The Baltimore Museum of Art is located in Charles Village and adjacent to the main campus of John Hopkins University. I was in sync with the sprawling, grand, historic building occupying 222,000 sq. ft.. The museum itself is armed with collections of artistic expression from Asia, Europe, Americas and the Pacific Islands. I must say that I was enthralled with the modern art masterpieces by Matisse, Picasso, Monet, Degas, Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh. My view of such an outstanding collection was 'rock'n'roll' for my eyes.

Terrific museum with a focused collection. The impressionist collection is among the best I've ever seen, particularly the range of work by Matisse. The modern art and African art collections, while not huge, are also great. I appreciated being able to go through the museum, learn about the art from the very well-done curation, and not be overwhelmed by a huge collection. The museum also free admission (at least when I was there), a terrific restaurant (Gertrude's), and a very nice auditorium. Definitely worth a trip, a meal, and a concert if something interesting is playing.

I had a few hours to kill and decided to visit this museum, which is free to enter. There was an exhibition that required a fee. Beautiful works of art, including some big names like Rembrandt, van Dyck, Botticelli, Rodin, etc. The museum's restaurant, Gertrude's, was excellent. I had some raw oysters and crab cakes that were delicious. I highly recommend visiting this museum.

When it comes to places to visit for the pleasures of viewing art collections, Baltimore is certainly not high on the lists of tourists, and in particular, foreign travelers, but should you find yourself in Maryland with a spare afternoon, the European and Modern collections here are surprisingly robust. There is a beautiful Rembrandt portrait of his son Titus that would be the highlight of any collection, several wonderful Venetian works and a strong showing of Dutch Masters. More surprisingly, the Cone sisters, doyennes of Baltimore society at the turn of the century, amassed a spectacular collection of what was then “contemporary” art: Monet, Signac, Seurat and onwards through Matisse including some beloved works by Van Gogh and Picasso. The museum is the number one destination in the city, by my lights.