The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: June nineteenth, spending 48 hours in Baltimore.

Named for the Baronial title of the Calvert Family, the original English proprietors of Maryland, Baltimore was founded in 1729 on the Patapsco River estuary of Chesapeake Bay. Its bustling harbor quickly made it the Catholic colony's biggest city. A British naval blockade there during the War of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song that has become the National Anthem. The Baltimore and Ohio, the nation's first railroad, was laid down 15 years later, and the city became a national port.

Its fortunes have ebbed and flowed over the years; the whole of downtown went up in flames in 1904. But unlike Washington DC, its scene-stealing sister city 40 miles to the south, Baltimore's developed few pretensions of grandeur. It's been a quirky but pragmatic, hard working place, but one that certainly knows how to enjoy life.

Recent decades have seen it parlay the success of the string of urban renewal attractions around its inner harbor, from the National Aquarium to the Maryland Science Center. Just blocks away, Camden Yards redefined what a baseball field should be, and the new football stadium is home to the Superbowl-reigning Ravens.

Prosperity has also brought better restaurants, nightlife and other amenities to the historic and close-knit neighborhoods that fishhook around the waterfront. Even their names are engaging. Elegant Mount Washington, happening Fell's Point and Ridgely's Delight. A host of other, low key attractions add to Baltimore's somewhat ironic, but well-deserved reputation as Charm City.

This issue of the magazine National Geographic Traveler, a supporter of our program, offers insider suggestions for a Baltimore frolic. You can register for a free sample copy on our homepage.

For information, Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association at 1-888-BALTIMORE (225-8466) or www.baltimore.org.

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