university

I will be travel with my son , 16 years old, to Baltimore for MICA tour, I would like to visit the museums in baltimore and some interesting places and travel to Washington DC for tour... I dont want a rent a car because I feel so nervous about driving , lost.... Is a good idea take a public transportation? is eassy? Can we take a tour from baltimore to washington?

Thank you

capxxx

There is a commuter train service between Baltimore and DC that is very easy and convenient. There are two stations in Baltimore as I recall, one is walking distance from the inner harbor area, and it goes right into Grand Central station DC.

university

Thank so much for your help

yestravel

The train Station in DC is Union Station and it is right in the same bldg with the Metro. So very easy to get from the train to the metro and wherever u want to go in DC. There are tour buses right outside Union Station that u could take to do a tour around DC.

Baltimore has 2 Amtrak train stations -- one at BWI and the other is Penn Station on N Charles St. Penn Station is about 2 miles from the Inner Harbor. BWI is much further. MICA is very close to the Penn Station about a 1/2 mile. We had a visitor staying with us in Dc who took the Amtrak from Union Station to Penn Station when she visited MICA. She had no trouble doing this. Marc train runs weekdays and has a stop at Camden Yards which is near Inner Harbor.

university

How long is Baltimore from DC in a tren?

artsbabe

Oh, about 30 -45 minutes depending on track/train issues with MARC & Amtrak.

university

Great, thanks a lot everybody!!!

Daniel_Williams

Hi University,

So, I gather from this you're staying in Baltimore and want to do a day trip to DC? Just out of curiosity, where will you be coming from?

Baltimore's public transit isn't the best, but is definitely do-able if armed with a bit of patience and schedules. I lived there for almost 3 years without a car. The #3 or #11 bus will take you from the Inner Harbor area (past Penn Station) up to the Johns Hopkins campus/Baltimore Museum of Art. A water taxi goes from Fell's Point to Fort McHenry to the Inner Harbor. It's a nice walk from the Inner Harbor to the Walters Art Gallery along Charles St., and the Cross Street and Lexington Markets are also walkable from the Inner Harbor.

The MARC commuter trains (weekday only) out of Baltimore Penn Station into Union Station Washington are a good bit cheaper than Amtrak; most southbound trains take about ONE HOUR to get into DC, but do note that there are a (very) few express MARC trains out of Penn Station and Union Station on the Penn Line.

I took the MARC Camden line once (weekday only), which you may wish to consider if you're staying right in the heart of the Inner Harbor. Baltimore City Camden Station is quite close; right by the baseball stadium. Note that there are much fewer trains daily on the Camden Line relative to the Penn Line (truly during weekday commuter hours only), and it takes a little over an hour to get into Union Station.

http://mta.maryland.gov/services/mar...aps/camden.cfm

http://mta.maryland.gov/services/mar...mMaps/penn.cfm

If the day trip you wish to make is on a weekend, Amtrak will be your only train option, relatively frequent, which leaves out of Baltimore's Penn Station. Greyhound bus will be your only other means out of Baltimore.

Once at Union Station in DC, take the red line subway to Metro Center and go to Smithsonian on the Orange Line and you'll be right near many museums!

Have fun. I think what you suggest is quite do-able.

Daniel

university

Daniel thank you/

We are departing from Miami , and here , the public transportacion it doesn't exist really, that is the reason that I prefer, for this trip, not drive,no car... and the true is I hate to drive and I am a little nervous about travel along... Im travel with my son but Im the adult person!!!
We are arriving next wednesday ant we stay until Sunday in Baltimore, we are very interesting in museums, zoo, obviously DC too... my hotel is close to MICA, 0.5 mile aprox. walking.I was looking in a Baltimore map and I can see that in this area are a lot of interesting places.

Is Baltimore as Miami in public transportation?...

Daniel_Williams

Hi university,

OK, I see where MICA is now. If you're staying near there, you will definitely want to take the train out of Penn Station to get to DC. There's even a light rail stop that goes to Baltimore Penn Station nearby on Mt. Royal Avenue. Incidentally since it seems you may be close to a light rail stop, you could also take that to the Lexington Market or Pratt Street light rail stop for exploring the Inner Harbor/downtown/Federal Hill areas.

I've only been to Miami once (2 days) and I did use Miami's public transportation that visit... I took the Metromover and also either the S, the C or the K bus (I forget which) between downtown where I was staying and South Beach.

So, I'm no expert but pushed into a corner, I would probably say Baltimore City is better on the public transit front, although I don't think Miami's system is as bad as some make it out to be. Baltimore is an older city, with many of its visitor-popular spots in a more compact area and I think that helps. Light rail & metro I found reliable, although often not on my main route of travel, although do note that light rail goes right to BWI airport (that #3 bus was the bus I'd most frequently take!). Apparently, the city prides itself that there is a bus/train/light rail that can get you any corner of Baltimore City. It also helps that Baltimore is right on the main Amtrak line from NYC-> DC... meaning that there's a train to DC, Philadelphia, BWI Airport, NYC once or even twice an hour.

Best wishes, Daniel

university

Thank you Daniel for your help,I apreciate it so much, I'm printing your notes ! I'm sure we are going to have fun... and coldest time.

Adriana

wrestlpsu

i would rent a car.
if you don't drive between the hours of 7-9am
and 4-6:30pm you won't have any problems.
from baltimore...travel 95 south to the dc beltway...
rte.495....take the capitol exit to the city....
going by the ole football stadium....get onto "c" st.
and follow to union station area. find a parking spot
near the capitol building...art museums are an extremely
short walk from there and you shouldn't have any problems
getting parking along constitution ave., etc.
not much in the way of art museums in baltimore....
walters doesn't have that much and is expensive.
best bet is the museums in dc....corcoran, etc.
actually, if i were you i'd spend a nite in dc. to see
them.
[email protected]

basingstoke2

wrestipsu - I can't agree with your assessment of the Baltimore Art Museum scene. The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters both have very decent exhibits and admission is free to their permanent collections. The American Visionary Museum is a favorite, but is expensive - admission is $16 for adults, 10 for students. True, there is no comparison with the collection of museums in DC, but the DC museum scene is world class.

yestravel

I agree with basinstoke on the museum scene in Baltimore -- it has much to explore. Headed up there next weekend to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

wrestlpsu

well, my view of art may be a tad different than others.
i too attended mica.
as for andy warhol....art ?
the walters is typically not your mica type of art.
the balt. mus. of art has some interesting pieces, but
if i were spending my time it would be in dc.
as for the visionary art museum....worth every penny.

basingstoke2

wrestipsu- we do agree on the AVM - it is a unique experience well worth the price of admission.

ita

The Baltimore Museums are excellent. The Baltimore Museum of Art has the largest collection of Matisse in North America (maybe the world). I agree on the AVM. Another option for travel is Megabus, but the pickup is at a mall which might not be convenient.

yestravel

We just spent yesterday in Baltimore and I have to say again, Baltimore is a perfectly fine art scene -- not NYC or DC, but nice nonetheless. Warhol exhibit was quite interesting. Saw lots of stuff that I had never seen b4.

tomfuller

While in the Inner harbor area, you should see the National Aquarium. I've also toured the USS Constellation (same era as the Constitution)