Baltimore has always been a fascinating cultural mix of working class city, bustling water front, unique ethnic neighborhoods, and historical attractions. Francis Scott Key wrote our nation’s National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, here. Little Italy is an expansive and delicious neighborhood. Water taxis are a fun way to get around and explore the town. Best of all, prices are relatively low for excellent accommodations, restaurants are varied and friendly, and one of the best children’s museums in the nation is located here.

Port Discovery Children’s Museum is a modern, exciting children’s museum, located at the Inner Harbor in down town Baltimore. Geared to kids ages 2 to 10, the museum houses an immense three-level climbing structure, with its other exhibits surrounding this over size jungle gym. Called KidWorks, this structure lets kids jump, slide, squirm and crawl over rope bridges and through tunnels. How interactive is that? And the exhibits are wonderful. Kids can travel back to 1920′s Egypt and play Indiana Jones while deciphering hieroglyphics and following clues to a pharaoh’s tomb. At the Down at the Farm exhibit, kids get to plant vegetables and brush a horse tail. A linked exhibit, Harvest Hill, allows junior farmers to sell or trade their products and work a massive crane to move the goods from market to transportation sites.

There’s also a Blue’s Clues like exhibit called Miss Perception, a detective story dedicated to solve the case of a missing family. Musical performances and kareoke are offered at the MPT Studio; when we were there we got to experience the resident Sunday performers known as The World Rhythm Drum Circus, which employs percussion instruments made of barrels, bowls, and tubes to explore their motto: “The world is a giant drum.” And there’s Tiny’s Diner, a retro spot for kid’s to play-cook and serve and even play a song from the jukebox. Still, hands down, our favorite exhibit was Color Diffusion in Nature, an interactive exhibit that allows kids to make their own color diffused art, similar to the color of leaves.

Near the children’s museum in the Inner Harbor is The Maryland Science Center. With a state of the art planetarium and IMAX theater, the center has excellent hands on science exhibits ranging from earth science to computer technology. Our favorite exhibit was the Maryland-centric Follow the Blue Crab. Baltimore loves its crabs – you can get crab cakes or crack open a fresh crab at many cafes all along the inner harbor. This exhibit focuses on the habitat of this resilient and tasty creature in the Chesapeake Bay. We got to see ane enormous mechanical blue crab, with waving claws and legs, stroll through wetlands and see live crabs and fish in aquatic displays. We really enjoyed walking across a full color satellite image of the bay itself.

We also liked the Newton’s Alley exhibit, where hands on activities lets kids – and adults – experience Newtonian principles based on the concept that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction – gravity experiments, water vortexes – wonderful interactive fun.

Baltimore Water Taxis

Water taxis are a fun way to explore Baltimore.

Ready for some outside fun? Take a trip on a water taxi. This uniquely Baltimorean way to travel will take you from the Inner Harbor to historic Fort McHenry or a variety of waterfront residential neighborhoods such as Fells Point or Canton. It may take you a little longer to get between attractions than driving or hopping in a land-taxi, but it’s a fun way to see the city and get some fresh sea air. The stops are all clearly marked, just find one and wait for the next boat. During holidays and summer months you may have a short wait, at other times the taxi is waiting for you. Tickets on board are cash only; you’ll receive a hand stop allowing on and off travel all day. You can buy tickets in advance from kiosks in the Inner Harbor area using a credit or debit card as well. Think of the water taxi as Baltimore’s fun-travel equivalent of San Francisco’s cable cars – they’re an attraction in and of themselves. Our kids enjoyed just taking rides on the taxis from the inner harbor to Fells Point and across the bay. A caveat: in winter the water can be choppy.

The water taxi is a convenient way to get to Baltimore’s premiere historic site, Fort McHenry. Shaped like a star, this fort extends into the harbor, and it was from this vantage point that U.S. forces protected the city from British invaders during the war of 1812. It was also here where Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Today, the fort is a national park with interesting historic displays and presentations by historical re-enactors. The grounds around the fort itself are great for a relaxing picnic or just to let the kids run around and watch the boats sail by in the harbor.

Fort McHenry barracks – one of many interesting aspects of the fort to explore.

Every day of the week you can watch a flag change in the morning or afternoon; or stroll through the massive fort constructed in 1798, and named for George Washington’s Secretary of War, James McHenry. We spent a great afternoon strolling the grounds and exploring the many nooks and crannies of the fort.

While the historic fort and the inner harbor area are among the most well known of Baltimore’s attractions, there are plenty of other neighborhoods and attractions to explore, as well as unique restaurants and accommodations to house your brood and create a truly memorable vacation. Next I explore some of Baltimore’s dining, hotel, and off the beaten track attractions. Until then, climb in your water taxi and enjoy the view from the inner harbor!

Baltimore’s inner harbor is lovely any time of day.

