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Swell places to visit in Baltimore City: Get In On It, Y'all
National Aquarium: I know this is an obvious choice, but damn, I love the Aquarium! I really wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a kid (before I realized that I sucked at both science and math) so this was always my favorite place to be--but even after hundreds of visits, it never lets me down. Aside from the obvious marine life (including sharks, rays, and dolphins!!!), they have these crazy open-air habitat recreations: one of the rainforest, and one of the Australian outback. It's so excellent. I think it's like $20, which isn't cheap, but if you're on a budget you can try and take advantage of the Friday night special: $5 admission after 5pm. (Attached are some photos of us at the aquarium. They don't do it justice.)
American Visionary Art Museum: Yes, there's the BMA and the Walters, but if you have to pick one art museum to visit and you want an experience that you can't get anywhere but in Baltimore, go with AVAM. According to its website, visionary art is "art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself." Often, this vision manifests itself in works by those who you'll never get to see in typical art museums: incarcerated convicts, schizophrenics, the homeless, and so on. It's a wake-up call for anyone who believes that being an artist requires a piece of paper from a fancy institution.
The Charles Theatre and/or the Senator Theatre:
The two best places to catch a movie in Bmore. The Charles is an excellent independent movie theatre showing consistently great films--often I'll pick something I've never heard of and just give it a whirl. The Senator is a super cool "historic landmark" with a really big screen. (I went to midnight showings of all three "Lord of the Rings" movies there- because I am a big nerd.)
