CITY GUIDES | NORTHEAST
The Best Things to Do in Baltimore for History, Harbor Views, and a Good Wander
By Maria Rodriguez | March 13, 2026
AUTHOR BIO: With a day job that requires constant travel, Maria Rodriguez is likely a regular at your favorite restaurant. She’s reviewed restaurants since 2007 in magazines from Spain to Seattle.
I’ve been going to Baltimore long enough to know it is not a city that gives itself away in one neat little harbor view. You can do the obvious things here, and some of them are worth doing, but the better version of Baltimore is in the mix: a little history, a little water, a little art, a little wandering around a neighborhood old enough to have seen some things. That is what makes putting together the best things to do in Baltimore useful, because this is a city that gets more interesting once the day stops feeling like a checklist and starts feeling like Baltimore. Here then are the best things to do in Baltimore right now.
The American Visionary Art Museum
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
This is what happens when a museum decides it would like to be interesting along with respectable. It focuses on self-taught artists, and the place has built a reputation on work that is funny, obsessive, handmade, huge-hearted, and often a little unhinged, with everything from kinetic sculpture to glittered-up inventions to massive pieces that look like they arrived after a very productive fever broke. I like it because it does not ask visitors to pretend they are having a solemn cultural experience; it just gives them something memorable to look at.
Best for: Offbeat art in a museum visit with personality
Baltimore Museum of Art
FREE | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
The Baltimore Museum of Art is not just a place for highbrow art lovers, though you’ll find plenty of that here. It’s also home to the world’s largest collection of works by Henri Matisse, and if that doesn’t impress you, there are always the free admission and the lovely sculpture garden to explore. The museum is perfect for those moments when you want to look cultured while secretly enjoying the thought of a good coffee afterward.
Best for: Free culture, Matisse admirers, and looking smarter than you feel
Fells Point
FREE | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
If you like your afternoon strolls to feel like passing into a postcard, Fells Point is the spot. This historic waterfront neighborhood offers cobblestone streets, quirky shops, and pubs where you can sip a beer and pretend you’re a local. Pop into one of the many dive bars that make this area famous, because you’ll leave with a story or two—and possibly a newfound appreciation for crab cakes.
Best for: Cobblestones, dive-bars, and feeling like a local
Fort McHenry National Monument
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Fort McHenry is where Baltimore gets to remind the rest of the country it did more than perfect crab cakes. The British shelled the star-shaped fort during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814, leading Francis Scott Key to pen “The Star-Spangled Banner” from within its walls. Now the site includes the fort, restored barracks, exhibits on the battle and the War of 1812, and a visitor center that does the useful work of turning a schoolbook anecdote back into a real place. It helps that the grounds sit right on the water, so even people who usually approach American history with the enthusiasm of a tax seminar can have a good time here.
Best for: Harbor walks with a side of American history
The Inner Harbor
FREE | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
The Inner Harbor is the sort of place where you can take in a historic ship, enjoy a waterfront meal, or just people-watch while sitting on a bench. It’s the heart of Baltimore’s tourism scene and offers a range of activities from catching an IMAX film to boarding the USS Constellation. If you’re into multitasking, you can do a little shopping and catch some street performers at the same time.
Best for: First-time visitors, harbor views, and packing a lot into one afternoon
Johns Hopkins
FREE | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
A visit to the Johns Hopkins University campus offers a peek into a world where Ivy League-level dreams meet real-world research. Stroll through the campus and admire the architecture or, if you’re feeling particularly scholarly, pop into the university’s library. I might not be able to enroll, but I have definitely enjoyed the academic ambiance (and perhaps questioned my life choices).
Best for: Campus walks and pretending your life took an academic turn
The National Aquarium
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
The National Aquarium is not just a place to see fish, though it does have a lot of those. It’s also home to one of the most bizarrely engaging exhibits you’ll ever see: a rainforest with more humidity than a sauna. Wander through the underwater tunnel, and you might find yourself eye-to-eye with a shark, which is just the kind of close encounter you didn’t know you wanted.
Best for: Families, rainy afternoons, and sightseeing with sharks
Best of Maine: Restaurants, Hotels, and Hot Portland Spots Worth Knowing
There is the postcard version of Maine, and then there is the version with better dinners, better stays, and a reason to keep driving up the coast.
