Baltimore offers a wide range of engaging activities for groups–from innovative museums and art galleries to tours of the city’s rich past and culinary present.
Here are a few of the most popular cultural activities for groups visiting Baltimore and for architecting a cultural Baltimore event.
American Visionary Art Museum
The American Visionary Art Museum showcases outsider art by untrained and self-taught individuals whose work pursues their own innate personal vision. It hosts regular exhibitions and a permanent collection of more than 4,000 pieces, including unique artworks such as “Recovery,” a sculpture created by a British mental patient carved from a single apple tree trunk; and the “World’s First Family of Robots” made from recycled metal and found objects by world famous American hitchhiker DeVon Smith.
Great Blacks in Wax
The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is the first wax museum of African American history in the nation. The 30,000 sf space contains over 100 wax figures and scenes, a full model slave ship exhibit telling the 400-year history of the Atlantic slave trade, a Maryland room highlighting the contributions of outstanding Marylanders to African American history, and a mini auditorium for lectures, films and presentations.
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Fort McHenry was used to defend the Baltimore Harbor in the War of 1812 and prevented a British advance into the city. It was this battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to compose “The Star Spangled Banner,” originally titled “Defense of Fort McHenry.” The Fort is open to the public year round, and offers several visitor programs and special events that highlight its history.
Baltimore Ghost Tours
Take a walking tour to explore the ghostly history of Fells Point, once a rowdy seaport full of sailors, immigrants and ladies of the night; or of Mount Vernon, which remains Baltimore’s cultural center. Hear tales of sailors who mysteriously disappeared, guests who never checked out of the Belvedere Hotel, and a séance that went wrong. Haunted pub tours of both districts are also available, as well as “Wicked History” tours that tell the story of the historic city’s criminal underbelly.
Culinary Scene
Baltimore has long been famous for its Chesapeake-inspired cuisine serving up the official Maryland state crustacean in dishes such as crab cakes, crab soufflés and crab imperial. But there’s more to the city than the old-time crab houses, pit-beef stands, and lake-trout shops it’s best known for. Charm City Food Tours offers one way to sample the flavors of the city, with walking tours of areas such as historic Fell Point focusing on the traditional local fare, but with a few surprises such as Baltimore inspired Mexican cuisine. Or the Little Italy and Jonestown food tour, sampling the authentic Italian and Jewish cuisine of these districts. The Lexington Market food tour explores Baltimore’s oldest food market which has been continually running for 220 years; while the Mt. Vernon food tour highlights the city’s culinary diversity with Korean-inspired American classics and authentic Vietnamese Bahn-Mi.
