Museums and galleries in Baltimore

Museums and galleries in Baltimore

1. SeeInner Harbor

   American Visionary Art Museum

   The most eclectic and interesting collection of contemporary art from non-professional artists, with many works of beauty, some of paranoia, and a fair share of sheer obsessive personality disorder!

   Wed-Sun 10AM-5PM·Adults $15.95, discounts available for seniors, children and large groups

2. SeeSouth Baltimore

   Babe Ruth Museum

   This museum is actually in the house where the Great Bambino himself was born. The museum isn't huge, but should be considered a can't-miss attraction for baseball fans. There is a white baseball "trail" leading from Camden Yards straight here, so it isn't hard to find. Plan to spend about a half hour looking at the exhibits on his life, and also the neat new one on the 500-homer club.

   Tue-Sun 10AM-5PM·$6 adults, $3 children 3-12

3. SeeWest Baltimore

   Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum

   Located in a beautiful historic railroad roundhouse is a large collection of locomotives and railcars dating back to the very earliest railroads of America. Train rides are sometimes available. Very kid friendly.

   Mon-Sat 10AM-4PM, Sun 11AM-4PM·Admission $18, discounts for seniors and children available

4. SeeNorth Baltimore

   Baltimore Museum of Art

   Fantastic collection of 19th century, modern and contemporary art.

   Wed-Fri 11AM-5PM, Sat Sun 11AM-6PM, Mon Tue closed·Free

5. SeeSouth Baltimore

   Baltimore Museum of Industry

   Baltimore's museum of the common man defies the idea that history is just about politicians, wars, and artists. You'll see recreations of a cannery, a turn of the century textile factory, a printing press, Dr Bunting's old pharmacy, and exhibits on the Domino Sugar Factory. There are plenty of good hands-on activities for kids—they can even become child laborers in the textile shop!

   Tue-Sun 10AM-4PM·$10/8/6 (adults/seniors/children & students)

6. DrinkNorth Baltimore

   Carma's Cafe

   Well-known for their sandwiches and excellent coffee, Carma's offers indoor and outdoor seating just blocks away from Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

7. DoSoutheast Baltimore

   Creative Alliance

   The Creative Alliance is a vibrant arts center with over 200 events a year ranging from costume dance parties, to folk music performances, rap, world music, and indie film screenings. The space holds two art galleries, a theater, classroom, media lab, live/work studios for 8 artists, and a bar/restaurant.

8. DoDowntown

   Current Gallery

   Current Gallery is a neat place to see and perhaps purchase some local artists' work, but its best reputation (among locals) is as a DIY indie music venue by night. Check local listings and their website to find out what's going on.

   Sat Sun noon-4PM

9. SeeWest Baltimore

   Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum

   An early home of the American author of mystery and the macabre. Located on Amity Street in a rough neighborhood, surrounded by public housing.

   Small fee

10. SeeFells Point

    Fells Point Visitor Center and Maritime Museum

    Run by the Baltimore Historical Society, the visitor center is a nice, sleek space to stop by, with exhibits and artwork related to the maritime history of the neighborhood, as well as information on what to do and see in the area.

    Jan-March: Sun,Tue-Fri noon-5PM, Sat 11AM-7PM; Apr-Dec Tue-Thu noon-5PM, Fri 11AM-8PM, Sat 10AM-8PM·Free

11. SeeSouth Baltimore

    Fort McHenry

    Really a must-visit for any tourist in Baltimore, this is the birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner, the United States National Anthem. The fort's military history is best known for its central role in the defense of the country in the War of 1812, simply named the Battle of Fort McHenry. At the time, Baltimore was the industrial powerhouse of the United States, and was a critical producer of ships and armaments. Fort McHenry remained relevant in future wars: a prison for captured Confederate soldiers in the Civil War, a military hospital during WWI, and again an active Coast Guard base during WWII. Since 1925 it has been designated as a National Park (and since 1939 doubly listed as a National Monument), and is today a museum, with plenty of cannons and nooks and crannies to explore. Back to the National Anthem, it was Francis Scott Key, who escaped here from British captivity in the War of 1812, and joins Edgar Allen Poe, Thurgood Marshall, and H L Mencken as a preeminent icon of the city and the eponym for dishes at restaurants, bridges, and one impressive golden statue in Bolton Hill. He might be a little sad to see that the flag is not still there. It was getting extra raggedy after all these years, and was moved to the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. for preservation.

