It’s not a college/hospital! It’s Johns Hopkins! Besides producing me, they also produced Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Dr. Julius Hibbert. Dr. House got kicked of their med school for cheating, though.
If it matches your interests, the B&O Railroad Museum is an option.
When I was there the Aquarium was timed entry. When we arrived they were selling tickets to go in two hours later. Plan accordingly or buy tickets in advance.
I actually find this kind of cool. I’m aware of both her medical (handbook/clinics) legacy and her presidential (First Lady) connection.
mmm
How 'bout the Baltimore Museum of Art? Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne…
Incidentally, Mean Mr. Mustard, if you’d like to have us put together a Dopefest in the evening at a restaurant in the Inner Harbor where you can meet some local Straight Dopers, just ask.
Especially if you wander into Federal Hill with its roving bands of hipsters.
There’s a lot to do in Baltimore. For a one day trip, I’m going to go with the same advice as most of the others in this thread and recommend the Inner Harbor. The Aquarium is one of the best aquariums in the world. Get your tickets in advance or you’ll likely have a very long wait. The Science Center on the other side of the harbor is also good.
Depending on what you are into, you can take a quick tour through the Constellation if you find old sailing ships to be interesting, and/or the Torsk if you are into WWII submarines (my former boss was a Navy guy, and as cramped as the Torsk is now when you go through it, he said that a lot of stuff had been removed, so try to imagine it even MORE cramped inside with additional equipment).
Fort McHenry is a relatively short drive from the harbor.
If you’re a train nut, the B&O museum is also a short drive from the harbor. Since you will probably be rushing around doing a lot of things, if you chose to go here, you can skip the “historic” ride on the nation’s first train tracks. As the guide pointed out to us when I did it, it’s “historic” not “scenic”.
It’s a bit off the beaten path, but also not far from the harbor is the Museum of Industry. It’s a bit small IMHO, but interesting if you are into that sort of thing.
The Walters Art Gallery is good. If you are into things that are a bit more quirky and unique, the American Visionary Art Museum is right around the corner from the harbor.
I personally tend to park on the south side of the Harbor near the Rusty Scupper and take the water taxi around. Parking on the north side of the harbor is a bit rough on your wallet. You can visit everything around the harbor and even pop over to Fell’s Point for some good restaurants all using the water taxi.
Second the BMA and the Museum of Industry. Also worth a look is the American Visionary Art Museum, which is a short distance from the Inner Harbor as well.
If you’re into beer, the Pratt Street Ale house is awesome, as is The Brewers Art, a Belgian style brewpub. Pratt Street is right off the inner harbor, an easy walk from the other touristy stuff. Also good is Max’s in Fells Point, they have about 100 craft beers on draft and 500 or so bottles. Slammed on weekend nights though, better to hit it in the afternoon.
I appreciate this thread, as I’d like to make some day trips to Baltimore from DC. Unless I missed it, could someone comment on transportation some of the areas being discussed? I have a car, but could also take a train.
You could take the Marc local to Penn Station and then take the light rail down, which would get you close to the inner harbor (you’d have to walk a couple of blocks). It’s been a long time since I looked into it, but when I looked at the schedules for the Marc local when I was considering a trip to DC there weren’t many trains and the schedule wasn’t very convenient. This was 15 years ago before I moved up to PA though. I have no idea what the schedules are like now.
The water taxi will get you all around the inner harbor and Fell’s point. An easy day trip would be to drive up, park somewhere close to the harbor, and take the water taxi around to various places.
You can download a mp showing where the water taxi goes from their web site:
Little Italy, Fell’s Point, the Power Plant (Hard Rock Cafe, etc), Aquarium, Science Center, American Visionary Art Museum, and the areas where the Constellation and the Torsk are docked are all close to water taxi landings.
I agree with all the above - I’ll just reiterate Camden Yards. If you’re even only a little bit of a baseball fan, Camden Yards is arguably the nicest baseball park in the world (PNC in Pittsburgh is equally nice in my book, and I’m sure there are a few others worthy of mention).
It’s easy to take MARC from Union Station to Baltimore’s Penn station and then use light rail to get to the Inner Harbor & other areas. MARC announced in May that they’re going to begin weekend service before the end of 2013 (yay!).
I agree. The Visionary Arts Museum is great. Walters was always a favorite of mine but I have been there in many years.
There’s also President Street Station near the Inner Harbor, now home to the Baltimore Civil War Museum, where the April 1861 Baltimore Riot happened, which some people consider was the first loss of life of the Civil War (before Fort Sumter).