Three Days in Baltimore and/or DC
 

I have three days to spend in the Baltimore/DC area near the end of April by myself. I was last in DC 12 years ago on a family vacation and saw all the typical "sites." I'm looking for something different/interesting to do. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Stay in D.C. or in the suburbs near a Metro station. If you're there on a weekday, take the Metro to Union Station and take the MARC commuter train to Baltimore for the day,(round trip costs about $10). Go to the National Aquarium, check out the shops at the Light Street and Pratt St. Pavilions, take the free water taxi to The Rusty Scupper for lunch, see Orioles Park at Camden Yards (the train station is right there), take the train back to Union Station. There are lots of shops and a food court in the lower level of Union Station. Other things to do in Washington besides the usual: Go to Old Town Alexandria in the evening, the shops and restaurants along King St. are nice, sometimes there are street musicians, and always a lot of people around. Take a Potomac cruise, take the Scandal Tour, go to see Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center, eat along the waterfront in Georgetown, have lunch at Planet Hollywood. Since you haven't been there in 12 years, see the Korean War Memorial,the Holocaust Memorial, the statue of the women who served during the Vietnam War, the new F.D.R. memorial. Of course you won't have time to do everything, but these are just a few suggestions. Have fun!

Some suggestions on visiting D.C. (I was there summer of '97): National Gallery of Art (inspiring),walk around Georgetown neighborhoods,and/or visit any Smithsonian museum (American History personal favorite), and Library of Congress (recently renovated).

In Baltimore: North to South: check out the Art Museum near the Johns Hopkins main campus- and eat in their fine cafe. Drive/ walk around the beautiful historic neighborhoods of Bolton Hill and Mt. Royal and the shops on Antique Row. Explore the area around the Washington Monument (there's one in Baltimore, too). Check out the spectacular Peabody Conservatory Library- also see if they have any concert performances. Eat at one of the many ethnic restaurants in that area of Charles Street (a couple of good Indian, Thai, & Vietnamese places). Yes it's touristy, but still fun- the Inner Harbor- rent out a paddle-boat and relax on the Harbor after you tire of the pavillions. See the Aquarium. End your night with jazz/ blues and brews in Fell's Point. Or if you can get in, an O's game at Camden Yards. You can easily cover all of the stuff mentioned in a day and a half. The other respondents suggestions above for D.C. are all great. Also check out the neighborhood called Adams-Morgan for ethnic cuisine (esp. Ethiopian), and interesting arts-crafts.

The other "new" thing no one has mentioned is the Newseum (Rosslyn metro).

I lived in Historic Old Town Alexandria. It's great. Among the places to visit include Robert E. Lee's boyhood home and Christ Church where George Washington use to go to
church. Don't miss it. Take the Blue line to King Street exit.

If you have not already done so, you may wish to reference an earlier post entitled, "Baltimore, Maryland--What to See" which, as of this writing, has a most recent post date of 3/05/98. There is plenty to see in Baltimore! Enjoy!