After the holidays, I always feel a little let down. Winter is frequently cold and gloomy in the New York area where my family lives, and I've found that the quickest, easiest remedy to the winter blahs is to take a short vacation. Cities always provide the stimulation and diversion needed to lift the spirits.

There are practical reasons to visit a city in wintertime, as well. There are fewer crowds when it's cold, and hotels frequently offer attractive weekend rates. Museums, theaters, shops and restaurants are all indoors, anyway. Public, indoor athletic facilities are springing up like mushrooms, and you'll really make your kids happy if you choose a hotel with a pool. The bottom line is that cities are exciting and fun, no matter what time of year it is. So, put on your traveling hat and walking shoes and discover the charms of Baltimore, Maryland, the 12th largest city in the U.S.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

My family's first trip to Baltimore was a hurried 24-hour visit to see a temporary exhibit of laser-generated fish images at the National Aquarium. We began in the steamy South American Rain Forest, where we immediately found ourselves in the jungle and on the lookout for endangered golden lion tamarinds and the elusive two-toed sloth. Later, we toured the aquatic exhibits with a curator, who told us how fish mysteriously started disappearing from their tanks at night. It took the staff a long time to finger the culprit, a crafty octopus who snuck out of his own tank when the museum was closed; he now lives behind a net.

The central stingray pool was mobbed at feeding time with museum-goers jostling to see and speak with the divers. We ended our day in the adjoining Marine Mammal Pavilion, where the dolphin demonstration in the amphitheater was refreshingly dignified and didn't have the loud music, inane jokes and carnival atmosphere that accompany many commercial dolphin shows.

We returned the next year for a closer look. Most of the city's major tourist attractions are clustered around the Inner Harbor, but there's a lot more to see in this city. We took a Baltimore Trolley Tour with some other families (it only runs for groups in winter), which gave me a good overview of Baltimore's layout. Since our driver geared his commentary to the adults, the children were mostly inattentive. We drove through Little Italy and over the cobblestone streets of historic Fells Point, past the Walters Art Gallery and fashionable Mount Vernon Square. We saw the campus of Johns Hopkins University; rode by the splendid new home of the Orioles at Camden Yards, not far from the birthplace of Babe Ruth; and got a good look at the vintage locomotives lined up in the yard of the B&O Railroad Museum.

We couldn't resist a return visit to the aquarium to admire the new Atlantic Coral Reef. We also spent a couple of hours at the Maryland Science Center, which is a short ride by water taxi across the Inner Harbor. One of the kids had never been to a planetarium or an IMAX theater, so we did both—it's always as much fun for the grown-ups as for the children. Everyone really liked the traveling LEGO exhibit, and enjoyed building cars and racing them down a ramp.

A new Baltimore attraction that is entertaining for all ages is the American Visionary Art Museum, near the Inner Harbor. This facility features highly individualistic, frequently fantastic works by artists outside the acknowledged mainstream. Among the more striking sculptures in the museum's collection are a towering whirligig by farmer/mechanic Vollis Simpson ("the Calder of the South") and Ben Wilson's wedding altar woven from the limbs of trees.

BALTIMORE CONTACTS

Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association
100 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-659-7300/800-282-6632

National Aquarium
Pier 3, 501 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-576-3800

Maryland Science Center
601 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-685-5225

Baltimore Trolley Tours
227 Cockeysville Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
410-724-0123/800-924-1359

American Visionary Art Museum
800 Key Highway
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-244-1900

BALTIMORE HOTELS

Hyatt Regency Baltimore
Newly renovated and near the Inner Harbor, the Hyatt Regency Baltimore offers double rooms, suitable for a family of four, for $159 to $334 per night. Children under 18 stay free. Call 410-528-1234 or 800-233-1234.

Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
Full of families on weekends, this hotel has a large indoor pool and is directly on the Inner Harbor. Regular room rates are $150 to $269 per night. Children under 18 stay free. Call 410-547-1200.

BALTIMORE FUN FACTS

Baltimore boasts a number of "firsts":

In 1774, the first post office system in the United States was inaugurated by William Goddard.

In 1839, the first dental college in the world, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, was established.

In 1895, the first electric railway locomotive in the world, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, began.

In 1904, the first female professor at a medical school in the United States, Dr. Florence Rena Sabin, began teaching at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Travel writer Joy Anderson has been city-struck since her early childhood in New York City.

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated July 2005.