tchoiniere

Will be coming to Baltimore for 2 days in May.

Will be driving down on Saturday, getting to the city around noon (5 hour drive from Hartford - without traffic).

Our intent is to go to 2 Red Sox games (already have tickets to Sat (7pm) and Sunday (1 pm) games).

1. Have reservations at Marriott BWI Airport hotel. How is this hotel? Easy to get in / out of the city from?

2. Obviously will have very limited time to see other things. Would like to do a boat tour around the Harbor on Sat afternoon. Any recommendations?

3. How bad is traffic around Baltimore on weekends?

4. If you had to choose 1 site to see in Baltimore, what would it be?

Will be leaving Baltimore right after the Sunday game to drive home. Quick weekend but its still more time than my last 2 trips there when we flew down, went to the game and flew back.

Spivonious

I live up in southern PA, but I have been to Baltimore a few times (but never stayed overnight). Honestly, there's not much to see outside of the Inner Harbor area.

Traffic on the weekends is much better than it is during the week. I think you'll be fine.

I think you'd do better to stay inside of the city, but since you already have reservations, I'd look into taking the light rail to get from there to the Inner Harbor/Camden Yards rather than driving.

tchoiniere

We can cancel the reservations if we need to. Hoping to keep the costs way down as this is just a prelude to our main trip (Chicago-Minneapolis). I just wanted to get a cheap rate. Will try Priceline at one point in the next few weeks.

Debi

I would definitely try to get a hotel closer to Camden Yards (LOVE going to games there - you'll really enjoy it...). There's a Hampton Inn and a bunch of other hotels there. I wouldn't want to drive all the way back to the airport at night, when I could walk to my hotel from the game....

gail

The traffic around Camden Yards is awful on game days - we were there last summer for Red Sox Orioles game. I agree if you can get Inner Harbor area hotel, go for it. Price goes way up when there is a game. We have stayed at several hotels in the area and last summer ended up at Holiday Inn since it was the only one with rooms left on short notice. Not usually a Holiday Inn fan, but this one was nice. It was really nice to be able to walk to/from game.

tchoiniere

Agreed that we should switch hotels. Will be using Priceline to get a different hotel.

The seats I got at Camden are Section 330 (Upper Reserved) and Section 65 (Terrace Box). Are these good sections for a game? How high is the Upper Deck? I have always sat near the visitors dugout when I was there so I cannot remember how high the Upper Deck is.

gail

Good luck with Priceline, but I would not hold my breath waiting for a good rate - we found for Red Sox series all Inner Harbor hotels were sold out or close - and that is not the kind of market that Priceline works well within.

KarenL

We stayed at Days Inn inner harbor last june for a Yankees/Orioles game. The hotel is nothing spectacular but its w/in walking distance to the park and the inner harbor. We would stay there again.

As stated earlier the traffic during a game is massive and I would not want to drive in it.

We like the aquariam at the Inner Harbor and the ferry that goes to several points on the harbor, like Fells Point and the Fort.

cocontom

We really enjoyed the Wharf Rat- we went for the beer and were really impressed by the food. Not as much by the beer, but it was decent.

We loved the aquarium. They also shot the cannon on the USS Constellation, which was cool to explore too.

mrwunrfl

There will be horse racing that afternoon (the 31st) at Pimlico. The Preakness is on the 17th, so you will miss that.

tchoiniere

How long does it take to go through the Aquarium?

vjpblovesitaly

"How long does it take to go through the Aquarium?"

A couple of ours I would say. Will you have little kids with you?

tchoiniere

No, 4 adults

DancingBearMD

IMO, Pimlico is a dump, and it's not near anything else.

Spend some time in the Fells Point area.

Minimum couple of hours at the aquarium. Buy your timed entry tickets in advance on-line.

KarenL

I agree w/o kids the aquarium takes a couple of hours. I think we were there just under 4 hours only because we wanted to see the dolphin show and had to waste sometime before it started.

moondoggie

I was just in Baltimore, and, other than the Aquarium, pretty disappointed in the inner harbor-- unless you want to shop in the same chain stores and eat in the same chain restaurants (only a few are local). But, it's a nice place to walk and people-watch--but nothing else. It was a gorgeous day, Sunday, and no ball game at Camden Yards, so I had no trouble finding a parking spot on one of the side streets.

tchoiniere

How interesting is Fort McHenry?

Ruff

My favorite sites in Baltimore are the American Visionary Art Museum, which is across the harbor, the Edgar Allen Poe House, the Walters and the Aquarium.

gail

Fort McHenry is a nice trip if it is a nice day - but there are probably more interesting things to do with the limited time you have. You get to ride a water taxi from Inner Harbor, then board a painted old school bus to Fort. Usual military stuff, old fort, great views, pleasant walk. We spent a few hours out there, but we had 3 days in Baltimore.

DancingBearMD

Also the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, very close to Camden Yards:

http://www.baberuthmuseum.com/