Baltimore Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Review
Written: Sep 17 '06 (Updated Nov 20 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of variety, very easy to get around, civic pride, beautiful harbor
Cons: Developing far too quickly
The Bottom Line: I can't say enough good things about Baltimore!
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| chelledun's Full Review: Baltimore |
When setting off to visit seven or eight East Coast cities, mr_chelledun and I wouldn’t have guessed that Baltimore would be our absolute favorite, or even up there in our favorites. In fact, we absolutely loved it. I found Baltimore to be charming, tourist-friendly, and a ton of fun. If you are headed anywhere near this amazing city, I suggest stopping in for a day or ten.
General Information
Baltimore is one of Maryland's major cities, with a population of approximately 640,000. It is known for its crabs and harbor-front attractions. Baltimore is easily reachable from both D.C. and Philadelphia, which is one reason we choose to add it into our itinerary. I'm so glad we did!
Baltimore’s downtown area is conveniently organized into several neighborhoods. These include the Inner Harbor, Fell’s Point, City Center, West Side, and Camden Yards, among others. Whether you have a short visit or a long one planned, I heartily recommend taking a tour of the city to get oriented. Once you do, getting around will be a piece of cake. We had an absolute blast with our Ride the Ducks tour and learned quite a lot about the city’s history in the process. More sedate bus and boat tours are offered as well if you can’t quite picture yourself quacking around town. Much of the city is walkable. As in any city, be alert, particularly when traveling at night or in a small group.
Where to Stay
In a perfect world, everyone would stay downtown. There are many elegant hotels located just steps from Inner Harbor shopping and dining, and more are going up at this very moment. Unfortunately, during the busy tourist season these places cost an arm and a leg, and we were out of arms and legs by the time we got to Baltimore. We were unable to find lodging for less than $200 per night, despite planning well ahead.
If you have to stay out of the city like we did, it is not the end of the world. I very much recommend the Holiday Inn Express in nearby Hanover, MD. The hotel is great and cost us around $70 per night. We were able to get in and out of the city in ten minutes or less every single time. This made it feasible to head to Baltimore in the morning, head back in the late afternoon for a shower, and then go over again at night.
Things to Do/See/Eat by Neighborhood
Inner Harbor - This is a revitalized area featuring hundreds of bars, shops, restaurants, hotels, and tourists attractions. There is so much to do here that many tourists never venture out of this area. I don’t advise spending your whole trip here, but definitely schedule in some time. We typically parked in this area because of its central location and then branched off into other sections of the city. The Baltimore Visitor’s Center is located in this area, and is a great place to pick up brochures. Be warned – the center’s volunteer staff is extremely opinionated about the city and somewhat scary. Inner Harbor is the boarding point for most tours, including the Ducks tour we used.
One of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, is located on one of the piers in Inner Harbor. I must say, we found the aquarium to be not quite as good as advertised, but I am still glad that we went and I know that most visitors will go regardless of any recommendation I make. The sharks are definitely the highlight, so linger in their creepy presence to your heart’s content. There is an excellent dolphin show with lots of jumping as well. Probably the best part about the aquarium is its wonderful location at the harbor’s edge. Near the Aquarium is Baltimore’s Public Works museum. The subject of municipal works was less than fascinating to me, but we did notice an outdoor walk through display of pipes and such that children would probably enjoy.
There are an unbelievable number of places to eat and shop here, many of which are divided into indoor/outdoor malls. Restaurants include, unfortunately, primarily chains with little local flavor. We had one of the worst meals of our trip at the Capitol City Brewing Company, so don’t go there. However, we had one of the best meals of our trip at La Tasca, a Spanish tapas style restaurant with fabulous food. Be sure to stop into one of the locations of The Fudgery. In addition to yummy fudge, this establishment features some of the most energetic and persuasive sales staff I’ve seen.
Little Italy
I absolutely loved the Italian Village area of Baltimore, to the east of the Inner Harbor and the aquarium. We randomly stumbled across a 125th anniversary celebration for a local Catholic church. $1.00 per person donation got us in to enjoy a bocce ball competition, innumerable food and craft vendors, and music. What fun! There are a lot of Italian restaurants in the area. I don’t necessarily recommend Sabatino’s, where we dined, but it was okay.
Just yards from the beginning of Little Italy is the Star Spangled Banner House. We stumbled across this attraction literally by accident. This is the home of Mary Pickersgill, the woman who sewed the giant flag which served as the inspiration for “The Star Spangled Banner.” You know, the flag that was still there while the bombs were bursting in air. After walking into the flag-painted facility, we were hustled onto a guided tour of the home. I must say that Mary seems like she was a pretty cool and independent lady. For $5.00 a person, I was thoroughly impressed with this tour. Our guide was clearly fascinated by the subject and had a lot of knowledge. The highlight is seeing pieces of the actual flag – one red, one white, and one blue. A film shown in the museum gives a nice summary of the story behind this flag and its importance. If you need a dose of history while in Baltimore, this is a great place to find it.