    9AM-4:45PM daily·$15, children under 15 are free

12. SeeEast Baltimore

    Great Blacks in Wax

    Only the American Visionary Arts Museum could claim to be more unique than this very off-the-beaten-path museum, and it might be wrong. The catchy name betrays the extremely disturbing content (make sure your kids are prepared). It's appropriately disturbing, though, as much of African American history is horrifying even without seeing it reproduced with life-sized wax figures. The first room you enter sets the tone: a cramped slave ship, packed with brutalized slaves watched over by a sadistic slavemaster. The lynching scene is in a separate room downstairs, so you can get through the museum without getting those particular nightmares. It's not all doom and gloom, though, as the story of African Americans is full of personal triumphs and huge contributions to the society of not just this country, but of the world.

    Tue-Sat 9AM-6PM, Sun noon-6PM (summer days are open on Mondays as well)·$12/10

13. SeeEast Baltimore

    Greenmount Cemetery

    Greenmount Cemetery is Baltimore's most interesting after Westminster Hall downtown, with beautiful, tranquil, rolling hills, and interesting Gothic chapels and statuary. Among the most famous interred are a long list of Maryland governors, John Wilkes Booth and a few of his co-conspirators, Johns Hopkins himself, as well as William Thompson Walters and his son Henry Walters, the famous art collectors and founders of the Walters Art Museum. Fans of the HBO series, The Wire should recognize this as the location for several important scenes. Pick up a map from the office to the right of the gates at Oliver St. In May and October, you can take guided tours—check the website for details.

    Mon-Sat 8AM-4PM (office closes Sat at noon). Call ahead during bad weather to make sure you can enter

14. SeeMidtown

    Hackerman House

    An elegant late-classical-era home built in 1850, it was donated to the city of Baltimore by its last owners, Willard and Lillian Hackerman, in 1984. The city renamed the house in their honor and took advantage of its location to expand the adjacent Walters Art Museum. It now hosts the Walters' collection of Asian Art, but is open only on the weekend, and can only be accessed from within the museum. From the front rooms on the third floors you can sneak a bird's-eye view of the monument plaza.

    Sat Sun 10AM-5PM, Mon-Fri closed

15. BuyInner Harbor

    Harborplace

    Broken up into two buildings. A third, the gallery on the other side of Pratt Street, has closed. This is a deserted mall in the middle of changing hands. There is a lobster roll joint, an Irish pub, a Cheesecake Factory, an Uno and not much else. One store sells primarily products made or popularized in Baltimore.

16. SeeInner Harbor

    Historic President Street Station

    The surviving headhouse of Baltimore’s first railway station. The platforms and train shed no longer survive, but the building narrowly escaped demolition on several occasions, and has been operated by volunteers as a museum since 1997. Formerly the Baltimore Civil War Museum, it still includes some exhibits on the station’s role during the U.S. Civil War. Operated by Friends of the President Street Station, and being considered for inclusion in the National Park System.

    Daily 10AM-4PM·$3/adult, $2/student, children under 12 free

17. SeeFells Point

    Jewish Museum of Maryland

    A museum dedicated to regional Jewish history, with lots of hands on, family-friendly exhibits, as well as artwork, historical photographs, and multimedia exhibits. Tours of two local historic synagogues are given at 1PM and 2:30PM.

