Baltimore: Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour

Things to do on the Tour Include:

• Baltimore Visitor Center

  Welcome to Baltimore! This historic city is jam-packed with famous residents and thrilling stories. You’ll hear plenty about both during our tour.

• Parking Near Baltimore Harbor

  Tourists flock to Inner Harbor to visit the National Aquarium, home to sea creatures like sea turtles, dolphins, and electric eels, and the Maryland Science Center, which features an observatory and planetarium. Views of the city are expansive from the Top of the World Observation Level, and a fleet of ancient warships is on display below. The former power plant that now houses the clubs, restaurants, and music venues known as "Power Plant Live!"

• Baltimore Harbor

  The USS Constellation (CV-64) is a supercarrier of the Kitty Hawk class and the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the "new constellation of stars" on the American flag.

• USS Constellation

  "Relocated from a Patapsco River shoal, this 1855 screw-top lighthouse is preserved as a museum.On the pier to your right sits the National Aquarium, which opened in 1981. Home to over 20,000 animals of more than 800 different species, there’s no shortage of attractions inside. In fact, it’s the largest paid tourist attraction in the entire state of Maryland!"

• National Aquarium

  Relocated from a Patapsco River shoal, this 1855 screw-top lighthouse is preserved as a museum.

• Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse

  Mr. Waste Wheel, or the Inner Harbor Water Wheel as it is formally known, is a trash interceptor that works to clean up the Jones Falls River before it flows into Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

• Mr Trash Wheel

  There is a memorial in Baltimore, Maryland called the National Katy Memorial, which honors the memory of those who perished in the Soviet-led slaughter of Polish civilians in Katyn in 1940. The Polish-American community in Baltimore played a crucial role in the monument's creation.

• Head back To Car

  "You might already be familiar with Frederick Douglass’s abolitionist work, but did you know he was also a staunch advocate for women’s rights? Douglass believed “Right is of no sex, truth is of no color.” In 1848, Douglass attended the First Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Here, he met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and committed himself to their cause. While touring the country advocating for abolition, Douglass also began arguing for women’s rights. He called for all Americans, no matter their race or sex, to be granted the right to vote."

• Turn Right on E Pratt Street

  This Colonial-era drinking place serves up drinks, pub grub, and weekly live music to its patrons.

• Continue Straight

  Originally founded as an independent town in 1763, Fells Point still retains much of its historic appearance. Back in the days of Frederick Douglass, this was home to a large number of free and enslaved African Americans. Many of them worked at the ship port like Douglass, and the cheap houses here were all they could afford.

• Turn Right on President street

  "You might already be familiar with Frederick Douglass’s abolitionist work, but did you know he was also a staunch advocate for women’s rights? Douglass believed “Right is of no sex, truth is of no color.” In 1848, Douglass attended the First Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Here, he met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and committed himself to their cause. While touring the country advocating for abolition, Douglass also began arguing for women’s rights. He called for all Americans, no matter their race or sex, to be granted the right to vote."

• National Katyn Memorial

  "Lewis was an African American businessman and one of the wealthiest people in the country during the 1980s. Born and raised in Baltimore, Lewis went to college in Virginia on a football scholarship. After graduating, he attended a summer program for students interested in Harvard Law School. While there, he impressed the faculty so much that they invited him to attend the school in the fall — making him the first person ever accepted to Harvard without even applying! * "

• Roundabout Ahead: Fourth Exit

  "It’s hard to miss Baltimore City Hall, that regal structure just ahead. Shortly after its completion, this was the site of a violent altercation between two Baltimore politicians. In 1883, James Busey and William Harig, both democrats, got into a heated political argument just outside the city hall. Harig, punched Busey. The two brawled, then sprang away and simultaneously drew pistols. Both men began firing wildly, but Harig’s aim was much better than Busey’s. Four bullets hit Busey in the chest, killing him. Constables arrived and arrested Harig for murder."

