Baltimore, MD tips?

[loftguy]

Two weeks from now, I plan a long weekend in Baltimore.  Plan to stay in the harbor.  Any suggestions on places to stay, eat, visit?  I've been told that the aquarium is top notch, but hope that this forums denizens will give me some inside tips.

[Maitre D]

Two weeks from now, I plan a long weekend in Baltimore.  Plan to stay in the harbor.  Any suggestions on places to stay, eat, visit?  I've been told that the aquarium is top notch, but hope that this forums denizens will give me some inside tips.

Go to the Art Museum there.  It's really, really, really good.

The Harbor sucks, IMO.  Tourist trap central.  Great private seafood places in the brick neighborhoods surrounding.

CAMDEN YARDS!

But mostly, I hope you take a short 1hr drive to Annapolis for an afternoon.  What a neat town.  The Naval Academy is something I'm glad I saw - very neat and very accessible to tourists.

[loftguy]

MD, thanks. 

I've been to Annapolis and agree that it is beautiful and one of the few towns that pulls off "charming" in a totally positive manner.

[DaveKCMO]

granted, my experience was not at all in-depth, but i offer it up anyway: we arrived in baltimore via amtrak last spring and took the light rail line (including the frustrating "shuttle") to the inner harbor to dine (babalu grill) and check out the cordish development there (power plant). we did a fair amount of walking around downtown (including a jaunt to city hall through, i believe, one of america's last brazenly-obvious red light districts) and then ended the night by renting a paddleboat in the harbor. we didn't stay overnight, although in retrospect we should have since there was a cool neighborhood that we missed out on (federal hill?).

[AJoD]

Fells Point and Little Italy are both within striking distance of the Inner Harbor.

Lexington Market is a cool, very old, public market.  I've only ever been long enough to pick up some crab cakes from Faidley's, but it seems well worth a look around.

[phxcat]

granted, my experience was not at all in-depth, but i offer it up anyway: we arrived in baltimore via amtrak last spring and took the light rail line (including the frustrating "shuttle") to the inner harbor to dine (babalu grill) and check out the cordish development there (power plant). we did a fair amount of walking around downtown (including a jaunt to city hall through, i believe, one of america's last brazenly-obvious red light districts) and then ended the night by renting a paddleboat in the harbor. we didn't stay overnight, although in retrospect we should have since there was a cool neighborhood that we missed out on (federal hill?).

Federal Hill is a very cool, historic neighborhood.  That is where they celebrated the ratification of the Constitution.  It is also in walking district to the stadium.  One thing I liked about Baltimore, and would love to see in KC in some way, if we can get more development along the rivers in both KCK and KCMO, is the water taxi system.  They have a fleet of private (I believe) boats that shuttle you around the inner harbor, which, for all of the power  plant live type of stuff, is still where most of the historic Baltimore is located, like Fells Point.  The water taxis also have a jitney link to Fort McHenry.

[Expat]

Sounds like you have already gotten some good advice.    An inexpensive and fun thing is to ride the water taxis in the harbor.  If nothing else, just for the ride and view of the city from the water.  And a way to get to Fell's Point and other points.  Someone mentioned Lexington Market, I am not too crazy about that market, it is a good market but is a bit rowdy for my taste.  But, if in Federal Hill, stop at the raw bar for some good seafood at Cross Street Market.  Or in Fell's Point, stop at Broadway Market for some crab cakes and other goodies.    Staying at the harbor is a good idea because it puts you in the middle of everything.    Maitre D is correct, Harborplace can be a bit touristy, but a good central place from which to explore the city.  MD also gave good advice in visiting Annapolis, but sounds like you have already done that.  I visit Baltimore a couple times a month.  If you are looking for any particular type of restaurant, let me know.  I might be able to advise.

[KCMax]

I just watched some show with Bobby Flay about Baltimore. It seemed pretty cool. There was a bar known for their mussels called Bertha's. Claddagh Irish Pub seemed like a cool place. I regret not having visited Baltimore's Inner Harbor when I lived in the Beltway, it seems like it has more going for it than I previously thought.

[Slappy the Wang]

Here's a tip for B-More....protect yourself.  It hosts the highest rate of STD's in the country!

[GuyInLenexa]

As a regional food junkie, when I go to Baltimore, I always like to indulge in the crab cakes and the Maryland Pit Beef.  Really a treat.  Immortalized in John Water's movie "Pecker", it really something that should not be overlooked.
When I was there some time ago, Chap's on Pulaski Hwy. was great, as well as another place called Big Al's.  I would highly recommend it. 

http://search.cityguide.aol.com/baltimo ... -102377000

[FangKC]

Baltimore's Billion Dollar Ghost Town

The Point Covington/Baltimore Peninsula project on Baltimore's waterfront.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ygjKUf-gQ

https://www.southbmore.com/2016/10/06/p ... ig-future/

Location:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Balti ... FQAw%3D%3D

[mister816]

Baltimore's Billion Dollar Ghost Town

The Point Covington/Baltimore Peninsula project on Baltimore's waterfront.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ygjKUf-gQ

https://www.southbmore.com/2016/10/06/p ... ig-future/

Location:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Balti ... FQAw%3D%3D

The Baltimore Peninsula ghost town is what i fear may happen to the project at Berkley. With downtown, martini corner westport and the plaza all being along the streetcar line, and all of the other suburbs in the city doing their own mega projects, are there enough Kansas Citians to support all of this?

[Chris Stritzel]

The Baltimore Peninsula ghost town is what i fear may happen to the project at Berkley. With downtown, martini corner westport and the plaza all being along the streetcar line, and all of the other suburbs in the city doing their own mega projects, are there enough Kansas Citians to support all of this?

The Berkley stuff is also on the Streetcar line. It helps having the Current down there (the stadium will bring other events besides soccer). On nice days, the park is a popular place for people to go and visit (will become even busier once the Streetcar and pedestrian bridges open). For the mixed-use development the Current is building, I think success will depend on the commercial tenants they draw. You need to have things that bring people down at different times of the day (coffee shop, bakery, lunch places, restaurants, bars, shops, services, office workers, residents).

I guarantee that it won't be desolate like Baltimore Peninsula thanks to the density of residents that'll be living down there and the connections to the rest of the City as previously described.

[GRID]

Nah you can't compare the Point Covington Project to KC's riverfront. Point Covington has been downsized so much that it's just not going to turn into what was originally planned. In order for that area to be a true thriving destination, it needed to be larger and with the office market down and Under Armor doing a much smaller HQ project, it's just not going to have the draw to such an isolated and disconnected area.

The Riverfront area is already much more vibrant than Point Covington and will far surpass Point Covington in in the future. Point Covington barely has bus service to the rest Baltimore let alone a streetcar. The KC riverfront is basically an extension of downtown KC and the river market. Point Covington may as well be 20 miles from downtown Baltimore.