Hi fellow travel enthusiasts....i am accompanying my kid sister this weekend to look at Johns Hopkins (she's a med student) and we thought we'd spend a day exploring Annapolis. Is the naval academy open to visitors? (west pt is not anymore) How big is Annapolis and is one day enough? Any suggestions would be so greatly appreciated

Vastly overrated town so do yourself a favor and just spend the day in Baltimore/Inner Harbor/Fell's Point.

The Naval Academy Tour is great. The website gives no indications that the tours are not operational. (http://www.harborsoftware.com/usna/tours/Tours.htm) An hour or so and well worth it. After that, take a walk along the harbor to see all the yachts, duck into some of the trendy shops and enjoy wonderful Chesapeake seafood at the source! Drive across the Bay Bridge just for the experience of doing it.

I don't think you want to visit Annapolis this weekend. It's the annual Bay Bridge walk and it'll be very crowded. Also, the Volvo Yacht race is supposed to be going under the bridge during the walk. For this weekend at least, I'd take Luke's advice. And, while the Naval Academy is nice, Annapolis can be disappointing. I like some of the shops, but a lot of "chain" type shops have moved in by the waterfront and it does take away from the "quaintness" of the town.

I agree with the rest, stay in Baltimore this weekend, this weekend is gonna be a zoo over here in Annapolis. The parking will be a serious problem, and the crowds.

Annapolis isn't a bad day trip for Baltimore visitors another time, it's very tiny and a quaint old town, nice for a walk along the water and a meal with a little shopping. The historic district is very tiny, and the rest of Annapolis is a big old sprawling suburb. Not much more to do than the Naval Academy, it is open to the public again. You can also tour the State House and the church on the circle (can't remember the name).

It's also nice to drive over the bay bridge and visit some of the small towns on the Eastern Shore.