One would do well to begin an appreciation of Pittsburgh’s scenery with a ride on the restored wooden cable cars that began climbing the Duquesne Incline to the summit of Coal Hill, later known as Mount Washington, in 1877. The Incline is now operated by a preservation society, but it’s part of Pittsburgh’s transportation grid and uses the same fares as buses and trolleys—and offers an incomparable downtown view.

Pittsburgh’s oldest surviving river bridge—it was built between 1881 and 1883 to connect the northern and southern shores of the Monongahela River—is now the third version of a structure at the same spot (a covered wooden bridge was erected there between 1816 and 1818). Today’s Smithfield Street Bridge carries cars, trains and pedestrians between the Station Square complex and the Golden Triangle.

Constructed between 1898 and 1903 by Daniel Burnham, Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)’s downtown station was designed to impress: Burnham had recently wowed visitors at the World’s Fair in Chicago, and for Pittsburgh’s Penn Station he created what was to become one of America’s great examples of Beaux-Arts architecture. The soaring rotunda at the end of Liberty Avenue downtown is no longer in service as an entry for train passengers—Amtrak’s working station is now located in another facility at the back of the building complex—but visitors can still feast their eyes on its massive glass dome.

The spirit of the World’s Fair also made its way to Pittsburgh via the philanthropist Henry J. Phipps, who wanted to “erect something that [would] prove a source of instruction as well as pleasure to the people.” Upon completion in 1893, Phipps Conservatory’s nine rooms contained plants that had been displayed in Chicago. 120 years later, it also plays host to art collections, parties, classes and even a greenmarket, and is open to visitors from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily (with a few exceptions).