• The “Paris of America”

  "This pillar ahead is Baltimore’s Washington Monument. It might remind you of another Washington Monument… a slightly more famous one in a little town called D.C. Believe it or not, though, this isn’t actually a copycat! In fact, this was the very first major monument to honor George Washington. The architect, Robert Mills, just liked the design so much he decided to use it again in D.C.--only much bigger, of course. "

• Find Parking on the left

  "In the 1930s, this gravestone started seeing a mysterious visitor. On January 19th, Poe’s birthday, a man appeared at the marker wearing all black, a wide-brimmed hat, and a white scarf to hide his face. He poured himself a glass of cognac and toasted Poe’s grave. Then he left three roses and the unfinished bottle and disappeared. The man returned the following year, and the year after that. The so-called “Poe Toaster” arrived at odd hours, usually under cover of darkness, and fled before anyone could discover his identity. "

• Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park

  "The narrow, three-story brick house coming up on your right is also named for a historical figure, but one of a very different sort. This is the H. L. Mencken House, named for the journalist most famous for covering the so-called “monkey trial.” "

• The Horse You Came In On Saloon

  "That brick structure on your left is the birthplace of another iconic American: Babe Ruth. Although he would achieve superstardom as a member of the New York Yankees, Ruth’s early years in Baltimore made him the man he later became. His father ran a shabby saloon in a bad part of town, and his mother was often ill. Neither parent was able to look after Ruth much, so he spent most of his time wandering the city streets."

• Fells Point

  On your right is Federal Hill Park. Now a quiet, peaceful bit of green space amid the urban sprawl, this one served as an important military lookout point. The hilltop was the perfect spot to keep an eye out for approaching ships--something which certainly came in handy during the War of 1812.

• Frederick Douglass, Women's Rights and Abraham Lincoln

  Francis Scott Key was so moved by the sight of the American flag flying over Fort McHenry that he scribbled a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. This poem would later become the national anthem. Here is the original text of that poem, just as Key wrote it on that fateful morning:

• Back to the car

  The Port Discovery Children's Museum serves the Baltimore, Maryland community as a non-profit organization in the city's historic Fish Market building. At 80,000 square feet, it features three stories packed with exhibits and events made to encourage children to learn by doing and having fun.

• Douglass Place

  "Let’s return to Edgar Allan Poe. See that big brick hospital off to your right? That’s Church Home and Hospital, the site where Poe drew his last breath. Poe’s death remains mysterious to this day, but here’s what we know about it: In September of 1849, Poe boarded a train in Richmond bound for Philadelphia. He was supposed to meet a poet in Philadelphia to do some editing work, but he never showed up. For some reason, he never made it to Philadelphia at all, and nobody knew his whereabouts for the next week."

• Reginald F. Lewis Museum

  "Off to the right here, a little way down North Paca Street is the Mother Seton House. It’s most famous for being the temporary residence of Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born person to ever be canonized as a saint. Seton was born in New York City in 1774 to an Episcopalian family and lived there for most of her youth. When her husband fell gravely ill with tuberculosis, however, she moved with him to Italy’s warmer climate for his health. It proved to be a fateful decision because it was in Italy that Seton discovered Catholicism. Her husband died shortly after the move, and she dedicated herself to her newfound religion."

• Turn Left on East Fayette Street

  The Mount Clare Museum House, formerly known as the Mount Clare Mansion, is the oldest surviving building from the Colonial era in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. A plantation home in the Georgian style displays a five-part layout that is slightly modified from the traditional layout.

• Baltimore City Hall

  The Mount Clare Museum House, formerly known as the Mount Clare Mansion, is the oldest surviving building from the Colonial era in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. A plantation home in the Georgian style displays a five-part layout that is slightly modified from the traditional layout.

• Washington Monument

  When it was opened on July 4, 1953, it was known as the Baltimore & Ohio Transportation Museum, but it was renamed the B&O Train Museum to better reflect its focus on vintage railroad equipment.

• Poe's Grave and the Poe Toaster

  You can see Major League Baseball games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, also known as simply Oriole Park or Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the first "retro" big league ballpark, and home to the Baltimore Orioles, built in the 1990s and early 2000s.