The Polish section of the city is nearby. I was excited to visit and possibly eat in this area, as the Poles are my people and I was craving some good pierogis. This attempt was unsuccessful, as the entire staff of the Baltimore Visitor’s Center was unable to come up with a single reputable restaurant in the area. It is still worth a drive or walk through this section, as the buildings are interesting and some residents still wear traditional dress. However, the Polish area of my hometown in Indiana actually has more options in terms of dining and Polish-owned businesses.
Near City Center
Do be sure to stop and pay respects at Baltimore’s Holocaust Monument. We passed this area on our tour, but I am glad we went out of our way to see it up close. The monument is representative of a rail car and offers a great deal of symbolism that only becomes clear when one reads the plaques on site. It is well-done, despite being housed in a small area, and worth seeing.
We spent one night of our visit at Power Plant Live near the city center. This is an entertainment complex of bars and dance clubs. The crowd is relatively young (I think we saw eight bachelorette parties) and touristy, but the bars are very nice. There is a Have a Nice Day Cafe and a Howl at the Moon, both of which I was familiar with from Indianapolis. Mosaic, an outdoor tented club in the center of the complex is definitely the prettiest setting to have a drink. We sat for a while at the Rams Head Live! and had a pint or two. I highly recommend the peanut butter pie. On the whole, this was a tame but fun place to enjoy a bit of Baltimore nightlife.
Fell’s Point
This area is reachable by a long, but manageable, walk from Inner Harbor like we did, or a ten minute water taxi ride. The water taxi pass is by day and reasonably priced. If you take a Ducks tour like we did, Fells point is also the spot where the vehicle enters the water and provides an excellent starting point for a harbor tour.
Formerly a fishermen hot spot, Fell’s point has become extremely gentrified today. In terms of content, this area resembles Inner Harbor. For example, the first shop I saw was Minnie Moo’s Ice Cream Parlor, an upscale chain. However, the area still maintains a less commercial feel due to the architecture and is pleasant to stroll around in. If you have a lot of cash, you can find plenty of places to spend it in the upscale boutiques here. The area also has its own Visitor’s Center and Maritime Museum.
South Baltimore
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend as much time over here as we would have liked, only making it to the very north part of the south. We did get to at least glimpse some of the major sites on the amphibious portion of our harbor tour. This is the site of Fort McHenry. You can still see the flag waving, and note that this is one of the only flags in the nation with just fifteen stars. Baltimore is quite proud of its fifteen-starred flags.
Also in the southern portion of the city are a couple of museums of note. The Baltimore Museum of Industry sounded particularly intriguing to me, and I wish we would have had time for a visit. The American Visionary Museum of Art is also located along the harbor. On a sad note, the interesting landscape of southern Baltimore will soon no longer be visible from the northern portion of the city. Condos are going up at a ridiculous pace and will soon be all that the eye can see when looking across the river. In other words, plan your visit quickly!
West Side
This section of the city has, according to our knowledgeable tour guide, fallen somewhat into disrepair. Records to restore it have been somewhat successful, particularly the renovation of the Hippodrome Theater which showcases various Broadway plays. The Lion King was about to start when we visited. Our tour took us through this area during the day and while it didn’t look unsafe, it was a little sad how many shops and restaurants were empty or had boarded windows.
It is definitely worth a drive through the area for a couple of important sites. We enjoyed seeing the relatively humble Grave of Edgar Allen Poe. A quirky, fun landmark is the giant Bromo Seltzer Clock. This giant clock was built as an advertising gimmick, and once was topped by a giant seltzer bottle. The bottle had to be taken down for safety reasons but the clock remains. If you look closely, the words “Bromo Seltzer” can still be seen surrounding the clock face. The clock looks much prettier at night than during the day.
One attraction in this area that I would never want to visit is the National Museum of Dentistry. One that I would like to see is Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, which focuses on all things popular culture. West Side is also the location of the famous Lexington Market, serving a vast variety of fresh foods daily.
Camden Yards
This section of the city is primarily of interest to sports fans. We drove by Baltimore Orieles baseball stadium a dozen or so times, and I must say it is an attractive stadium. The M & T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, can be found right down the street. This corner of the city is also home to the Babe Ruth Museum and birthplace. The hotels in the surrounding area are very popular with game attendees for both sporting venues.
Mount Vernon Cultural District
Sadly, I can say very little about this portion of the city. It was too far to walk to and we never made it here while driving around. If you love the arts, though, make sure to put this area on your list for its numerous museums and theaters.
Overall…
I loved Baltimore’s attractions and its atmosphere. My husband and I both commented that we had not seen so much city pride outside of our visit to Belize City. The people of Baltimore really seemed to love their city, as they should. Whether you have a day or a week, there is plenty to see and do in Baltimore for tourists of all ages. Sign me up for another trip!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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