For a short family break?  Anyone been / know?

Inner harbour (and aquarium) is great for a couple of days, little Italy is fine for food and a quick visit, Fells point is quaint. The rest of it is a crime ridden hell hole. If you’re attracted by cheap flights to BWI then hire a car, brave the beltway and go to DC as much more to do and see and nicer by far. Also blow raspberry’s at the White House

Did you watch “The Wire” TV series?
😉

Dickyhepburn has it spot on. Round by the harbour is OK. Walk a block or two and it’s grim/dangerous. So many nicer places to go in US. Washington for instance (although it has its no go areas too).

Quite how you come to even consider Baltimore for a holiday I don’t know. It’s rife with crime and urban decay.

I’ve been 3 times and mainly because of The Wire I really enjoyed my time there. But I stayed with family in the suburbs. The city centre is probably worth a day at most.

It’s striking distance from Washington DC, Philly, Anapolis and you can get the train to NYC and Boston pretty easily. Include Baltimore as part of a fly drive multi stop itinerary at the most.

And watch The Wire.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
CD.

Cheap for Under Armour kit is about it. Annapolis is quite nice.

This is all you need to know 😀

How about a rail trip. Paris, Strasbourg and Baden Baden on Eurostar, TGVs and local German trains. Or a train to Berlin or even Hamburg.

Ok a wiki visit corroborates this.  I’m going next feb for a work trip so was considering taking the family in half term whilst my flight and stay were paid for.

Emphasis on “was” 😀  thanks

Boston is far nicer, as is DC (especially in this weather!).

Baltimore, Maryland locally known as Bodymore Murderland.

I’d go if I could go on a ‘Wire’ tour, some of my mates went on a ghetto tour of Compton / South Central once.

Way down in the hole

some of my mates went on a ghetto tour of Compton / South Central once.

Me and a mate did an inadvertent brief tour of South Central taking a hire car back to the hire company, the year after the LA riots! It was a very brief visit…

Going to go against the consensus and say It’s definitely worth a visit. There’s a lot there. There’s also a lot of crime.
We regularly visit as have family there. It’s a good place to head out to Annapolis, Philadelphia and Washington from. Washington is equally a crime ridden hell hole. Philadelphia is ace. Also lots of crime. North of Baltimore there’s a lot of good cycling (heading up towards York). As always it’s the USA so you’re driving a lot. And yes there’s a lot of urban decay in Baltimore but there’s also a surprisingly vibrant place with lots of good food, art and interesting books and corners. I’ve cycled down some of the streets used in the Wire on mass rideouts. That’s an experience!

Used to go a lot. Inner harbour is nice but on one of my final trips I witnessed someone get stabbed in a shopping mall in a frenzied random attack (that was surrounding the harbour). Quite a shithole by all accounts, one block the wrong way and you don’t want to be in that place!.

IIRC its one of if not the most violent city in the USA currently.

Well, I like it!
Or at least, I like the inner harbour/Fells Point area; wouldn’t venture too far away from those parts. But enough to see, with kids, for a couple of days before venturing to Washington or, my favourite, Philly. As with many cities in the USA or UK, a knowledge of areas is essential.

On my first visit I cycled one street too far (literally across a junction). I quickly turned around. Also driven into some areas where I have definitely not stopped for stop signs. Still worth a visit. Then head to Philadelphia.

I know nothing about Baltimore, but if it’s within striking distance of DC then DC is great. Capitol Hill, Pentagon tour, several Smithsonian museums, and a “student town” vibe that really made me feel at home.

The Pentagon is a bit weird, it’s just another tram stop before a big shopping mall.

Home of my favourite baseball team the Orioles just because I used to give away their tat working in nearby Delaware one summer. Still an odd choice given you’ve the choice of the East coast!

Did you watch “The Wire” TV series?

Or for those of us of a certain age, “Homicide: Life on the street”  🙂

Take a phrase book – from what i’ve Seen on The Wire you won’t understand a word they are saying

Take a phrase book

Was in Baltimore a few months ago, went to see the Orioles the best worst team in America. As had been said the harbour area is ok but go a few blocks and it is a war zone. Grinding poverty in a decaying City.

The train back to Washington went past some very rough looking places.

That scene with Snoop is great. In fact every scene with Snoop is great.

Watch The Wire. If you’ve watched it then watch it again. Then watch Generation Kill, which is even better (literally the only thing wrong with it is it’s only 7 episodes).

Theres a doc on Sky Atlantic now called Baltimore Rising. Worth a look for potential Baltimore visitors.

Just like this: