Baltimore Convention Center

If your organization or business is looking for a place to hold its tradeshow, convention, or exposition, the Baltimore Convention Center is the ideal location.

Located smack in the middle of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the Baltimore Convention Center is close to hotels, transportation, shopping, and a number of unique attractions. It’s easy to catch a cab or hop aboard the city’s MARC train or Lightrail, both of which can take you directly to the Baltimore International Airport or to Washington DC. A number of major hotels are within walking distance of the center, as are a great many Inner Harbor attractions, including the National Aquarium, the Baltimore World Trade Center, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and the USS Constellation. There’s even a skywalk connecting the center to several major hotels and shopping facilities.

The Baltimore Convention Center, renovated and expanded in 1997, boasts 1,225,000 square feet of space. There are exhibit halls, meeting rooms, and a massive ballroom equipped with a state-of-the-art audio system. The center is also equipped with a telecommunications fiber-optic network providing high-speed category five cabling to all floor boxes and outlets and in all meeting rooms. It’s a great place to meet, as well as a tourist’s dream location.

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Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotels

Many of Baltimore’s largest and most lavish hotels can be found near the world famous Baltimore Inner Harbor. Many visitors come to the area to attend corporate events at the Baltimore Convention Center, a nearly 14-acre complex that is managed by the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. Others come to visit sporting events and take in the many attractions Baltimore city has to offer.

Most notably, the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center hotel, located at 401 West Pratt Street, opened in 2008 to provide 757 rooms to area tourists and visitors. The proximity of Baltimore Inner Harbor hotels also allow for easy access to local restaurants and attractions, most of which are within walking distance or a short taxi ride.

When staying in Baltimore Inner Harbor hotels, considerations should be made for parking. Parking fees can vary substantially at many of the local hotels, with some packages made available that include hotel parking. In addition, some of the newer, taller hotels have rooms with amazing views of the harbor, which can be reserved at little to no additional charge if you ask at the time of booking.

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M&T Bank Stadium, Home of the Baltimore Ravens

Located at the south point of Baltimore’s Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium is the home of the Baltimore Ravens, the city’s NFL champions. Visiting the stadium for a Baltimore Ravens game is a treat: the stadium boasts state-of-the-art SmartVision video screens in each end zone so you don’t miss a single play. Measuring 100 feet by 24 feet, they’re the largest permanent computer-operated video display screens in any sports venue anywhere in the world.

The stadium also offers a stunning view of Baltimore’s skyline, as well as room for more than 71,000 fans. Completed in 1998 at an estimated cost of $220 million, the stadium soars over Oriole Park and features 119 suites and more than 8,000 club seats.

The Baltimore Ravens are a true Baltimore obsession. During football season, it’s common to see purple flags flying all over the city in honor of the team’s dark purple uniforms. In 2001, when the team won the Super Bowl, the city erupted in the sounds of car horns, firecrackers, and excited shouts as fans congregated in the streets to celebrate.

M&T Bank Stadium also hosts other events, such as Army-Navy games, rock concerts, and NCAA lacrosse tournaments.

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Baltimore Golf

Golf may not be the first thing you think of when you think of Baltimore, but there’s actually several dozen golf courses in and around the city, many of them quite challenging. Baltimore’s first public golf course, Clifton Park, was established in 1915 on the grounds of Johns Hopkins summer mansion. It’s still in use today, offering golfers a green retreat in the midst of an urban landscape.

Other courses in the city offer wooded landscapes, tranquil watersheds, and plenty of wildlife. Baltimore is the past home of several PGA and LPGA Tournaments, as well as the Eastern Invitational Open. Arnold Palmer won his second American tournament here and Nancy Lopez won her second professional tournament.

There are dozens of courses, but whichever one you choose, Baltimore’s golf courses offer serene settings and the ideal retreat from meetings, conventions, tradeshows, seminars and work. Some are a 10-minute cab ride away from Baltimore’s convention hotels and business district, while others require a short trip into the suburbs. But all offer unique views and a challenging game, and if you’re a golfer visiting the city, you won’t want to miss them.

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Baltimore Bed and Breakfasts

Tired of hotels, motels, and inns? Try something different the next time you’re in Baltimore - a bed and breakfast. New England isn’t the only place to offer them. A bed and breakfast offers a warmer, cozier and more personal experience than staying in a hotel. Many bed and breakfast establishments are operated by families and often they offer only a small number of rooms. But instead of a hotel restaurant, you get home-cooked meals and instead of a generic one-size-fits-all room, you get uniquely decorated rooms with plenty of charm and character.

There are bed and breakfasts of all kinds in and around Baltimore city. You can spend the night at an elegant Victorian, an art-filled mansion, or a Tudor-style estate. You can even try a boat and breakfast and bed down on the Chesapeake Bay in a cozy stateroom. Whether you are looking for something upscale or something homey, you’ll find it in Baltimore. There are waterfront bed and breakfasts, garden bed and breakfasts, as well as many bed and breakfasts in historic homes. If you need something near the Inner Harbor and Baltimore convention facilities, you’ll find those too.

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Baltimore Coffee Shops & Diners

Baltimore is known for many things, but the mainstay of culinary Baltimore can be found in the humble diner or coffee shop,  which in this city is anything but ordinary. Baltimore diners and coffee shops are exceptional for two things: affordable food and eccentricity. There are diners where the tables are fashioned from recycled doors, each chair is a yard-sale mismatch, and  where decorated mannequins take the place of plastic plants.

Baltimore defines its own design aesthetic. The quirkier the destination, the more likely you’ve stepped into someplace special, where the staff might be hard to spot taking a break at a table of locals. If you’re in one of these diners during a busy part of the day, you’re more likely to be  shown the door than a dessert menu, but that’s just part of the charm. Some outsiders have been quick to label these places tacky or gaudy but anyone who has given in to the Baltimore experience knows there’s something deeper running through these dives that can’t be found in the many fast food chains and cookie-cutter restaurants.

Pancakes, omelettes, and greasy-spoon fare make up much of the menu. Baltimore specialities may include Maryland Cream of Crab (which one Baltimore diner I’ve visited includes with the claws … shells and all) and Key Lime Pie.

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Dining in Baltimore

Baltimore is known as a working-class city, a city of neighborhoods. In its early days, this was especially true: immigrants from Italy, Greece, Poland, Germany, Ireland and other areas established themselves in close-knit communities. While the city has evolved, and is no longer so blue-collar or so insular, it is blessed with diversity and this is reflected in its dining establishments.

Little Italy, located between Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and historic Fells Point, is a cozy neighborhood of Italian restaurants and trattorias. Here, you’ll find authentic Italian pastas and an old-world atmosphere.

Greektown, located along Eastern Avenue, is full of authentic Greek coffee houses, bakeries, and restaurants serving the best in Greek fare.

Historic Fells Point, a short walk or ferry ride from the harbor, is a neighborhood of cobblestone streets, hip boutiques, antique shops, and plenty of pubs, nightclubs, and eateries. You’ll find everything from crab houses to Irish pubs to Mexican, Chinese, and Louisiana -style cooking.

The Inner Harbor Pavilions is the place to go for casual dining at a variety of national and local chains. Here you can find pizza, dozens of varieties of cheesecake, and a food court with local delicacies and baked goods.

Elsewhere in Baltimore, you’ll find virtually any type of cuisine you want to try: Afghan, Indian, Cajun, Cuban, Japanese, French, Russian and plenty more.  It’s a diverse city offering a diverse and tasty dining experience.

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