Baltimore Part 2: Tour of Baltimore Sights so far

This second part of my introduction to the time I've spent in Baltimore will give you a guided tour around the sights I have discovered so far.

Just up the road from our apartment, just north of downtown, is Mount Vernon, the historic district of the city. Here you can see the Peabody Institute and library, described as a cathedral for books; the Basilica of the Assumption (the Catholic Cathedral); the Enoch Pratt free library, and Baltimore's Washington monument, the oldest in America. Mount Vernon is also home to several restaurants which I can't wait to try, and some really interesting architecture.

City Hall was one of those sights that I actually had to be shown. Despite seeing several signs for it I never did manage to find it by myself! Tucked into a green square a couple of blocks north of the water, I don't really know how I missed it! It kind of makes me think of Cardiff City Hall in a way:

Down the road, east of City Hall, is the Shot Tower which is pretty fascinating. They used to pour lead down through holes in the tower to make bullets! I think this is probably the closest I've got so far, but it would be cool to visit properly:

A ten minute walk south from home, in the opposite direction to Mount Vernon, is the Inner Harbour. This is the tourist heart of Baltimore, and gets very busy on a sunny day, but I love being so close to the water. The Constellation is one of several ships in the Inner Harbour that can be toured:

Walking south along the western edge of the Inner Harbour, past the Science museum, you get to Federal Hill:

From here you get a great view of the Inner Harbour. The tall buildings on the right are downtown:

And Johns Hopkins hospital on the hill, where N works:

If you walk east along the water from the Constellation you can have a go on these paddle boats, sheltered by Baltimore's world trade centre and with the National Aquarium in the background, one of Baltimore's main attractions:

Continuing past the aquarium you come to Barnes & Noble, a great two-storey bookshop based in an old power plant. I actually ended up in there "accidentally" today when I went for a rainy walk... It's very easily done you know!

If you continue to walk east along the waterfront you eventually reach Fell's Point (about a half hour walk from home), another quaint little area with lots of bars and restaurants to try. And an amazing gelato place which I'm sure I will talk about on more than one occasion in coming posts!

The furthest point I have reached so far is Canton Park, about an hour's walk from home east along the water, and well worth the walk:

As a further point of interest, I couldn't finish a post about the sights of Baltimore without mentioning Domino Sugars, a factory which is difficult to lose sight of if you're walking along the water. That sign must be huge!

Check back soon to find out what I've been doing with myself out here, other than just wandering around!