Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is an attraction in itself. But, surrounding this urban waterfront park, you’ll discover a number of family-friendly places to visit. The National Aquarium features more than 16,000 animals, from sharks to a giant sea turtle, while the Maryland Science Center’s highlights include two-story dinosaurs and interactive exhibits to keep the kids busy. The Port Discovery Children’s Museum features more activities for the little ones, and, a short ride away, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park engages young and young at heart with the giraffe-feeding station and much more. And, if it’s the unexpected you seek, you’ll be talking about the oddities in Ripley’s Believe or Not! for weeks!

Peanut butter and jelly, apple pie and ice cream, Baltimore and sports – some things just go together. Baltimoreans take their sports seriously. Today, sports fans flock to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the first of the new breed of retro ballparks, to cheer on the O’s or the Birds as they are known locally.

The city’s love affair certainly extends to the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens (wait until you are in town for a “purple Friday.”) You also can catch indoor soccer’s Baltimore Blast, wildly popular collegiate lacrosse (you’ll find the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame here); the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown; collegiate football, and international soccer “friendlies.”