Inspiring, One-of-a-Kind Experiences
As a port city that has been home to influential figures like Frederick Douglass, Edgar Allan Poe, Gertrude Stein, Billie Holiday, Ta-Nehisi Coates and more, Baltimore has a rich and diverse history that continues to inform its present personality. We’re a majority African American city with increasing segments of Asian and Hispanic residents, plus several communities like Little Italy and Greektown that have long served as the home to European immigrant populations. It’s this blended community that gives Charm City its nickname and contributes to its vibrant cultural landscape, from the food to the music to the giant murals adorning brick buildings.
Our customer experience team works closely with meeting professionals to infuse their events with Baltimore’s artistic and innovative spirit by connecting visiting groups with local makers and entrepreneurs. This could mean creating a “Makers Row” pop-up that features products from Baltimore-based businesses, providing catering from area restaurants or planning off-site excursions to our impressive museums, sports venues or performance spaces.
Our Commitment to DEI
We celebrate our diverse city and want everyone to feel at home here, which is why Visit Baltimore created the Warm Welcome program, an initiative that provides free diversity, equity and inclusion training modules to ensure area businesses embrace all who enter their establishments regardless of race, gender expression, sexual orientation or physical ability.
Bleisure Travel Itineraries
Get the most out of your time in Baltimore whether you have an hour or a whole weekend. Here’s how to spend it like a local.
IF YOU HAVE AN HOUR
Shop some of Baltimore’s woman-owned businesses. In Woodberry, check out the candles, jewelry and gifts in Letta Moore’s KSM Candle Co. In Fell’s Point, Swing by Greedy Reads, a bookstore owned by former publishing executive Julia Fleischaker. Or shop Hampden’s many woman-owned vintage stores, including Erica Bentley’s Keepers Vintage and Jenna Hattenburg and Jess Soulen’s Hunting Ground.
For a fast, flavor-packed meal, head to one of Baltimore’s public markets or food halls. Lexington Market is the oldest continuously operating public market in the country and home to the beloved Faidley’s crab cake. Each stall at Remington’s R. House boasts its own innovative, one-of-a-kind cuisine; plus, the food market makes room for up-and-coming eateries and often hosts community events like trivia and vintage pop-ups. Find your beverage of choice at Union Collective, which houses a brewery, a wine bar and a coffee shop.
IF YOU HAVE AN AFTERNOON
Unleash your creativity and get hands on during a class with one of Baltimore’s makers! Bind books at Drama Mama, build a terrarium at B. Willow, learn the craft of papercutting with Annie Howe and more.
Spend some time immersing yourself in Baltimore’s art scene. Just steps away from our very own Washington Monument, the Walters Art Museum’s global 36,000-piece collection spans seven millennia. You’ll find the largest holding of Matisse paintings to exist in a public art museum at the Baltimore Museum of Art, while the American Visionary Art Museum is dedicated to promoting the works of self-taught and experimental creators.
Take in a live performance by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Mount Vernon. If theater is more your style, we have plenty of options like the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Baltimore Center Stage, the Hippodrome and Everyman Theatre. Or catch a concert at the Baltimore Arena!
IF YOU HAVE A WEEKEND
Catch an Orioles game at Camden Yards or root for the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, conveniently located side by side just a few blocks from the Inner Harbor. There are lots of delicious Baltimore-based bites available inside the stadiums, but other nearby eateries include Pickles Pub, Pratt Street Ale House and Mother’s Federal Hill. After the game, enjoy a scenic stroll along the Inner Harbor, float around on a dragon-shaped paddle boat, catch a scenic sunset dinner cruise or hop aboard the Baltimore Water Taxi to head to another waterfront neighborhood such as Fell’s Point, Harbor East or Canton.
Book an overnight (or two) at Mount Vernon’s boutique hotel The Ivy, which features 18 luxury rooms and suites in a gorgeous, restored nineteenth-century mansion. The hotel is owned by philanthropists Sylvia and Eddie Brown, whose foundation is devoted to supporting Baltimore’s African American community in the areas of health, the arts and education.
Enjoy a delicious meal at Charleston, where James Beard Award nominee Chef Cindy Wolf crafts the menu. Other restaurants owned by the Foreman Wolf group include Cinghiale, Petit Louis Bistro, Cindy Lou’s Fish House and Johnny’s of Roland Park. See our other recommendations for must-try restaurants.
For more event planning inspiration, view our Meeting and Event planning guide.
