What to do in Baltimore

Before there was D.C.’s Washington Monument, there was the Washington Monument in Baltimore. One of the oldest cities in the country, Baltimore has lots of noteworthy places like Lexington Market, the country’s oldest continuously-operating public market. Deep history, cobblestone streets, a historic harbor, Baltimore’s charm extends into its restaurants, museums, murals, and neighborhoods.

A 40-minute drive without traffic or a short train ride from Washington, D.C., Baltimore is one of my family’s go-to weekend trips. With one of the region’s best Mexican restaurants, pizzerias, and science centers, Baltimore keeps all ages engaged.

Here are a few favorite things to eat, drink, do, and see in Baltimore. (This list will expand as we continue to frequent Baltimore.)

Eat:

• Captain Crunch French Toast at Blue Moon Cafe, a popular breakfast spot in Fells Point since 1996.
• Chocolate croissant from Maillard Pastries, a popular, woman-owned, small-batch bakery.
• Green curry with chicken from Thai Street, a Thai vendor inside Broadway Market.
• Hazelnut focaccia from Café Dear Leon, a Korean-owned bakery with a consistent out the door.
• Honey graham ice cream from Taharka Brothers Ice Cream- Broadway Market, a popular Black-owned ice cream shop with several locations in Baltimore.
• Ice cream from Bmore Licks, a mural-decorated ice cream shop with over 100 flavors of ice cream, soft serve, and milkshakes.
• Jumbo lump crab cake from Faidley’s Seafood, a long-time vendor inside Lexington Market.
• Kishka from Attman’s Delicatessen, the country’s oldest family-owned deli.
• Meatballs Cacio E Pepe from Marta Fine Food & Spirits, an Italian restaurant two blocks from Patterson Park.
• Pierogies from Little Donna’s, a charming Polish restaurant inside a corner rowhouse.
• Pit beef sandwich at Chaps Pit Beef, a small stand in a parking lot that serves Baltimore’s famous roaster beef.
• Pizza at Hersh’s, a neighborhood Italian restaurant with ten different pizzas.
• Spicy fennel bagel from Ovenbird Bakery, a shop in Little Italy that pairs European-style pastries with Mediterranean flavors.
• Tacos at Clavel, a popular Mexican restaurant in an industrial chic space in Remington.
• Taiwanese curry fried chicken rice bowl from Ekiben, a popular fast-casual restaurant with rice bowls and buns.

Drink:

• “Bangkok,” a drink make with house made vegan condensed milk, espresso, oat milk, and nutmeg at Vent Coffee Roasters, a coffee roastery inside a repurposed Sears warehouse.
• Beer from Monument City Brewing, a craft brewery with almost 20 beers on tap and a game area.
• Cardamom latte at Sophomore Coffee, a small cafe in a basement open every day.
• Cocktails from The Elk Room, named one of the “best bars in America” by Esquire. If you have a sweet tooth, order the “Passion Pit,” a drink with vodka, passion fruit, orange, white chocolate, and more.
• Coffee from Ceremony Coffee Roasters – Mt. Vernon, one of the biggest locations of the Annapolis-founded roastery.
• Latte from Black Acres Roastery – Open Works, a small-batch, Black-owned roastery with a location inside a makerspace.
• Limoncello martini at Limoncello Baltimore, an Italian restaurant one block from the water.
• Pumpkin spice latte from Café Los Sueños, an El Salvadoran cafe with a bar with diner-style seating.
• Sake and natural wine at Fadensonnen, a design-forward garden and sake bar with live music and other events.
• Vanilla latte from good neighbor, the cafe and lifestyle store inside a restored 1900 rowhouse that’s now a seven-room inn.

Do:

• Browse books at Charm City Books, a family-owned bookstore in historic Seton Hill.
• Buy gourmet groceries like Portuguese can tinned sardines and Italian pasta at Culinary Architecture Market & Kitchen, a small grocery store with a bakery in the back.
• Explore Fort Armistead Park, a small park with an abandoned historic fort covered in graffiti that defended Baltimore until 1920 and then stored ammunition during World War II.
• Learn about science at the Maryland Science Center, a large science center along the Inner Harbor with hands-on exhibits for kids of all ages.
• Meander around Pigtown, a neighborhood named after the butcher shops and meat packing plants near a 19th century train station.
• Play with the fart machine near the basement restrooms at the American Visionary Art Museum, the country’s national museum of visionary arts.
• Skate at the skatepark at Roosevelt Park, a 19th century green space in Hampden.
• Spend time with your kids at the fort-themed playground at Federal Hill Park, a public park on a hill overlooking the Inner Harbor.
• Stay at the guesthouse by good neighbor, a design-forward inn inside a restored seven-room rowhouse.
• Take your younger kids to Port Discovery Children’s Museum, the city’s children’s museum with a large rope course and slide.
• Taste food from vendors at Lexington Market, a 1782 market inside a renovated building. Other food halls worth noting in Baltimore are Mount Vernon Marketplace and Broadway Market.
• Walk Shark Alley at the National Aquarium, voted one of the “best aquariums in the country.”
• Wander three floors of art at The Walters Art Museum, an art museum in Mount Vernon with free admission.

See:

• Art by Picasso, van Gogh, and Warhol at the Baltimore Museum of Art, a large art museum inside a building designed by John Russell Pope, who also designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
• Centre Theatre, a 1939 movie theater that’s now part of Johns Hopkins University’s MICA’s film program.
• Edgar Allan Poe’s Grave, the final resting place of the famous writer.
• Miracle on 34th Street, a block in Hampden that lights up during the winter holidays, a tradition going on 77 years.
• Multicolored gas station by Jaz Erenberg at 1919 N Charles Street.
• Murals throughout the city. Baltimore has one of the best mural scenes in the country. A few favorites are Bridget Cimino‘s Billie Holiday mural near his childhood home, ECB’s Mr. Kim Portrait mural at 25 E. 20th Street, and the painted columns under the Jones Falls Expressway.
• Old gatehouse that now houses Johns Hopkins University’s News-Letter, one of the country’s oldest student-run university papers.
• One of the world’s most beautiful libraries at the George Peabody Library, a 19th century Greek Library now part of Johns Hopkins University.
• Pagoda inside Patterson Park, a large public park with a lake, swimming pool, playground, and more.
• Public art at Graffiti Alley, a large alley filled with murals and graffiti art.
• Rawlings Conservatory, the country’s second-oldest surviving glass conservatory within Druid Hill Park, one the country’s oldest landscaped public parks.
• Washington Monument, a tower that honors President George Washington and predates the famous one in Washington, D.C.