I DIDN'T EXPECT Pittsburgh to take my breath away. This was, after all, a city once so full of smokestacks and soot that, in his 1868 travelogue for the Atlantic Monthly, biographer James Parton described it as "hell with the lid taken off." But as my taxi emerged from the Fort Pitt Tunnel on a Friday afternoon in June, I was taken aback by the panorama of rivers and bridges that unfolded before me. In the distance, sunlight glinted off the mirrored façade of PPG Place, the skyline's crown jewel, its neo-Gothic spires piercing a bluebird sky.
Pittsburgh's tale of Rust Belt revival is hardly new-the city spent decades reinventing itself after the steel industry collapsed in the 1980s. And since 2006, starting with Google, more tech companies have been setting up shop among the vibrant arts and cultural venues, while boundary-pushing chefs have brought the food scene on par with some of the country's hottest culinary hubs. The result? A next-gen 'Burgh that is simultaneously youthful and old-school, fresh and gritty, cutting-edge and delightfully retro.
FRIDAY
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Denne historien er fra November 2024-utgaven av Travel+Leisure US.
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Oodles of Noodles
Slurping through a lantern-lit alley in Sapporo, Japan, where miso ramen was born
The Sweet Spot
Just an hour south of Miami, Nora Walsh finds a candyland of tropical fruits ripe for picking.
Freshly Brewed
In the Cederberg Mountains of South Africa, Kendall Hunter discovers the powerful effects of the humble rooibos plant.
SHORE LEAVE
Raw, wild, and mind-bendingly remote, yet peppered with world-class wineries and restaurants-Australia's South West Edge is a study in contrasts.
Of Land and Sea
Savoring French flavors on a gastronomic trail between Marseille and Dijon.
FAMILY-STYLE
Food writer MATT GOULDING couldn't wait to get back to the hushed omakase restaurants of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. But would his young kids love the country-and its cuisine as much as he does?
HAPPY MEAL
Many tascas, the no-frills dining spots in Lisbon, have vanished. But others, Austin Bush discovers, are being lovingly reinvented.
A City Abuzz
In underappreciated Trieste, Taras Grescoe finds some of Italy's most storied-and spectacular-coffee shops.
FJORD FOCUS
Norway in December? Crazy-and crazy beautiful. Indulging a family wish, Akash Kapur discovers a world of icy enchantment.
DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Thailand
Full disclosure: I didn't like Bangkok at first. I didn't get it—the chaos, the traffic, the fact that everything was hard to find. But like all good love affairs, my relationship with Thailand—which deepened when I moved from Vietnam 12 years ago to work at Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, where I'm now editor in chief—took time to blossom.
