Baltimore

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

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

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

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

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)

Battle Monument

Far less known than the Monumental City's other memorials, but no lesser in size, is the Battle Monument in the median across from the Baltimore Circuit Courts. Dedicated to the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812, it stands on an Egyptian tomb-like base, with Baltimore's fallen soldiers' names engraved. Lady Baltimore stands atop the column, bearing a wreath of victory. It is the oldest structure in this part of the city.

Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower

This beautiful old landmark clocktower dates to 1911. It was built as the clocktower for the factory (now demolished) that made Bromo Seltzer's headache and hangover cure. The city converted the building to artist studios in 2007, and installed a fire station at the bottom. The building is open to visitors on Saturdays.

Sat 11AM-4PM·Free entry; $8 for clock room tour

Carroll Mansion and Phoenix Shot Tower

Old Baltimore Shot Tower

This is one of the more intriguing of the lesser-known historical attractions in the city. The Carrol Mansion was home to writer Charles Carroll, who was both the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, and its only Catholic signer. Following his death, the mansion led a colorful life as a saloon, immigrant tenement, vocational school, and recreation center. The nearby Phoenix Shot Tower was built in 1828, and for eighteen years remained the tallest structure in the country.

Sat-Sun noon-4PM; tours of the tower begin at 4PM promptly from the museum·$5/$4

Christmas Village in Baltimore

German-style Christmas market with vendors offering food, holiday gifts, a beer garden and a Santa to take photos with that is open from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Eve. Free admission on weekdays (admission fee on most weekend days — check website for exact operating hours and prices).

City Hall

A beautiful, huge post-Civil War Baroque Revival building and major city landmark, the seat of the city government is partially open for visitors, who can stop by to see exhibits on Baltimore art and history (but mostly to gawk at the architecture).

Mon-Fri 8AM-4:30PM·Free

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

Enoch Pratt Central Library

An excellent free library with a one-of-a-kind archive of rare books and documents, including many related to Edgar Allan Poe and H.L. Mencken, and an extensive 16mm film collection including many avant garde rarities. The children's department has a goldfish pond.

Mon-Wed 10AM-8PM, Thu 10AM-5:30PM, Fri Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun 1PM-5PM

Federal Hill Park

This big hilly park is one of Baltimore's best points for picture taking, as it overlooks the Inner Harbor, with great views of both the north and south skylines. You'll note that the cannons all seem to be awkwardly pointed at the city's central business district. The cause for this was the Union troops's suspicion of the famously irascible and rebellious Baltimoreans from siding with the Confederates in the Civil War (or simply from generally rioting). They set up on this well located hill to intimidate the city into submission.

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

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

Francis Scott Key Monument

Bolton Hill is a beautiful neighborhood, but probably the single most impressionable and beautiful section is the square immediately around this huge memorial of the composer of the U.S. National Anthem. Key, cast in bronze, stands in a boat returning from captivity on an English ship along with a soldier, presenting a manuscript of what would become the Star Spangled Banner to a figure of "Columbia," who stands tall atop a marble temple, raising the flag to the sky. The enormous domed church on the square is a Masonic building, home to the "Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland," and is not open to the public.

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

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

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

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

Ice Rink at Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Ice skating rink at the Inner Harbor open during the holidays from mid/late November to early/mid January (check website for exact hours and dates).

Mon-Thu 3-8PM, Fri 3-11PM, Sat 11AM-11PM, Sun 11AM-8PM·Adults $9; kids, military, seniors $7; skate rental $4

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

Johns Hopkins Hospital

While not really a place to visit, unless you are sick or injured, the administrative center, the Billings Building, is a beautiful work of architecture, and a principal East Baltimore landmark. Its prestige is likewise enormous, almost always named the United States' premiere hospital, and by extension, many consider it the best in the world.

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.

Liberty Ship SS John Brown

Tour an operational World War II troop and cargo ship. Also at Pier 13 is the NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear merchant ship (Savannah may not be open for tours).

Lightship Chesapeake

A floating, mobile lighthouse painted in a vibrant red; it was refitted for combat duty during World War II before returning to lighthouse purposes.

Maryland Center for History and Culture

Where you can see the manuscript of "The Star-Spangled Banner" among other things related to Maryland history.

Wed-Sun 10AM-5PM, Mon-Tue closed·$12, Seniors $10, Students $9

Maryland Science Center

Great family outing, full of hands-on, interactive science exhibits for kids of all ages.

Tue-Fri 10AM-4PM, Sat Sun 10AM-5PM·General admission $26.95, discounts available for seniors, children and military

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

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)