It’s an ideal way to discover an amazing amalgam of historic sites, colorful neighborhoods, riveting architecture, and multiple waterfront attractions.
Your first “smart stop” should be the Baltimore Visitor Center, an 8,000-square-foot glass-enclosed building at 401 Light Street on the Inner Harbor. You’ll get a comprehensive dose of relevant info via an 11-minute video designed to whet your appetite for an ambling adventure.
Here’s just a sampling of what you’ll discover as you hoof it around Baltimore.
Harbor West/Federal Hill
From the Visitor Center, walk south along the waterfront promenade to the nearby Maryland Science Center, a family-friendly destination with interactive exhibits and an IMAX theater.
Stroll along the brick-paved waterfront walkway, passing Rash Field and emerging on Key Highway, where the American Visionary Art Museum (check out the gift shop) and the Baltimore Museum of Industry (preserving the city’s nitty-gritty story) are landmarks.
You’re now en route to Federal Hill Park, visible to your right. Cross the highway and head up Battery Street. At the northeast corner of Battery and Warren, hike the stairs to Federal Hill Park, an ideal picnic spot with expansive views of the Inner Harbor. A row of elegant old houses lines one side of the park, where the Armistead Monument and Samuel Smith Monument commemorate the War of 1812.
Descend the steps from the hill and take Montgomery Street, observing the handsome historic houses on either side. Turn on South Charles Street toward the heart of Historic Federal Hill, a gentrified neighborhood populated by savvy professionals and lined with quaint shops, pubs, and ethnic restaurants.
Head to the colorful Cross Street Market, a favorite of seafood lovers (Nick’s Seafood raw bar is legendary) and locavores who come for custom-cut meats, poultry, produce, herbs, flowers, artisan cheeses, and baked goods.
Harbor East/Promenade/Fells Point
Begin your outdoor promenade from the amphitheater that separates the two Harborplace pavilions, stopping at architect I.M. Pei’s World Trade Center (the world’s highest hexagonal building) for a trip to the 27th floor’s Top of the World observation deck.
Continuing your jaunt along the brick walkway, you will see the USS Constellation (built in 1854 and now moored at Pier One), the Baltimore Maritime Museum, the stunning glass-enclosed National Aquarium, and the Power Plant, home of the Hard Rock Café, and a big Barnes & Noble.
When the pedestrian promenade ends, return to Pratt Street and go right on President Street, continuing along the waterfront. Note the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture (on 830 E. Pratt) as you take Aliceanna Street to Harbor East, a concentration of hotels, restaurants, upscale condos, and specialty shops.
Its centerpiece is a 47-foot bronze sculpture named the Katyn Memorial, a tribute to Polish soldiers killed in World War II. Check out the regal lobby of the new Marriott Waterfront, one of five hotels in a complex which also includes a health club, movie theater, Starbucks, and Whole Foods.
Harbor East is close to Little Italy, where families still live in Baltimore’s signature form stone houses and maintain the many restaurants that are the neighborhood’s lifeblood.
You are also relatively near Historic Fells Point, a quirky neighborhood akin to Manhattan’s East Village. By day, you could hop a water taxi from Harbor East and check out the Broadway Market and the shops and bars that provide fodder for John Waters’ many films.
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