Baltimore's Inner Harbor is one of America's oldest seaports. Once a center for shipbuilding, it's now a destination for fun and home to some of the city's best attractions – the National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, Port Discovery Children's Museum and Harborplace. When you stay with us at Rachael's Dowry Bed & Breakfast, you are just minutes from the waterfront and all that it has to offer.
When summer temperatures begin to heat up in Maryland, there's one sweet treat that can cool things down in a delicious way: a Baltimore snowball. Not to be confused with a snow cone or Italian water ice, snowballs are a unique frozen concoction with a history that dates back some 200+ years. There's no denying snowballs are as synonymous with summer in Baltimore as a bushel of steamed blue crabs.
When you plan your itinerary for your next visit to Baltimore, your must-see list will probably include some of Charm City's biggest attractions – a trip to the National Aquarium, a day at Camden Yards to take in an Orioles baseball game, a relaxing cruise around Inner Harbor. We love all of these things, too.
"O say can you see, by the dawn's early light..." Every American knows the words to our beloved national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." The song's history is rooted here in Baltimore, dating back to the War of 1812, when soldiers at Fort McHenry defended our city from a British naval attack. The upcoming Fourth of July holiday is an appropriately patriotic time to plan a visit to Fort McHenry.
Journey back as far as the 19th century to discover how Baltimore became the city it is today. The Baltimore Museum of Industry seamlessly fuses Baltimore’s industrial history and the values and innovations that continue to drive the city forward today and into the future. Located at Inner Harbor, the museum is an easy 10-minute drive from our historic inn.
From the art of ancient Egypt to modern masterpieces, you can observe and appreciate more than 95,000 works of art from around the world – Africa, Europe, Asia and America – all right here in Baltimore. The Baltimore Museum of Art houses an impressive collection of paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and sculptures of some of the most prominent artists from history and today.
Just as a luxurious getaway can help restore the spirit, gardens can provide a place for peace and escape – whether a simple backyard garden or magnificently manicured landscapes. Topiary is the ancient art of ornamental gardening, where evergreen shrubs and trees are trimmed and sculpted into fantastical or geometric shapes. One of the world's most magical topiary gardens is within an easy drive north of Rachael's Dowry – Ladew Gardens.
You know it's springtime in Baltimore when Flower Mart returns to Mount Vernon Place. Founded in 1911, it's the Charm City's oldest free public festival. As the name suggests, Flower Mart is a marketplace of vendors offering flowers, plants and all your gardening needs. But wait... there's so much more! Mark your calendar for April 29-30, and come see why Flower Mart has been a Baltimore tradition for 111 years.
You can't visit Baltimore without trying blue crab – Maryland's state crustacean and a Chesapeake Bay delicacy. Blue crabs, with their bright blue claws, are best enjoyed in season and thankfully that's a good portion of the year! Chesapeake crabbing season begins April 1 and runs through December 15, although the biggest, heaviest crabs are typically harvested during the fall months (September to mid-November). Roughly half of the total U.S. blue crab harvest comes from Maryland.
