When to Go

When to Go

Summer is definitely the best time to explore Baltimore. It's also tourist season, which means the Inner Harbor fills up with foot traffic. Though the rest of Baltimore can be humid in the summer months, there's usually a breeze blowing in from the water, which helps cool the harbor. Summer is also festival season, with a number of ethnic celebrations taking place around the city. Check www.bop.org for more information, as dates and locations change from year to year.

New Year's Eve (410/752-8632. www.bop.org) festivities in Baltimore include a concert at the Harborplace amphitheater and a 9 PM fireworks display over Inner Harbor. In February the ACC Crafts Fair (800/836-3470) draws more than 800 exhibitors for three days of artful displays and sales. The Maryland Preakness Celebration (410/542-9400. www.preakness.com) is a weeklong festival that includes parades, street parties, fund-raisers, and hot-air-balloons. The celebration culminates in the annual running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, on the third Saturday in May. Independence Day celebrations culminate in a major show of fireworks over the Inner Harbor. In late August the Maryland State Fair (410/252-0200. www.marylandstatefair.com), in Timonium (15 mi north of Baltimore), is 10 days of horse racing, livestock judging, live entertainment, agricultural displays, farm implements, and plenty of food. Defenders' Day (410/962-4290. www.nps.gov/fomc) celebrations in September at Fort McHenry commemorate—with music, drilling, mock bombardment, and fireworks—the battle that led to the writing of the national anthem.