Experience Baltimore’s charms at Fells Point
Maritime neighbourhood offers an authentic sense of city’s historic roots
Inner Harbor: Tourists, chains, crowds and a few top attractions
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor draws millions of visitors a year, but the place can feel like a dizzying hodgepodge of chain restaurants (Bubba Gump, anyone?), long lines and pricey souvenirs. If it’s a must-do for your Maryland journey, skip the shopping and dining, and be selective about your destinations. The National Aquarium, which receives about1.3 million visitors yearly, is the jewel in the Inner Harbor’s crown. It’s well worth visiting, with planning. Timed tickets — which should be bought at least a few days in advance — help visitors avoid long lines, and they allow time to enjoy the tropical rainforest and see sharks up close.
Another worthy tour site is the USS Constellation, a 19thcentury Navy sloop-of-war that captured slave ships off the coast of Africa during efforts to stop the Atlantic slave trade. If you want to captain your own ship, rent one of the Chessie Dragon paddle boats, shaped like bright green and purple dragons or the electric-powered miniature pirate ships.
Inner Harbor is also the site of the memorial dedicated to the 69 Marylanders who died in the 9/11 attacks. The memorial includes three long columns from New York’s twin towers.
Fells Point: A historic neighbourhood, with character to spare
For a more authentic sense of Baltimore’s historic roots, however, you should board a water taxi and head to the colonialera maritime neighbourhood of Fells Point, just 1.5 kilometres or so east of the Inner Harbor crowds.
Wander cobblestoned streets and take in the charming row houses. Fells Point is the site of the Robert Long House, built in 1765 and said to be the oldest known surviving home in the city of Baltimore. (With a reservation, tour the first floor.) Next, say hello to a giant bronze likeness of Frederick Douglass, who as an enslaved young man worked in the shipyard at Fells Point docks. Inside a nearby brick building, a small museum’s exhibits celebrate Douglass and Isaac Myers, a free African American who was influential in the 19th-century labour movement.
Fells Point also hosts an ongoing series of communityfriendly events. Each week from May through December, there’s a Saturday farmers market, and an annual favourite is the Christmas eggnog-tasting contest (Dec. 7 this year).
Fells Point abounds with tasty local food. Grab lunch — maybe fried calamari at Sal & Sons Seafood or a pierogi at Sophia’s Place — at the newly reopened Broadway Market.
Check out the new Sagamore Pendry Baltimore hotel in a beautifully refurbished BeauxArts warehouse.
Consider grabbing a drink at the outdoor poolside bar overlooking the harbour, where you can sip a Monument City Penchant Pilsener ($9) and watch the Urban Pirates’ boats, water taxis and pleasure yachts bob along. In cooler weather, grab a window-side table at the Rec Pier Chop House for similar views.