One of the best parts about Pittsburgh is the number of museums, and theaters, and other cultural things that we have. I’ve clearly seen my fair share of musicals and symphony performances, and I also love exploring the museums. One thing I don’t do much, though, is visit Phipps – the conservatory/botanical gardens.

My aunt and uncle were visiting this weekend, and we decided it would be fun to take them to Phipps. It was one of the last weekends of their current exhibit, which was inspired by Van Gogh, so it seemed like the perfect time to check it out. I realized that I actually hadn’t been to Phipps since I visited while I was in college, so I was long-overdue for another visit!

I was amazed by how huge it was – they tell you to just keep going to the right every time you’re at a turn, and the number of different rooms that we kept walking into shocked me! It doesn’t look that big from the outside, but there’s actually so much to see.

Admittedly, I am not the hugest plant enthusiast, but I had a great time walking around and exploring. There are some really beautiful flowers – I especially enjoyed the orchids, and anything bright and colorful. They even still had some Chihuly glass sculptures on display, which was the exhibit going on when I visited over 10 years ago. It’s also nice and quiet, so it’s perfect if you want to actually be able to talk to the people you’re with!

I loved having the chance to go somewhere different in Pittsburgh – hopefully my next visit to Phipps is less than 10 years from now!