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Spring is always a glorious time to visit Baltimore, but this year the return of baseball and patio seasons take on special meaning after months of hibernation amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the city's museums, restaurants, and attractions have reopened and are eager to welcome back visitors from near and far.
Whether it’s your first trip to Baltimore or your twentieth, the waterfront city is full of surprises, from an alley that honors graffiti artists to watering holes in handsome rowhouses. Perhaps a poem by Kondwani Fidel, used in the city’s tourism campaign, said it best when it invited visitors to go “Beneath the Shell." The reference, to cracking open the city’s famous Maryland blue crabs, is a metaphor for discovering Baltimore’s below-the-surface gems. "Once you open the crab, you get hit with a blast of flavor," the poem reads. “All that goodness can happen only under one condition: you have to crack the crab."
Getting to and Around Baltimore
Featuring a variety of local eats and efficient security lines, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is just a 15-minute drive from downtown. The city is also within easy reach by train or car from many points in the mid-Atlantic. Driving in will make it easier to explore the area—especially if you plan to hit the outskirts, though Lyft or Uber are plentiful and easy to find.
Things to Do in Baltimore
While many of Baltimore’s worthwhile discoveries lie in its neighborhoods, it’s worth starting your visit at the famous Inner Harbor, especially if it's your first trip to the city and you’ve come with your family for the weekend. Pay a visit to the sharks and stingrays at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, or take a sightseeing tour of the historic seaport on a harbor cruise that will offer a picturesque perspective of the waterfront neighborhoods that dot the Patapsco River.
Walk east from downtown to arrive at the historic, cobblestone-lined Fells Point neighborhood. where you’ll find a plaque commemorating the former home of abolitionist, author, and diplomat Frederick Douglass at 524 S. Dallas St. He spent his childhood in Baltimore and worked in its shipyards before escaping to freedom in 1838. Dallas Street is also where he built five homes that he rented out to Black Americans.
Baltimore is known for its cutting art scene, so first wander north of the city to scope out the admission-free Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum, which recently reopened their doors after months of closures. Home to the world’s largest Matisse collection, the BMA’s current showcase includes paintings, sculptures, and photography from three female artists. The Walters, known for its ancient Greek and Egyptian collections as well as its Fabergé eggs, recently committed to strengthening its diversity and inclusion goals.
The city’s creative energy can also be found beyond traditional institutions, at a more DIY level. Head to Graffiti Alley where, as the name suggests, spray paint covers every inch of the corridor in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. Last summer artist William Brown added a Breonna Taylor mural to honor the Black woman shot and killed by police in Louisville.
Where to Eat in Baltimore
While the pandemic took its toll here as it did in the rest of the country, it hasn’t slowed the growth of the city’s massive culinary talent, evident in its neighborhood restaurants and bars that are thoughtfully crafting small plates and cocktails.
When you see the line outside of Asian fusion eatery Ekiben, you may be surprised to find out it's for the broccoli. It's tempura broccoli topped with diced onions and herbs, to be exact, though the bao bun sandwiches and rice bowls might also inspire you to plan your next trip to Baltimore just to grab takeout from Ekiben's Fells Point or Hampden locations. The restaurant also frequently collaborates with some of the city’s most inventive restaurants, including NiHao Baltimore. It opened last year in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood and quickly won national acclaim for its Peking duck and other Chinese dishes.
If you’re taking the Amtrak train into Baltimore's Penn Station, stop in one of the neighborhood’s worthwhile dining destinations nearby the major transportation hub. Savor the Papa Hemingway cocktail and varied arepas at Alma Cocina Latina (the former home of much lauded Seven Reasons’ chef Enrique Limardo), which has been working diligently to feed the hungry during the pandemic. You’ll also find a splendid selection of sangrias and Spanish plates at the longstanding Tapas Teatro.
Drinking has been embedded in Baltimore’s DNA for at least a century, when the city scoffed at Prohibition laws and let the back alley booze flow freely. Baltimore bars offer some of the most creative drinks inside magnificently restored buildings, including several a few miles north of the city that offer ample outdoor seating. Located in a restored carriage house in Old Goucher, Fadensonnen just reopened its outdoor beer garden, natural wine, and sake bar. Just a block away, the staff at Dutch Courage will guide you through their extensive gin menu. Nearby, the Wine Collective serves delightful pinxtos and locally produced pours, including its housemade rosé vermouth, in a former Sears Warehouse.
Of course, this is Baltimore, where many visitors come in search of its famous crustaceans. Many locals favor the crab cakes in neighborhood gems Corner Bistro & Wine Bar, located inside a rowhouse in West Baltimore, and Koco’s Pub in Lauraville.
Where to Stay in Baltimore
Charm City contains plenty of places to stay, from bespoke B&Bs to amenity-laden five-star hotels. To winnow it down, start by deciding which neighborhood suits your mood. Do you want to stay in the cultural haven Mount Vernon, or a waterfront neighborhood like Harbor Point?
Also consider your appetite for convenience. Several boutique spots offer inviting restaurants in sumptuous surroundings. Opened last fall, the Canopy by Hilton Harbor Point (doubles from $322) pays homage to the city’s shipbuilding and manufacturing legacy with exposed concrete beams, copper, steel, and teak accents. The hotel occupies the top floors of a 12-story office building so rooms come with a view of the harbor skyline, recreational boats and cargo ships. Dine in the hotel’s locally owned restaurant Cindy Lou’s Fish House, for more waterfront views on the open-air patio.
The Ivy Hotel (doubles from $394) in Mount Vernon recently reopened its restaurant Magdalena: A Maryland Bistro, with a new emphasis on more casual food, but served in the same serene courtyard where you can take in the view of the former 19th century Gilded Age mansion. Guests receive daily afternoon tea and access to the self-service bar.
A few blocks away, you’ll find another artfully designed mansion-turned-boutique-hotel, the Hotel Revival (doubles from $119). Guests who missed the hotel’s rooftop bar will rejoice as it reopens at the end of April. Two Black female owned restaurants have also been operating ghost kitchens out of its space: the Urban Oyster and Breaking Bread. Look out for a first-floor cafe the Dashery to open in the warmer months of 2021 as well.
