Baltimore’s Best Excursions

Best Campus Tour [1]: If you think your college’s alumni have racked up some impressive achievements, see how they stack up against the deeds of the men and women of the U.S. Naval Academy [1]. This sprawling, monumental campus is unlike any other school.

Best Civil War History Lesson [2]: It’s a placid, quiet place today, full of dense woods, grassy rolling fields, and split-rail fencing, but Antietam National Battlefield [2] was the site of the bloodiest day of battle during the U.S. Civil War; some 23,000 troops were killed or wounded.

Best Antique Shopping [3]: Bargain and treasure hunters from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and all over the region descend on the well-preserved and well-stocked old warehouses and antique shops of Frederick [3] each weekend.

Best Preserved Theaters: If you’re in Frederick, check the listings for the Weinberg Center for the Arts [4], built in 1926; on the Eastern Shore, Easton’s Avalon Theatre [5] was built in 1921, and hosts bands, solo artists, and more.

Best Small-Town Museum [6]: Working boat-builders, hands-on demonstrations, and living history can be found in the picturesque town of St. Michaels and its Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum [6].

Best Way to Experience Life as a Chesapeake Bay Waterman [7]: Climb aboard the H.M. Krentz or the Rebecca T. Ruark, two still-working Chesapeake Bay oyster boats (called “skipjacks”) that take passengers out on Skipjack Tours [7], and learn about life as an oysterman.