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I'm going the weekend of August 21-24 and I was wondering what is good to do/places to eat, etc. The Yankees are in town that weekend and I haven't been to Camden Yards, so that may be something for a Friday night.
We are staying in the Marriott at the Inner Harbor, which overlooks both Ravens Stadium and Camden Yards.
Been to Camden Yards for a game when I was staying in Washington DC. You really need to go to see an Orioles game to experience the park. Really cool park with the "train station" building beyond RF. They also have little plaques beyond RF marking where the farthest HRs hit there have landed. Also brought chills to me while there when thinking of the 2,131 game by Cal Ripken Jr. and seeing the building where the game number was located.
There is also a Babe Ruth museum near the ballpark that is supposedly located near the spot where the Babe was born or raised.
If you enjoy great BBQ, you have to get to Boog's which is near the RF corner of Camden Yards. I can't remember if it's in the park, or just outside. Regardless, if you enjoy great BBQ and don't go, that's a criminal act.
Plenty of great places to eat in the Inner Harbor.
Also, if you're into aquariums, Baltimore has a great one.
That's it off the top of my head.
Baltimore is known as "Monumental City".
I would want to go see as many of the Bronze statues that they have, including that of Francis Scott Keyes, who wrote the "Star Spangled Banner".
It keeps you outdoors, you see the City, and you get entrenched with History.
No trip to Baltimore is complete without visiting Ft. McHenry.
If you like trains and railroads the B & O Museum is well worth your time. IIRC it's close to the Inner Harbor.
I have family that lives near Baltimore so I'm pretty familar with the Inner Harbor.
If you like seafood or more specifically crabs, Baltimore is known for their crabcakes. You can find multiple places at the Inner Harbor that makes them.
I would also recommend going to the National Aquarium too. It's tremendous! The dolphin show is worth it but be prepared to spend a few hours there.
The Inner Harbor is also home to an ESPNZone. I've only visited the gift shop so I can't give any insight on the food or atmosphere.
Here's a link to a list of more attractions in Baltimore - http://baltimore.org/attractions/
More specifically:
Babe Ruth Museum
B&O Railroad
Fort McHenry
HarborPlace
Maryland Science Center
National Aquarium
Star-Spangled Banner Flag House
I went to Baltimore last fall and it was one of the most fun trips I've taken in a while. I really enjoyed the city and would love to go back! :) Definitely go down to the Inner Harbor right along the water because there are tons of shops and places to visit there. The Aquarium is also there along with the Hard Rock Cafe, ESPN Zone (the food is really good and the atmosphere in there is perfect for sports fans), and other restaurants. We also ate at a really good place that had pizza and stuff like that but I'm drawing a blank on the name of the place. It was in the Harbor. If you have time I would try to do the tour of Camden Yards because you get to see the ballpark in a very different way and you also learn a lot about the history of the stadium and the Orioles (and it's only like $7). We did that when we were there and it was a lot of fun. Camden Yards is such a beautiful ballpark (I think Great American was modeled after it) and I hope you're able to take in a game there because it's a LOT of fun. They just got new HD screens for the ballpark too which look pretty cool, especially compared to the old ones I saw last year which looked like they were older than me, LOL :laugh:
If you like seafood, The Rusty Scupper is a real nice place to eat. It is on the Inner Harbor and has great food and great views. If you are into Italian food, go to Little Italy. When we lived in Virginia, we always loved going to Baltimore to take in a game, go to the Aquarium, which I recommend highly, and just hanging out at the Inner Harbor. Great place to visit. Camden Yards is top notch.
Spent my freshman year at Georgetown in DC and went to Camden a few times to watch the Os. One of my favorite ballparks around. As mentioned, hit up Boogs in right field just amazing barbeque. Just a beautiful ballpark. Look for the plaque on the warehouse where Griffey hit in home run derby some years back and take in the scene.
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Originally Posted by cumberlandreds
There's a guy who rides the bus with me who has earned a place in that museum.
I went there to visit friends last year. The coolest thing we did was get a big order of crabs. They cook them whole in Old Bay or some similar crab boil seasoning and you get a hammer to help you with the claws. You have to crack them open yourself and get all the good stuff out. There's a real technique to it, but it's a lot of fun. It's definitely one of those dinners where, if you have time on your hands, you can just sit and drink beer and eat crabs all evening.
It's a short drive for us, and we're looking at potentially moving there this fall, so I know a bit about the city.
90% of what you'll want to do is in the Inner Harbor/central city area. Plenty of good restaurants in the Harbor, but for my money I'd head down to Fells Point, Federal Hill or Canton Square and take in some Baltimore culture that is a bit less contrived.
For tourist-type things, they have (IMO) the best aquarium in the country down at the Inner Harbor. Also down there you can tour the USS Constitution, and the kids love the Maryland Science Center (also Port Discovery, a hands-on kids museum a few blocks away). The already mentioned B&O Railroad Museum is surprisingly interesting, but the National Museum of Dentistry is not for the squeemish.
Fort McHenry is worth touring, although aside from a few neighborhood places in Locust point there isn't much around it. Baltimore also has two fabulous art museums: the BMA and the Walters. Both are free, and both have wonderful collections.
For shopping and dining, the aformentioned Inner Harbor, Federal Hill (particularly around the Cross Street Market area), Fells Point and Canton are all top-notch. Mt. Vernon is older but has some wonderful (slightly more upscale) establishments and restaurants such as The Brewer's Art (highly recommended). Little Italy is an honest-to-God Italian enclave, with many Italian restaurants that range from "pretty good" to "mediocre".
