National Geographic Traveler has released its list of "Best of the World" list for 2012, and it includes such exotic destinations such as Mongolia, Panama, London, Iceland, Thailand, and...Pittsburgh?
That's no knock on the Steel City, mind you. We love Pittsburgh. It's merely that...well, Pittsburgh isn't exactly Costa Brava.
Here's what the magazine had to say about the city's "Extreme Metropolitan Makeover."
Three rivers. One reinvented city. On all counts, the Steel City's transformation over the past quarter century qualifies as revolutionary. Its mourning for its industrial past long concluded, this western Pennsylvania city changed jobs and reclaimed its major assets: a natural setting that rivals Lisbon and San Francisco, a wealth of fine art and architecture, and a quirky sense of humor.
Pittsburgh's century-wide swath of architectural styles persuaded British film director Christopher Nolan to use downtown as a stand-in for Gotham City in this summer's Dark Knight Rises. Sustainable design has transformed Victorian landmarks like the glass-domed Phipps Conservatory and created contemporary ones like the swooping waterfront convention center (above).
Sonoma, Calif. was the only other American destination to make the list. The Patriots take on the Steelers in glamorous Pittsburgh on Sunday.
