How to Spend 1 Day in Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore has never been on our radar to visit because most of what I had heard wasn’t safe nor the best place to visit. Granted it does rank pretty high on the list of most violent crimes in the US, but use caution, be prepared which parts to visit and that goes for any city you visit. Otherwise people would never visit Mexico or Brazil for that matter. There was one area that we felt slightly uncomfortable but the rest was a really great thriving city to appreciate. On our stay in Cherry Hill Campground outside of DC, we took 1 of our vacation days to drive to Baltimore and check it out for ourselves. It ended up being one of my favorites out of DC and Annapolis.

Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland, although Annapolis is the capital. The Major League Baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles and Johns Hopkins University and Hospital are located here.  Also known for its Chesapeake blue crabs, crab cakes, Old Bay Seasoning and the birthplace of Babe Ruth. The Inner Harbor is the tourist area to be and a fun area to walk around with many activities to enjoy to your liking! Three of our stops below are in the Inner Harbor location of Baltimore.

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

Fort McHenry is a  star-shaped fort that is best known for its defense against the British during the War of 1812. Francis Key Scott, inspired by the event, wrote a poem called “The Defense of Fort McHenry” that later became our national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner”!

We walked around the fort along the waterfront, but touring inside the fort is an option too to gain more knowledge of its history. The fort is part of the National Park Service.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Grave

The famous poet’s grave site can be visited at Westminster Hall cemetery. The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum is about a mile away if desired to visit! We walked to the cemetery from the Lexington Market.

Lexington Market

Lexington Market was founded in 1782 and is said to be the oldest market in America. It’s local people making local food plus fresh produce, fish, baked goods etc. We got the crab cake platter from Faidley’s Seafood. This place is known for their award winning lump crab cakes. All the tables here inside and out are standing ones, no chairs!

Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse and Historic Ships

The Inner Harbor area of Baltimore is the tourist place to be. It’s a great place to walk around and enjoy endless things to do. On the inner harbor, find the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, plus 4 other historic ships docked on different piers along the harbor and you can get 1 ticket to visit them all.

National Aquarium

This aquarium is huge and quite impressive but I’d definitely recommend going during a time when it’s not so busy. It was difficult to enjoy for the masses of people despite the timed entry tickets we were required to purchase. Can I just say how expensive these tickets were too! In my opinion, it’s good to visit once but that’s enough.

Visit Baltimore Sign

Don’t miss the Visit Baltimore sign that was revealed in 2021. It’s on a grassy patch between the National Aquarium and World Trade Center.

Little Italy

Little Italy is a neighborhood in Baltimore which was pretty great for a Little Italy! We walked to Little Italy from the Inner Harbor to find Vaccaro’s Italian Pastry Shop! We managed to do this while the baby was napping and waiting for our afternoon entrance to the National Aquarium. The streets were cute to walk around and the scenery was great.

On Brazilian Time Food Truck

For dinner, we found a taste of Brazil in Baltimore! This was a perfect find for Marvin as it was his birthday! The food truck has an attached patio with outdoor seating. We tried the Feijoada and Picanha dishes which were delicious and iconic.

Baltimore is a definite yes for at least a day trip to explore. Besides the crowded aquarium, we’d go back again! Probably try some more crab cakes, and see the other museums, and there’s a Top of the World observation level at the World Trade Center. 

Please leave in the comments your favorite things to do in Baltimore.

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Happy travels ya’ll!