Baltimore: A Great Destination for Every Interest

I grew up in the suburbs about 30 minutes away from Baltimore and still enjoy visiting this wonderful port city.  There is something here for everyone, but my favorite is the National Aquarium.  My family members all know that if we make the trip to Baltimore and visit the Aquarium, they will be lucky if they get to eat.  There is something soothing to me in watching fish move so gracefully through the water and the National Aquarium has a wonderfully huge selection to view.

The Inner Harbor offers a number of other attractions for kids and adults.  Port Discovery is a hands-on children’s Museum and the Maryland Science Center has an IMAX Theater and planetarium.  If you make it to the Inner Harbor, stop and treat yourself to great service and even better seafood at Phillips Seafood Restaurant at Harborplace.  Seafood not your thing?  No problem.  Little Italy is a short walk away offering a couple of dozen different eateries from fine dining to snacks and treats.

Sports fans should head on over to Camden yards.  If there isn’t a game, visit the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum.

History and art abound in Baltimore.  The Baltimore Museum of Art displays around 90,000 works of art dating back as far at the 15^th century.  Near Baltimore/Washington International Airport check out the National Electronics Museum where you can learn about SONAR and Morse code, among other things.  The Maryland Historical Society Museum houses Francis Scott Key’s original manuscript of the “Star-Spangled Banner”.   For literary types, there is the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum or visit his gravesite and memorial, or both.

At the intersection of Lombard and Gay Streets, you can visit the Holocaust Memorial and in Harbor East you can experience the Katyn Memorial honoring Polish citizens executed in the Katyn Massacre during WWII.  Baltimore has a Washington Monument in the Mount Vernon neighborhood and you can climb 228 steps to the top for unique views of the city.

You really can’t visit Baltimore without going to Fell’s Point.  The area is full of art galleries and great eateries and is a pleasant walk down cobblestone streets.

Druid Hill Park offers ponds, fountains and “stairs to nowhere” as well as many monuments.  Climbing the Turkish Tower gives visitors great views of the city.

Not to be missed for history buffs is Fort McHenry, where the Battle of Baltimore took place.

I can’t lie, I also love to shop at the unique stores at the Inner Harbor.  I’m really not into shopping, but I have never walked through and not found something I “needed”.  There are just too many things there that you will never see anywhere else.

Baltimore offers something for everyone.  As the weather is getting nicer again, I certainly hear it calling me.