Baltimore is the 13th largest city in the United States. With a world port, government offices, significant medical and educational institutions, and major tourist attractions, Baltimore is one of the most important cities on the East Coast. Located about an hour northwest of Washington D.C on the Northwest Branch of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore is one of the world's great port cities, and the symbol of its ongoing renaissance is Baltimore's beautiful Inner Harbor, a nexus of shopping and entertainment, which contains the National Aquarium among other sights. Just north of the Inner Harbor is the downtown area, with historical buildings, as well as the grave of Edgar Allan Poe. Fort McHenry, the inspiration behind the national anthem, is on a point just southeast of this area.

The charms of Baltimore's many neighborhoods are renowned. Someone once counted 200 distinct neighborhoods in Baltimore - among them the maritime community of Fells Point, Little Italy and fashionable Mount Vernon Place. The popular neighborhood of Federal Hill was named for a huge celebration the residents held in honor of the ratification of the federal Constitution. The cannon on the hill overlooking the Inner Harbor is a reminder of the Civil War, when federal troops seized the railroads and occupied Baltimore and Annapolis to keep Maryland in the Union and to prevent Washington, D.C., from being surrounded by Confederate states.

Since it was redeveloped in the late 1970s, millions of people have come to see Baltimore's Inner Harbor, where they can ride the elevator 27 stories to the Top of the World Observation Level and Museum in the World Trade Center, explore the inside of the World War II submarine Torsk and visit sharks, dolphins, sea turtles and thousands of other aquatic animals at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Across the harbor, the Maryland Science Center has hands-on exhibits on science. Visitors to the Inner Harbor also can see the Pride of Baltimore II when she is in town. This fast-sailing 160-foot topsail schooner is a replica of the famous Baltimore Clippers, who earned their reputation by capturing hundreds of British merchant ships during the War of 1812. Nearby, in the kid-powered museum, Port Discovery, there are three floors of interactive fun awaiting kids of all ages.

Baltimore also has been a center of art, music, literature and culture for many years. It is home to the oldest music school in the United States, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, as well as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Opera.