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Neighborhoods and Nostalgia of a Port City

DAY ONE

Baltimore is truly a city of neighborhoods, each one with its own unique character and flavor. From Little Italy to Federal Hill, Canton to Mount Vernon, there are as many ways to explore the city as there are treasures to be found here!

Jump aboard Ed Kane's Water Taxi and take in the harbor on your way to historic Fells Point. The nation's oldest surviving maritime community, Fells Point offers cobblestone streets, quaint shops, eclectic galleries and famous pubs and restaurants. Boasting 350 original residential structures dating to the 1700's, Fells Point is a local favorite because of its mix of nostalgia, charm and trendiness. Drop by the Fells Point Visitors Center to learn about this unique community. Make sure you visit the nearby 1765 Robert Long House, Baltimore's oldest surviving residence. Stroll by the water and browse boutiques and antique stores or sample the local seafood at one of Fells Point's many restaurants.

Board the Water Taxi back to the southern side of the Inner Harbor to learn about Baltimore and the region's industrial heritage at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Housed in a 19th-century cannery, the museum offers fascinating hands-on exhibits and realistic portrayals of life in the industrial age.

For an informative, if slightly macabre, end to your day, visit Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, featuring a beautifully restored historic church with an 1882 pipe organ as well as the gravesite of writer, Edgar Allan Poe. Groups can take a cemetery tour and learn more about Poe and other famous Baltimorian's buried there.

DAY TWO

Baltimore's fascinating past can be experienced through museums, both large and small. Take a walk through history at the Baltimore Civil War Museum. Built in 1851 as the terminus of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, the station was a stop on the Underground Railroad and played a pivotal role in the "Pratt Street Riot," the first bloodshed of the Civil War.

As you continue along the Harbor, enjoy a rare opportunity to learn about our nation's naval history first hand at the National Historic Seaport. Board the U.S.S. Torsk, which sank the last warship of World War II. Visit the Chesapeake, a floating navigational lighthouse, or see the Coast Guard cutter U.S.S. Taney. A short walk down the harbor promenade will take you to the U.S.S. Constellation, the last all sail warship built by the U.S. Navy. Launched from Baltimore in 1797, the Constellation is the oldest American warship continuously afloat. She now serves as a floating museum where you can learn about naval history and explore the ship's living quarters and decks.

For another unique Baltimore experience, be sure to stop by the Woman's Industrial Exchange on Charles Street. This landmark building is one of only a few surviving woman's exchanges in the country. Dating back to the Civil War, the Woman's Industrial Exchange offers a gift shop filled with hand-made items from baby clothes to quilts, sweaters and gifts, all made by local women.

Baltimore is home to many unique museums, each examining a different facet of our history. The American Dime Museum tracks the evolution of 19th -century novelty and variety entertainment in America, and includes a complete sideshow! If you prefer streetcars to sideshows, another fascinating spot is the Baltimore Streetcar Museum where visitors can enjoy streetcar rides, tours and a collection of Baltimore's streetcars from 1859-1944. And if fire trucks were ever your fancy, a quick trip to the Fire Museum of Maryland offers the history of firefighting along with forty-two fire engines and equipment.

End your day on a patriotic note. A short mile walk or water ride away is the Fort McHenryNational Monument and Historic Shrine. It was there that Francis Scott Key, after watching the British bombardment of the Fort and the American troops' successful defense, was inspired to pen the poem that later became our National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

A good stop as you make your way back to the Inner Harbor is a visit to the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House. Built in 1793, this was the home of Mary Pickersgill, the woman who sewed the flag that flew over the Fort and inspired Francis Scott Key. While the flag is now on display at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., the Flag House contains many of Mary Pickersgill's possessions and lots of hands-on fun for the family!