Enjoying a Day in Baltimore, Maryland

If you like having one of the best views in the city, the best food in the city and daytime entertainment within walking distance to your hotel, you might want to stay at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel and stroll along Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Then end the day with dinner at Charleston Restaurant (or Cinghiale if that's not available). Just a suggestion.

This historic harbor begins near the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River and includes the waters past the Rusty Scupper restaurant. In 1814 a rather monumental battle against the British was fought, in part, near here. The last existing American Civil War-era naval vessel, the U.S.S. Constellation, fires its cannons daily, away from the harbor, and tours are available. Other daytime activities include the Maryland Science Center, pub grub restaurants, homemade fudge, shopping, jugglers, a children's Urban Pirate ship cruise, and the National Aquarium - all within a 15 minute walk of one another.

Now showing at the science center is "Hubble 3D," as well as hands-on exhibits for children. You have to buy an admission ticket to the science center, which will set you back $16.70 per adult, in order to purchase an $8 IMAX Theater ticket. However, The Urban Pirate Ship is the perfect one-hour excursion for weary parents. These entertainers keep the children of all ages busy with activities from departure to docking. And the long-awaited National Aquarium ticket is a good idea for children over the age 4 but under the age of 18. Anyone who has even a moderate interest in the sea will find it a good investment of time and money until the crowds take over in the late afternoon.

Most of the eateries along the harbor offer outdoor seating, but plan to wait a while on a sunny day. Places like M&S Grill and J. Paul's have great outdoor seating if you enjoy people watching and bird feeding. The $13 crab slider appetizer price at J. Paul's seemed a bit high for little crab meat, so you might want to go for the crab sandwich instead for the same price. (But I highly recommend saving room for dinner.)

Just a few minutes walk from the National Aquarium is the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. This new towering splendor was built by H&S Properties Development Corp. and opened in 2001. At this price point, this is the type of quality and location guests should expect at such a destination. The grand ivory entrance, the friendly staff and their cozy lobby bar, are indicative of the overall quality of the hotel. The view from the corner rooms near the top of this hotel are the best of the inner harbor, hands down.

At night the wall o' windows looks down over a bright skyline. The weekend we were there, the hotel was hosting a wedding for over 700 people. The staff worked to communicate to its other guests that heavy volume at check was expected. Parking costs $38 at the hotel, which is completely reasonable since odds are you won't need your car during your stay and local garages would charge about $10 a day without overnight parking. Whatever you do, don't take the price of valet parking out on the attendants like I saw some guests do. Those poor guys did not set these prices.

A few blocks from the Marriott are two restaurants worth their own article: Cinghiale and Charleston. Since I can't fit enough good things into this review, I'm going to write a separate piece because these restaurants are destinations in their own right. I'm glad I made my reservations for Cinghiale's Osteria dining area about four weeks in advance. At 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, they were packed. And now I know why.