Be careful while driving. On average I witnessed a car speed through a red light in 1 orfevery 3 lights in the downtown area. I don't know why, but you may want to consider taking out insurance on your rental car for this reason. The downtown Inner Harbor area is pretty but very commercial I had hoped to find local seafood restaurants. Camden Yards was gorgeous and enjoyed the "all you can eat" seats.

I found the following activities easy to access and quite worthwhile ways to pass the time while my husband attended a conference.
1. Free Heritage Walk leaving from the Visitor Center at the Inner Harbor.
2. Free docent tour of the Baltimore Basilica.
3. Baltimore Museum of Art, including outdoor sculpture garden, and Walters Art Museum, both free admission.
4. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. Modest admission fee, great docent tours.
Check for days & hours on their websites.
I also found that the bus system was simple to use and affordable, and locals were friendly.

My daughter was accepted into MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) located on Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore. Being from the midwest, the east coast environment along with not knowing the city was difficult to figure out. After 3 days of moving her into the dorm and walking around meeting people, I thought perhaps I could help someone else out needing advice to avoid some of the problems we had. First and foremost, if renting a car, get the optional GPS. Bless the person who invented these. I spent hours upon hours of driving around in circles, and then once I rode in a car with another parent who had a GPS, it was a slice of heaven. Second, stay in the Mount Vernon area and also that area that leads south towards the harbor. Stay AWAY from the west side of MICA, it is Bolton Hill, and it is a ghetto area. Third, every parent who had to make purchases for their college student (out of towner's) had great difficulty making these purchases because all of the local stores were out of everything (there's like 13 colleges in that area, so you can imagine. By pure accident, (I was lost) I ended up heading south of 95 (or 295?), then on W100 (towards Elliot City), got off on Stoneybrook Drive, pulled into a pub (I will have to find better directions and edit this!). I walked into the pub which was an excellent restraunt by the way, exasperated, hungry, frustrated beyond, and tired. The manager sat down with us and told us that there was a Target and Pier 1 imports just one mile down the road. OH MY GOSH. She was wonderful. We completed our dining, our shopping, and everything came together. It's just not that far of a drive to get your shopping done.
Otherwise, I loved the city! Early one morning I walked down Cathedral St and couldn't believe the beautiful statues, monuments, landscaping, buildings. Everyone was very friendly (at 8 AM:) I would not have walked around at night by meself though.
Next note. We stayed at the Abacrombie Bed and Breakfast, as it was 1/2 mile away from MICA. I will not recommend it. Many MICA parents were there, and it was nice to meet so many of them, but the facility is rather run down. The continental breakfast was just that; fruit, cereal and english muffins. The gentleman would never leave a carafe of coffee, so we were constantly waiting for him to bring more. There was one newspaper to share amongst the guests. My room, 302, had no deadbolt. Another couple and I had a good laugh because early the morning we were leaving, their bed broke. They asked for a discount on their ticket, and none was given. The best thing about the Abacrombie was the free parking in a parking lot next to the B&B. Good and bad happened...yes we were lost, but it gave us great opportunity to meet wonderful, helpful people. Yes we were lost in the ghetto area, but we learned not to go that direction again.
If anyone else has advice on where to stay next time, I would appreciate it!

Truly a filthy, over-priced, crime-ridden hole. Don't wander accidentally onto the wrong street, day or night, or you will be a victim of a crime. With the exception of the tourist traps, the city is horrendously dirty and the gangs and criminals run the streets. Thinking of moving here? Have a 6 figure job or you're stuck in 3rd world schools with students who attack teachers. Plan to lock yourselves in your car, hotel or home. Food is OK. I hear the nightlife is OK for those young and daring enough to go out.