What’s in store for Pittsburgh in 2024?

For decades Pittsburgh has been forging a thrilling cultural scene that offers avid USA fans an edgy, urban alternative city break. Where cutting edge artists meet rich history and verdant landscapes along with a thriving craft  beverage scene, Pittsburgh is a city of contrasts and 2024 brings another year of exciting reasons to explore it.

Launching this spring, Icelandair recently announced a new direct route to Pennsylvania's second city from Iceland. Fly from UK airports, including London Heathrow, Manchester and Glasgow, and Dublin in Ireland via a short stopover in Reykjavik before heading onwards to Pittsburgh. From the 16th May until the end of October the seasonable service will offer 4x weekly flights so travellers can enjoy the land of fire and ice before exploring the city where Warhol meets whiskey. 

Next year sees the 30th anniversary of The Andy Warhol Museum - a beloved collection of work dedicated to one of the most famous artists in history. Also the largest museum dedicated to a single artist in North America, pop art fans can learn about the Pittsburgh-born artist through exhibitions, displays, interactive and informative tours. The colourful venue has permanent and rotating exhibitions which give an insight into Warhol’s life and distinctive art style over seven floors. The museum exhibits over 12,000 pieces of the artist's work, including portraits of Marilyn Monroe and one of his most famed paintings ‘Coke’. 

In addition to celebrating this special anniversary, the Andy Warhol Museum also plans to expand its footprint with a $45m events venue which is part of the “Pop District Initiative”, transforming the city’s eastern North Shore neighbourhood into a “multi-block public arts” hub over the course of a decade. 

Pittsburgh is home to a thriving cultural events calendar celebrating jazz music, Pride, Black arts and craft beer and even the humble pickle. Taking place in September, the International Jazz Festival is a soulful weekend of performances with more than 140 jazz musicians taking part and offering many free gigs. Launching the nation's first black beer festival, Barrel and Flow Fest takes place in August and showcases the country’s most talented Black brewers, along with breweries from across the globe in collaboration with Black artists, entrepreneurs, politicians, and business owners. The cherry on the cake, or the pickle in the pierogi, is Picklesburgh. An event that celebrates the humble fruit,  an array of dill-ectable products and foods is central to the 3-day festival, but the event also has a lot more options for pickle fanatics to experience, from dozens of live music performances to other popular activities like Pickle Cocktails, Pickle Beer, Pickle Juice Drinking Contest, and an abundance of pickle-themed apparel and merch. 

With Tour Tourism a strong travel trend that took centre stage this year, Pittsburgh will welcome music royalty with performances throughout the year from Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Iron Maiden and Greenday to name a few. Performances will take place at the iconic PPG Paints Arena that serves as the home of the ice hockey legends, the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Pittsburgh is a dab hand at repurposing its historic landmarks that retain the city’s historic links. Lawrence Hall, the Central Lawrenceville food hall located in a 6,000 sq ft repurposed warehouse, is on track to open its doors, more than three years after first announcing plans for the space. Owners Brett and Phoebe Minarik, and Adam Harvey, confirm that the space is currently under construction, and is expected to open early next year, in January or February. The 170-seat food hall will feature five restaurant concepts and an ice cream shop, all centred around Dear James, a communal bar and will be a great spot for big groups.

Earlier this summer, Trace Brewing announced plans to open a second taproom in Pittsburgh, this time in the city’s Uptown neighbourhood. Trace Echo, as the space will be called, is anticipated to open in early 2024 and will feature “a cosy bar, a handful of indoor tables, and a large, three-season outdoor space.” Ideal for cyclists, there will be easy access to protected bike lanes from the location, a full espresso bar, and a food menu from a soon-to-be-announced local Pittsburgh food partner.

British travel company Trailfinders has added a new bookable package to its USA offerings for 2024. Offering 5 days / 4 nights with prices starting from £379 per person (based on two adults sharing), including 4 nights accommodation in a four star hotel with a handy, personalised itinerary to ensure visitors don't miss the city highlights. Find more information about the Pittsburgh City Break here. 

For more information visitpittsburgh.com