I had some free time upon arriving in Pittsburgh and wanted to do some sightseeing. I picked the Monangahela Incline first. Parking at Station Square was easy. I then walked into Station Square and the little indoor shopping center area. It didn't seem like there was much to see or do there. I went to the bottom of the incline and got in the car and rode it to the top. My advice is to sit as low in the car as possible to get the best view. The view of this incline is the Monangahela River and downtown Pittsburgh. When I got to the top, I purchased a round trip,ticket for $3.50. At the top there is a nice viewing platform about 25 yards away from the top building. About 50 yards from the viewing platform is an area of shops, restaurants and bars including a popular ice cream stand. This makes for a great diversion of killing some time while up here.
I recommend when coming up here to plan your trip to eat lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants here. The incline runs late at night and after dinner and/or drinks the view at night would be very nice. If you can't do a meal then get some ice cream like I did and enjoy.
I could have walked over to the Duquesne and rode that but round trip it would have been 2 miles and I didn't bring the right shoes and it was a little warm that day.
I prefer riding the Duquesne slightly more due to its car construction which allows a great view from all of its seats. Also the small museum at the top of the Duquesne is neat too. However I prefer the dining, shopping and drink options at the top of the Monongahela better. My recommendation is to do both.
If you come to Pittsburgh this is a must do. It's interesting to see that residents use this as a form of transportation.