Baltimore Tourism

Baltimore Visitors Center: Their web site is a great source for basic information about the city. Most of their information DOES focus on the Inner Harbor, however, so be forewarned.

City Paper: The best source to see what is going on in Baltimore. This is actually Baltimore's only truly local paper.

Chowhound's Baltimore Board: If you really want to find a good restaurant in Baltimore, this is the place to go.

Virtual Tourist Reviews of Baltimore attractions

Street Festivals: Baltimore has a lot of unique outdoor festivals every year.

• Honfest
• Sowebo Arts Festival
• ArtScape
• Federal Hill Jazz and Blues Festival
• Baltimore Herb Festival
• Baltimore Book Festival

Ethnic Festivals

• A Complete List of Baltimore's Ethnic Festivals
  
• Greek Festival
  
• Latino Fest
  
• African American Heritage Festival
  
• Powwow- Native American Festival

Fells Point is a unique waterfront neighborhood adjacent to the Inner Harbor, and is most easily reached by Water Taxi. It was founded in 1730 by William Fell, a Quaker carpenter from Lancashire England. The neighborhood's main claim to fame was its multitude of shipyards dedicated to the production of the famous Baltimore Clipper ship. During the war of 1812 many of Fell's Point's clipper ships obtained letters-of-marque from the government to allow them to legally loot British ships. The men who engaged in this practice were called privateers. 126 privateers sailed from Fell's Point during the War of 1812. Today, Fells Point is an upscale business and residential neighborhood with quaint cobblestone streets (they are actually made of Belgian block) and many shops, restaurants, and taverns.

• Fells Point Guide Information about restaurants, shopping, and hotels in Fells Point
  
• Fells Point Ghost Tours
• Fells Point Wikipedia Page
• Welcome to Fells Point web site
• Peters Inn: This is the best restaurant in Fells Point.

Little Italy is adjacent to the Inner Harbor near Fells Point. It has unfortunately been cut off and partially hidden from tourists by an enormous, ugly parking garage. You will have to walk past this if you are coming from the Inner Harbor if you wish to actually see the neighborhood.

• Basic information about Little Italy

The best thing to do in Little Italy is to see one of their FREE outdoor movies. They have these every Fri. at 9:00pm starting on July 6th, and people bring food and lawn chairs and watch a movie outdoors. A schedule of what is showing is here.

This neighborhood used to be heavily Italian but gentrification and rising property values have pushed many of the Italian citizens to the suburbs. However, there are still lots of great Italian restaurants in Little Italy- too many to list here.

The best place to get dessert is here:

• Vaccaro's
  
• A list of Little Italy Restaurants
  

The landscape of the Federal Hill neighborhood is dominated by the huge clay hill that gives this neighborhood its name. The hill has on occasion been home to a ships' observatory in 1797, Fort Federal Hill during the civil war, and is now a public park. The Federal Hill neighborhood, like most neighborhoods around the harbor in Baltimore, was dominated by the shipping industry, and the businesses the sprang up there were much like those in Fell's Point- merchants, taverns, and the like.

• Federal Hill Main Street
• Federal Hill on Wikipedia
• Federal Hill Online
• Dangerously Delicious Pies
• SoBo Cafe: Very good food.

Canton is the industrial heart of Baltimore. Through the years this neighborhood has seen the construction of the famous Baltimore war ship, the USS Constellation (now docked in the Inner Harbor), the formation of such leading industrial operations at the Baltimore Copper Smelting Company, and a cast of colorful characters to rival Fell's Point.

Along with Fell's Point, Canton was slated for condemnation in 1966 due to construction of the I-83 highway. Many houses along Boston Street were actually demolished. Long time residents were distraught, and it is said that some died of broken hearts after their homes were destroyed. Community groups fought long and hard against the construction of the road. They finally prevailed and the course of the road was changed, preserving Canton for all who live and work there now.

• Canton on Wikipedia

Locust Point has joined Fell's Point and Canton as a waterside area undergoing a transformation from an old time Baltimore neighborhood to a sought after address for many professional people who work in the city. Locust Point holds the distinction of being second only to Ellis Island for immigrants coming through its point of entry. Many of its houses were built in the 1870s and were sold to the mainly German, Polish, and Irish immigrants right as they got off the boats. These houses were passed down from generation to generation and the only way someone outside of the family could buy in was to wait until there was no one in line to inherit the house. Peter Kimos, whose daughter purchased a house in the neighborhood, said that many times home transactions were done in the local funeral parlor. Fort McHenry, an international destination point and home of the Star Spangled Banner, is located in this neighborhood.

• Locust Point on Wikipedia
• Hull Street Blues Cafe: They have a fantastic Sunday brunch.
• Fort McHenry

Mt. Vernon, which was named for George Washington's birthplace, is known as the cultural center of Baltimore. In the early to mid 1800s, immigrants were pouring through Baltimore's ports, which were second only to Ellis Island. The wealthier people watching this influx into the waterfront neighborhoods decided that this might be a good time to move north. Mt. Vernon became the place to be. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Woodrow Wilson and H.L. Mencken were just a few who lived here. Philanthropists George Peabody, Henry and William Walters, and Enoch Pratt left their marks through the Peabody Institute, the Walters Art Gallery, and the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Mt. Vernon is also home to the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption. The buildings were built by a veritable who's who of 19th century architects and include examples of Georgian, Greek Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Beaux Arts building styles. The small houses in the alley streets behind large mansions housed slaves, freed blacks and immigrants who worked in the larger homes.

Some of Baltimore's best restaurants are in Mt. Vernon.

• Mt.Vernon Cultural District


• Mt. Vernon Ghost Tours
• The Walters Art Museum
• The Helmand: I think that this is the best restaurant in Baltimore.

Right now Hampden is the place to be in Baltimore. It is rapidly gentrifying like so many neighborhoods in Baltimore have done once the artists and other creative people move in, so see it now before it's all Gap stores and Starbucks and expensive condos!
Hampden has by far the most eclectic and coolest shopping district in Baltimore right now. All of the stores here are independently owned.
Hampden isn't on the waterfront, so if you want to visit there, you'll need to either have a car or brave the public transportation system in Baltimore city.
Here is some of what Hampden has to offer:

Basic Information about Hampden
Hampden Main Street
Rocket to Venus- The Hipster Bar of the Moment in Baltimore.
Atomic Books- the best book store in Baltimore and the place to go to find zines and small press and alt literature.
Atomic Pop- Atomic Books' sister store- they have art toys like stuff by Baseman and other lowbrow artists.
Cafe Hon-not the best food in the neighborhood, but worth checking out for the quirky decor.
Golden West Cafe- this is the best food in the neighborhood- they are esp known for breakfast.
Ma Petite Shoe- shoes and chocolate. They carry cool stuff like Fluevogs.
Mud and Metal
Double Dutch Boutique
9th Life

There are many, many other cool shops in Hampden so I can't list them all. Also, some places like Milagro (day of the dead art, etc) don't have web sites (what are they thinking?) so you'll have to check them out in person.