Hope you enjoy your trip.
If you're up for a little drive, I recommend Mike's Crab House out by Annapolis.
http://www.mikescrabhouse.com/
Ahhh, yes. Pickin' crabs is great. One thing is for sure. You'll get drunk before you get full.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yachtzee
Ft McHenry is goosepimply neat.Quote:
Originally Posted by paintmered
That is true. :beerme:Quote:
Originally Posted by RANDY IN CHAR NC
I used to have a friend who did some repo work in Baltimore (that's a whole 'nother story) but when I'd go visit him we'd just walk from one corner bar to the next. It seemed like there was a little local bar on almost every corner and all the people were (drunk) friendly and very chatty. Some places had dart boards, others had pool tables, some just TVs and lots of locals. It was always a blast and we met so many interesting people that you'd never see at the Inner Harbor. Anyway, I have done many of the other things mentioned here and recommend Camden Yards (w/Boogs) and the Aquarium, but I really enjoyed the neighborhood pubs as well. Either way, it's a great city and I hope you enjoy your trip there. :thumbup:
Great place to pick up dance moves I find. (Lot of heel work):thumbup:
Most of the advice above was pretty good. To get to Fells Point, you can take a water taxi from inner harbor. It's fairly cheap.
I've also taken the Baltimore Duck tour. It's a vehicle that goes on land and water and leaves from a spot between the inner harbor mall and the science museum (just a few blocks from your hotel). It's about an 1 and 1/2 hour tour and gives a really good description of Baltimore's downtown area.
I'll second the duck tour. It's pretty interesting. The one in Boston is good too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Strikes Out Looking
While duck tours are "touristy" and the locals make fun of you, I always recommend them in these type of cities on your FIRST day. That way, as the driver points out things that look interesting, you'll have an idea of how to spend the rest of your time. It also might help orient you.
But since the locals don't know me, I don't care if they make fun of me.Quote:
Originally Posted by cincinnati chili
One of these days I'm going to publish my guide to the United States...a complete guide to the best truck stops and rest areas across the country.
In that case, why not go streaking at Camden Yards during God Bless America?Quote:
Originally Posted by OldRightHander
I mean, if the local don't know you . . . :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldRightHander
You should seriously do that.
The best truck stop hands down is in Iowa of all places. Imagine that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chip R
http://www.iowa80truckstop.com/
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldRightHander
I think I stopped there once on my way back.
I grew up not far from Baltimore and there is TONS to do. Camden Yards is a must; get ready for a lot of Yankee fans though. Make sure to hit up boogs barbecue, with Orioles HOFer serving up some of my favorite ballpark food ever.
Babe Ruth's birthplace is within walking distance of your hotel, and is worth seeing because of what it is. Edgar Allen Poe's Birthplace isn't far away either.
The Inner Harbor is the best place to see a lot of stuff, the National Aquarium and the Maryland Science center are great. Federal Hill is also very close and has some of the best restaurants in the city.
If you can make it to Annapolis; do it! It’s worth the trip, the bay is a sight to see. Need any more suggestions feel free to pm me.
Here's another helpful Baltimore hint--we were in Baltimore last Saturday to go to the aquarium. We got there about 2:30 and the line was long, and the earliest ticket to enter was 5:30--we went and did other things in the Inner Harbor, ate dinner and got to the zoo about 7 (On Saturday nihgt its open until 9:30). The crowd on Saturday night is much smaller thant the rest of the day and you don't have to fight the crowds at that time. The only bad thing about this is that the Dolphin show was all sold out by 2:30 and we didn't get to see it. So if you want to see the Dolphin show, you will need to get to the aquarium early and forget the rest of my post!
And I did hear the following conversation from some locals (whom i refer to Baltimorons) while I was in the ticket line:
LocalMan: Did you get a load of that guy?
LocalWoman: Who, hon?
LocalMan: Old Righthander.
LocalWoman: Who's that hon?
LocalMan: He's the guy on the duck tour.
LocalWoman: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. He took the duck tour. What a tool.
:mooner:
Just got back around 6 PM tonight. I did take some of the advice on here, but being that it was a company function, the mornings and most of yesterday were spent on their time.
The Inner Harbor is pretty much where everything is at in Baltimore. All of the shopping is there, plus there are concerts almost every evening around the Power Plant district. We stayed at the Marriott on the Waterfront, which is a really upscale hotel. You need no further proof than asking a bellhop where the stairs are after a meeting and him telling you that the stairs are really inconvenient.
For anybody who does happen to stay there, the fifth floor is the pool area, which also has a sun balcony that has a beautiful view of the skyline.
The owner of the company has a luxury box in Ravens Stadium and pulled some major strings to put on the awards show on the field Thursday night. The Ravens cheerleaders were there as well as Poe, as well as a marching band for the entertainment. After the celebration we headed to the luxury box for an open bar and dinner, which included pulled pork and turkey sandwiches, sliders, and bratwursts, as well as different types of cheesecakes. It was definitely an eye opening experience. There was a lot of discussion over the weekend regarding the company cutting 600 jobs as well, so it does make for an interesting discussion where the money went towards.
Did get to eat at Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and ESPN Sportszone for dinner. Ate at Hooters the next day for lunch(overrated IMO). Had a company function dinner last night which featured Sha-Na-Na as the entertainment.
I also learned that I am not a Bacardi person, especially mixing Bacardi and Pepsi.:)