A stroll around Baltimore's world-famous Inner Harbor or a visit to one of the city's assortment of ethnic neighborhoods will immediately show you why Baltimore - the city by the bay - is known as Charm City.

Follow your trip to an Orioles or Ravens game with dinner in near-by Little Italy. Ride a water taxi from the National Aquarium in Baltimore to the hip, historic streets of Canton and Fells Point. Catch a performance at one of the city's many cultural venues - the Meyerhoff, Hippodrome and CENTERSTAGE, to name just several. Take time to see the paintings of Great Masters at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum, or art from a different perspective at the American Visionary Arts Museum.

Baltimore is replete with history and attractions that mirror the story of our country. Fort McHenry, just beyond Federal Hill, is where Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem. At the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, learn how railroads advanced America's westward expansion.

And, at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, come face to face with the heroes who helped to promulgate the civil rights movement. The Reginald F. Lewis Maryland Museum of African American Culture is another good bet.

Baltimore is Maryland's largest city and a popular vacation destination. Nicknamed "Charm City," Baltimore has become a top tourist destination. Baltimore was established by the colonial government in 1729 and thrived as a port city. Today, the city thrives around the original port and inner harbor area. The Inner Harbor is now the city's central tourist location. Throughout the Inner Harbor, visitors will find relics of Baltimore's fascinating maritime history intertwined with a number of contemporary attractions. These include the National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, Port Discovery Children's Museum, the updated Harborplace and The Gallery shopping centers, and the new sports stadiums for the Ravens and Orioles.