Maryland

Few states are as closely tied to a single body of water as Maryland is to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. On a vacation in Maryland, you crack blue crabs with a wooden mallet, sail off Annapolis, stroll through Baltimore's harbor district, and head to Ocean City for a day at the beach – and you're never far from Washington.

A Small State with Many Landscapes

Maryland has an odd shape: it wraps around the Chesapeake Bay and stretches as a narrow strip far to the west into the Appalachians. East of the bay lies the Eastern Shore, flat marshland with fishing towns, farms, and wildlife areas such as Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, whose bald eagles draw many photographers. On the Atlantic coast, Assateague Island follows, a barrier island where wild horses graze among the dunes. In the center, around Baltimore and Washington suburbs such as Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville, and Gaithersburg, Maryland is densely populated. In the far west, the mountains turn rugged, with a ski area at Deep Creek Lake and the Potomac River, which forms the border with Virginia.

Baltimore and Annapolis

Baltimore, by far the largest city, transformed its old port into the Inner Harbor in the 1980s. Here you'll find the National Aquarium, historic warships such as the USS Constellation, and promenades leading to neighborhoods like Fells Point, with its cobblestones and harbor pubs. Fort McHenry commemorates the British attack of 1814, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write what later became the national anthem. The American Visionary Art Museum showcases work by self-taught artists, and the baseball stadium Camden Yards is considered a model for many modern ballparks. Edgar Allan Poe lived and died in Baltimore; his grave is in the city. Annapolis, the small state capital, briefly served as the seat of the U.S. Congress in 1783/84. Colonial houses, the oldest state capitol in the country still in legislative use, and the Naval Academy shape the city, which calls itself the "Sailing Capital."

Sights in Maryland

On the Eastern Shore, worthwhile stops include St. Michaels with its Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Oxford with the oldest ferry connection in the U.S., and Smith Island, where watermen still speak an archaic dialect. Ocean City is the classic beach resort, with a boardwalk nearly three miles long where Thrasher's fries and caramel popcorn are sold. Frederick has a lovely old town with antique shops, and not far away lies the Antietam battlefield, where the bloodiest day of the Civil War was fought in 1862. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal along the Potomac is now a bike and hiking trail more than 185 miles long. For water sports enthusiasts and anglers, the bay itself is the biggest attraction.

History in the Borderlands

Maryland was founded in 1634 as a refuge for English Catholics and named after Queen Henrietta Maria. As a border state between North and South, it stayed in the Union during the Civil War even though slavery was practiced there. Two of the best-known fighters against slavery, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, came from the Eastern Shore; a visitor center near Church Creek is dedicated to Tubman's Underground Railroad. For the construction of Washington, D.C., Maryland ceded a large part of the federal district.

Food and Drink

The blue crab is the symbol of the state. In summer, they are steamed, sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning, and served on newspaper, along with beer and corn on the cob. Crab cakes, ideally with as little breading as possible, are the standard dish at every restaurant. Oysters from the bay have also regained importance after years of decline. Smith Island Cake, a cake made of eight to ten thin layers, is the official state dessert. Baltimore's pit beef is a thinly sliced roast beef sandwich with horseradish.

Best Time to Visit and Getting There

Crab season, and thus the best time to visit, runs from May to October; July and August are hot and humid but ideal for the beaches. Fall is quiet and mild. Baltimore/Washington airport (BWI) lies between the two cities and is served by MARC commuter trains and Amtrak; Washington Dulles (IAD) is also nearby. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge connects the mainland with the Eastern Shore.