First of all there are some unique small museums that you won’t find anywhere else. We loved the classic Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. What kid doesn’t get excited about trains? Here you’ll find model trains, steam engines, historic train cars, and a round house filled with fascinating railroad-related objects. A national landmark, this museum contains the oldest and most comprehensive American railroad collection in the U.S.  Our kids couldn’t get enough of climbing on the varied locomotives. Playing engineer and learning some railroad history at the same time comfortably filled a rainy afternoon. From locomotives to rolling stock and small items like dining car china and signal devices and tools, this fascinating museum contains artifacts of the entire railroad industry.  

Speaking of industry, Baltimore has a museum dedicated to that, too with the Museum of Industry. There’s a recreation of an early 20th-century neighborhood that lets kids take on roles pretending to be tailors, grocers, bankers, ship builders, you name it. With a uniquely Baltimorean point of view, pointing out the geography, immigration patterns, and construction of the city, this museum offers a simple to understand view of the businesses and laborers who built this town.  

The opposite of industry is, well, relaxation. And when the weather cleared up, we found a great place to do just that outside of Baltimore itself on the city side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The bridge leads to Maryland and Delaware ocean resorts, but en route there are several enjoyable bay beaches. Here you’ll find a locals favorite, the white sands of  Sandy Point State Park. This bay side beach is great for swimming in warm weather or strolling along the bay on cooler days. The water is calm, with a long, slow drop off that’s great for little kids splashing and playing. There’s great bird and sail boat watching and a wonderful view of the long, impressive Bay Bridge. A uniquely Maryland activity here is crabbing. Recreational crabbers are known as “chicken neckers,” as the usual technique is tying a piece of chicken to a string as bait, and dangling it off rocks or over the side of a boat into the bay. Our kids were introduced to this crab catching technique by a family of locals. If you’re not squeamish, your kids will enjoy catching a crab this way – you can let it go again with its free meal.  

Ah, food. No matter where you’ve spent the day, you’re going to be hungry and in the mood for a restaurant that welcomes bambinos. You’ll have plenty to choose from in Baltimore’s Little Italy. This small neighborhood is literally jammed with tasty, inexpensive family owned restaurants. Most restaurants are located along High Street. Although it’s near to the inner harbor, the residential neighborhood feels like its in another city. While there are some shops and bakeries, the restaurants are the thing here. We liked Amicci’s, casual, affordable, with great pastas and one of the best deserts we’ve ever eaten – orange ice inside a scooped-out orange. Caeser’s Den Italian restaurant offers grilled fish, meat and veggies; Chiapparelli’s Restaurant is cozy, offering family style entrees along with Caesar salad, and excellent versions of Italian classics like ravioli and lasagna. Try the chocolate chip cannoli for a rich desert. 

After a big meal, you’ll want to find a place to sleep off all that food! We found several great places to stay for Baltimore bound families. The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel is situated in the east Harbor, between the tourist-attractions of the Inner Harbor and the historic, residential Fell’s Point. This high rise hotel is right on the water, walking distance to most attractions, with a water taxi nearby. For the more economy minded – as we often are, these days – there’s the
Brookshire Suites. Very roomy, this small hotel is two blocks from the water and there’s a full breakfast every morning included in the rate. Our favorite area to stay however is Fells Point, an historic neighborhood with cobblestone streets, row houses, small shops and cafes.  

Fells Point is a quaint, historic neighborhood and our favorite place to stay in Baltimore.

If you visit in October, you’ll experience the eclectic arts, crafts, rides, and kids attractions at the Fells Point Fun Festival, an event started in order to raise money to fight against the razing of the neighborhood for highway expansion. The fight was successful and this fund raising event continues and draws visitors from across the state.  

The Admiral Fell Inn is right in Market Square. Sure the location can be a little noisy if you’re in a room that faces the front on a busy weekend. But the bustling neighborhood and reasonably priced yet period decorated inn is a great deal of fun. Our kids loved the old fashioned pedestal sinks and the cushy Persian rugs.  

After a good night’s sleep, your family will be ready to tackle some unique art. And there may be nothing more unique than The American Visionary Art Museum. This Baltimore treat houses a collection of  bizarre, and outside-the-box art created by self-taught artists without any formal training. There’s no place quite like this anywhere in the country, and the vibrant colors and primitive painting styles on display when we went connected well with the kids. Show your kids first hand how awesome it is to just create – and what you can make out of odds and ends and imagination.  

For a more formal approach to artistic expression, take the kids over to the Baltimore Museum of Art. Here you’ll find a lovely collection including work by Picasso, Cézanne, and Van Gogh, as well as an extensive Matisse collection. And outside, the kids will love having the run of the museum’s three acre Sculpture Gardens.  

No matter where you go in Baltimore, you’ll find a city with a special pride in its heritage. From museums to local neighborhood cafes and the rhythm of harbor life, you’ll enjoy exploring this city by the bay.