observing the beautiful plant collection. The gardens were a gift to the city of Pittsburgh by mogul Henry Phipps and are now recognized as a National Landmark and part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Containing both formal and exotic gardens, the center features rotating displays of plants from around the world such as bonsai, palms, desert plants, and orchids, and permanent collections including flora native to the Ohio Valley.

Reboarding our motorcoach, we’ll have an introduction to downtown Pittsburgh from our Group Leader as we make our way to the Duquesne Incline cable car. Built to transport cargo up and down Mt. Washington in the late 1800s, the incline soon began to carry passengers who were too tired to use the footpaths. Offering spectacular views of downtown Pittsburgh, the funicular has been completely refurbished and operates year-round.

Afterwards, we’ll board the motorcoach and ride to lunch.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
Reboarding our motorcoach, we will head to the National Aviary, the largest in our country and only to hold the esteemed status of “National” by the United States Congress. At the Aviary, we will have an expert-led exploration with time to independently examine the free-flying bird habitats and become acquainted with more than 150 species from around the world.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
Returning to the hotel, the remainder of the evening is at leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 20 miles, up to 2 hours riding time. Walking up to 3 miles and standing up to 2 hours at a time.
Breakfast:
At the hotel
Morning:
We’ll ride to the Senator John Heinz Regional Historical Center for an expert-led exploration. The Center is a family of museums and an educational affiliate of The Smithsonian Institution. It links past, present, and future, preserving regional history and presenting the American experience in Western Pennsylvania. The Center partners with organizations and scholars engaged in archaeology, archives, artifact collections, broadcast media and the Internet, conservation, educational programs, exhibitions, library, museums, performance, publications, and research. There will also be some time to explore some of the museums within the Center independently, including the History Center and Sports Museum.
Lunch:
At the museum café, we’ll choose from a variety of soups, sandwiches, and salads. Bottled water included.
Afternoon:
Next, we will take a field trip to the Frick Art & Historical Center in the former Pittsburgh mansion of Henry Clay Frick, a wealthy industrialist and chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company. Upon our arrival, we will explore the grounds of the mansion with the expert commentary of an instructor where we will learn about the evolution of the site, the neighborhood, and Frick family history. Afterwards, we will explore the historic mansion and hear about diverse stories of the Gilded Age, and make connections with social justice issues of today. We will also have independent time at the Car and Carriage Museum where we will learn about learn about Pittsburgh’s role in the developing automobile industry.
Dinner:
At the hotel
Evening:
A local educator will join us at the hotel to shed light on Indigenous communities in the Pittsburgh area.
Activity Note
Walking up to 3 miles throughout the day, approximately 6 hours; standing up to 1 hour at a time. Some Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral may not be available depending on schedules at the time of the program.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll walk with our Group Leader through more of the Oakland neighborhood to the University of Pittsburgh’s “Cathedral of Learning,” dedicated in 1937. On the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the Cathedral is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere, standing at 535 feet. Its 42 stories house classrooms, a 4-story-tall Commons Room, and 29 Nationality Rooms celebrating the cultures of ethnic groups who settled in the area. The rooms are also used for classes during the school year. We’ll learn from a local expert about the cathedral’s development and see some of the Nationality Rooms.

Next, we’ll walk across the street to the Carnegie Museums complex featuring museums of art, natural history, science, and the Andy Warhol Museum. Led by an expert, we’ll explore the internationally renowned Carnegie Museum of Art. Its exhibits cover various forms of media from fine arts to photography, fulfilling Andrew Carnegie’s goal of recording America’s progress through pictorial art.
Lunch:
At the museum café, we’ll have a light lunch with choice of soups, salads, and sandwiches.
Afternoon:
We’ll continue exploring with an expert at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, established in 1896. It has grown to hold more than 20 million specimens with about 10,000 viewable in 20 galleries. Highlights include the first Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever discovered and one of the largest collections of Jurassic dinosaurs in the world.

Afterwards, the remainder of the afternoon is free to enjoy the city or return to the hotel for an opportunity to freshen up and relax.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 15 miles, under 1 hour riding time. Walking up to 2 miles all day, sometimes on uneven ground and climbing steps with dim lighting. Please wear closed-toe shoes. Carrie Furnace not handicap-accessible. Extent and duration of walking and other activities during free time according to personal choice.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll head to the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Museum via motorcoach for an in-depth, docent-led examination of Pittsburgh’s industrial and immigrant foundation. We’ll learn about the infamous Homestead Steel Strike, then visit the ruins of the Carrie Furnace, an extremely rare pre-World War I blast furnace that is part of the museum’s heritage area along the Monongahela River.
Lunch:
In a historic building, we’ll have an array of catered dishes.
Afternoon:
Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.

We’ll meet in the hotel lobby before departing for dinner by motorcoach.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Activity Note
Hotel check-out by 12:00 Noon.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Our final lecture with the Group Leader will address the current state of Pittsburgh and the future of the city. As the steel and mill industries declined, Pittsburgh was at a crossroads and in need of revitalization. How has the city recreated itself? How has the city shed its steel and coal history? What’s next for Pittsburgh? This concludes our program.

If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
Please select a day to update the map
Map details are not available for this location.