Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland, is the center of a metropolitan area of 1.5 million people. Baltimore is a vital city long known for its ethnic neighborhoods where each wave of immigration to the United States has added to its character. People of many different backgrounds give the city a melting pot vitality that is reflected in the wide variety of restaurants, shops, and festivals.

The city is located on the Chesapeake Bay, and its picturesque Inner Harbor, a center of restaurants, shopping, and business districts, is the focus of one of the nation’s most successful urban development programs. Baltimore is a city of contrasts; steel and glass skyscrapers that dominate the commercial district are only a short walk from residential neighborhoods that have maintained a small town charm. Many Baltimore residents live in the classic red brick row houses with which the city is traditionally associated.

Baltimore offers a rich cultural diet. Its symphony orchestra performs at the Meyerhoff Hall and the Peabody Conservatory of Music also hosts a concert series, as do several local universities. The city supports many educational and cultural institutions including the Maryland Science Center, Center Stage, the Walters Art Museum, the Visionary Art Museum, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History & Culture, the Baltimore Museum of Art, several repertory theatres, and over a dozen museums and excellent bookstores. For other entertainment, there is the National Aquarium and the Maryland Zoo.

It is worth visiting all of the things for which Charm City is famous—catching an Orioles game at Camden Yards, watching the Ravens, or enjoying steamed crabs at one of Baltimore’s famed seafood restaurants.

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