The Inner Harbor is a prime destination for visitors to Baltimore, renowned for its array of fantastic museums, top-notch hotels, and the magnificent National Aquarium, despite the presence of overpriced tourist-trap bars and restaurants.

Fells Point, with its 19th-century charm and historic district status, offers a stark contrast to the Inner Harbor with its lively nightlife, great pubs, and excellent dining, especially in the tiny yet authentic Little Italy.

Downtown Baltimore is a strange mixture of the central business district. This area the University of Maryland campus, the impressive Lexington Market, the notorious “Block,” and the charming Seton Hill with its rich religious, architectural, and African-American history.

Midtown includes Mount Vernon, Station North, and Bolton Hill. These areas are known for their sophisticated allure. They are home to the performing arts district and Penn Station. It's also home to several other notable attractions like the Walters Art Museum, the original Washington Monument, and dining and wining options on Charles Street.

South Baltimore, once a blue-collar industrial area, is undergoing gentrification with the rise of upscale neighborhoods like Federal Hill, Locust Point, Pigtown, and Fort McHenry. This shift is not a bad thing for travelers, as it has brought about some of the city's finest restaurants and bars in these newly booming areas.

North Baltimore, recognized for its association with Johns Hopkins University and the commercial strip along Charles Street, often overlooks the quirky Hampden neighborhood, one of the city's hidden gems.

Southeast Baltimore, once heavily industrialized, is now home to several enjoyable Polish, Irish, and Greek ethnic enclaves and other unexpected surprises such as Canton and Federal Hill.

West Baltimore includes the Black Arts District and Pimico. The area is more than meets the eye with major draws for locals like The Maryland Zoo in Druid Hill Park along with tourist destinations like the Pimlico Racecourse, and Edgar Allen Poe's house. Despite its historically underserved appearance and the unfair depiction as a crime-ridden area in The Wire, the beautiful Baltimore rowhouses remain a stunning sight.

East Baltimore, which has a long-standing rivalry with its western counterpart, is undergoing rapid changes with the expanding Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, which is demolishing old structures in its path to make way for new development. Although the attractions in the east are limited, things are changing quickly.

Baltimore districts map.
Source OpenStreetMap/Wikimedia Commons, Author Peter Fitzgerald. Creative Commons license.