Best Weekend Trips
from Washington, D.C.

Tucked away on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, this down-to-earth Maryland waterfront town perfectly blends the old world (think Naval Academy tall ships parading down the bay) with the new school (the local cuisine and shopping rival anything you can find back home).

First-time visitors to Baltimore may think of it as a gritty, industrial hub, but this city on the Chesapeake Bay is actually an up-and-coming arts capital in its own right. Take a break from the usual to experience the sometimes kitschy, delightfully quirky, and frequently mind-blowing cultural offerings of Charm City.

Less than two hours away from Capitol Hill lies a playground the likes of which are unrivaled in the mid-Atlantic: Harpers Ferry, an unassuming town where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet at the confluence of two rivers and a national park. A trip to Harpers Ferry will certainly bring a high heart rate to anyone who loves playing outside.

Even if history isn't their favorite class in school, kids are all but guaranteed to get interested in the evolution of America during a family visit to the Virginia cradle of colonial development. The thriving community of throwback attractions that has sprung up around Colonial Williamsburg continues to add new touches every year.

Hard as it can be to believe, the exurban capital of Virginia, where urbanites have fled the stress of nearby DC politics to kick back in a slower paradise of locally grown food and Shenandoah breezes, is fast becoming a wine region to stand up to some of the West Coast's finest.