Baltimore is one of those big-personality cities that demands extensive exploration. Its long list of must-dos for any group includes a range of options, from browsing eclectic gift shops to enjoying a meal of blue crab paired with locally brewed beer.
While Charm City’s quintessential experiences are numerous, five in particular feature the best of what the city has to offer visiting groups: art, food, water and history.
Following are great ideas for an only-in-Baltimore itinerary, including culture, a waterborne excursion, a delicious meal and a visit with some friendly dolphins.
Baltimore Museum of Art
Art lovers in the group will appreciate a stop by the Baltimore Museum of Art, where they can browse an internationally renowned collection of 19th century modern and contemporary art, including works by Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, Auguste Rodin and Alexander Calder, as well as the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world.
On exhibit from Sept. 18, 2013, through Jan. 19, 2014, is Matisse’s Marguerite: Model Daughter, featuring more than 40 prints, drawings, sculpture and paintings of the artist’s daughter compiled from the museum’s own collection and from the artist’s family and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
According to Anne Mannix Brown, the museum’s spokeswoman, the Baltimore Museum of Art is undergoing an extensive phased renovation, which has already unveiled upgrades to the Contemporary Wing, through spring 2015.
“The renovations will help us to better accommodate large groups; we’re looking forward to having more capacity and amenities,” she says, adding that much of this work will be completed in fall 2014.
Though limited during the upgrades, select areas of the museum remain available to rent for corporate receptions, celebrations and dinners. PageBreak
Cruises on the Bay by Watermark
Cruises on the Bay by Watermark offers several outings for groups convening in Baltimore, including the 60-minute National Anthem Tour by Sea, which celebrates the War of 1812 Bicentennial and is running until mid-October in the Baltimore Inner Harbor.
“It tells the story of Francis Scott Key, the Battle of Baltimore and the bombing of Fort McHenry,” says the outfitter’s spokeswoman Katie Pierson. “The Harbor of 1812 is brought to life, while the beauty of the city is experienced from the water—Baltimore is even better from the water!”
She adds that highlights of the narrated tour include cruising past the iconic Domino sugar factory and exploring the banks of Fort McHenry in nearly the exact spot Francis Scott Key was in as he wrote The Star-Spangled Banner.
Interested planners are encouraged to ask about incorporating team-building elements into an outing, and sit-down meals via the area’s top caterers can also be arranged.
Waterfront Kitchen
Waterfront Kitchen in Baltimore’s historic Fells Point offers indoor and outdoor seating and a menu based mainly on ingredients sourced locally, as well as a calendar of events ranging from cooking classes and wine dinners to gardening workshops.
“The restaurant’s view of Baltimore’s harbor is spectacular,” says Executive Chef Jerry Pellegrino. “Whether you dine indoors or outside on the deck, you can see all the way from Canton to the east to the mouth of the Inner Harbor to the west. It really captures the combination of new development and industrial waterfront that is so much a part of this city.”
According to Pelligrino, the eatery takes the concept of local sourcing of ingredients to a level that “transcends the trend,” as there is an on-site urban greenhouse and gardens that provide produce for the restaurant.
“The greenhouse is a wonderful place for special events, like cocktail parties and VIP dinners,” Pellegrino says. “We’ve also held tented parties outdoors for a couple hundred people, intimate dinners indoors in private rooms with a waterfront view, luncheon meetings and just about everything in between.”
There are also year-round cooking classes in the restaurant kitchen and outside on the promenade, weather permitting, and planners should ask about customized classes for groups.
“They are all hands-on, and very relaxed,” Pellegrino says. “People have a lot of fun and enjoy learning to work together to produce the meal. Sometimes we taste as we go along and other times we sit down in the dining room to eat the dishes we’ve made.” PageBreak
National Aquarium
The National Aquarium, a unique place to visit in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, is also the state’s No. 1 tourist attraction, according to Paula Katz, the aquarium’s director of tourism and event sales.
She adds that the aquarium’s sights appeal to groups of all ages.
“Our newest exhibit, Blacktip Reef, is a coral-filled exhibit with almost 1,000 animals replicating an Indo-Pacific reef,” she says. “Guests can experience this colorful exhibit from many vantage points, including our new underwater viewing area, where they can virtually step into the exhibit.”
Among the other popular exhibits are Dolphin Discovery and the award-winning Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes, which features birds and flying foxes soaring overhead, the rumble of thunder and an enveloping mist much like that of a rainy season Down Under.
Katz adds that the National Aquarium offers a variety of spaces for evening group functions, including seated dinners and strolling receptions for small groups of 20 up to groups of 2,500.
“You name it, we can accommodate it,” she says.
Grand Historic Venue
Speaking of event space in Baltimore, there is none more iconic or stylish than the legendary Grand Historic Venue, according to its spokeswoman, Amy O’Connell, who says there are 19 rooms throughout five floors that make truly memorable settings for social events, corporate seminars and business meetings.
“The building was designed and built in 1866 and features a stunning mix of French and Italian architecture and museum-quality interiors,” she says. “Each room has its own unique theme and unmatched display of period detail.”
The Edinburgh room, for example, is designed after a castle in Scotland and is well-suited for ceremonies, and the Oriental room, with its red and gold tones, is perfect for a food-and-beverage event with an Asian theme.
“A truly great event begins and ends with delicious food and be beverage,” O’Connell says. “Our experienced event planners and culinary staff will be happy to work with planners to find the options that work for both the event and the budget.”
Frequent contributor Carolyn Blackburn enjoyed viewing the Matisse collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