    Tue-Thu, Sun noon-4PM; closed Jewish and Federal holidays·$8, $4/students, $3/children

18. SeeNorth Baltimore

    Johns Hopkins University

    Johns Hopkins University is a mammoth institution in Baltimore, and it is here that you will find its center on the Homewood Campus. The Homewood campus was a property purchased in 1800 by Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence, as a wedding present for his son, who designed and oversaw the building of the outstanding federal style country house. The Johns Hopkins University was the first research university in the United States. Tourists will enjoy the Homewood House, a historic home built by Charles Carrol for his son, now a history museum, and the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame.

19. SeeWest Baltimore

    Mencken House

    Free public museum dedicated to work of Henry Louis Mencken- a journalist and scholar of American English. He is known for the "American Language" a study of English in the United States. This house was where he lived from 1883 to 1956 and is a national historic landmark.

    Free

20. DrinkMidtown

    Metro Gallery

    An art gallery, club/lounge, live performance venue, and bar, this is one of the cooler places in a very cool city for a night out. Not open every night, you will have to settle for waiting for an event night.

    Open for gallery events—check website or call

21. SeeDowntown

    Mother Seton House

    A small house museum of America's first native-born saint, beatified by the Vatican for her relief work and founding of Catholic schools, and for three miraculous cures performed towards the end of her life.

    Mon-Fri noon-3:30PM, Sat Sun 1PM-3PM (calling ahead is recommended)

22. SeeDowntown

    National Museum of Dentistry

    Almost humorously clean, this is an unusual tourist destination, even by Baltimore standards. The collection is decidedly weird, including the first toothbrush in space, historical dental equipment and exhibits on old (and unpleasant!) procedures, and even George Washington's not-exactly-wooden dentures! Best for those who have a professional interest in dentistry, parents who want to get their kids to see (or be scared into seeing) just how good they actually have it in modern dentistry, or for grizzled veteran tourists who have lost all interest in traditional attractions.

    Wed-Fr 10AM-4PM·$10 adults; $5 seniors, students, and children under 13

23. SeeNorth Baltimore

    Negro League Baseball Museum

    Free Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the Owings Mills Library which is housed on 3 floors of the library and contains artifacts, photos and memorabilia from the Negro Leagues. It is open the same hours as the library.

    Mon-Thu 9AM-9PM, Fri Sat 9AM-5:30PM, Sun 1-5PM·Free

24. SeeFells Point

    Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture

    This new facility is the largest museum on the East Coast that is devoted to African American history and culture, ranging from local Maryland history to national. Includes a 200-seat theater for performances theatrical, musical, dance, etc.

    Wed-Fri noon-5PM, Sat-Sun 10AM-5PM·$8, $6/seniors, children, and students, free under 6

25. EatMidtown

    Station North Arts Cafe Gallery

    This cafe keeps in with the general trend of art galleries residing in bars, restaurants, and cafes. This is one of the cafes. It's a real cheerful sort of place, with an especially great breakfast. Dirt cheap.

    Mon-Fri 8AM-3PM, Sat 11AM-3PM·$3.50-7

26. SeeMidtown

    The Walters Art Museum

    An excellent museum donated to the city by father-and-son railroad tycoons William and Henry Walter, fervent collectors who purchased much of its massive and diverse collection as well as the buildings that host it. It is best known for its collection of 19th century European masterpieces (top floor), however, the ancient and medieval collections are excellent as well. Be sure to enter or exit from its Charles Street entrance, where you'll pass through a magnificent indoor courtyard modeled after the Palazzo Baldi in Genoa.

    Wed-Sun 10AM-5PM, Mon-Tue closed·Free

27. SeeNorth Baltimore

    Evergreen Museum & Library

    4545 N Charles St

28. SeeNorth Baltimore

    Homewood Museum

    3400 N Charles St

29. DoInner Harbor

    Port Discovery Children's Museum

    35 Market Pl

    Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun noon-5PM

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Baltimore (CC BY-SA 4.0).