It came as a surprise to me that Baltimore Attractions are very very photogenic. This was an unexpected delight. I hadn’t done any research before going on photographic attractions in Baltimore but they just kept presenting themselves and before I knew it I had a couple of weeks’ worth of Instagram posts from my Baltimore sightseeing.

From Sherwood Gardens to Pierces Park to the Paper Moon Diner there are so many Instagrammable places to visit in Baltimore. Here are my 10 most Instagram worthy Baltimore Attractions:

1. Baltimore Attractions – Graffiti Alley

I love a bit of street art – so photogenic! For Baltimore graffiti artists there is only one area of the entire city where it is legal for them to practice their trade – otherwise, they face up to 3 years in prison or a $2,500 fine.

Baltimore Graffiti Alley is located a bit north-west of Penn Station behind The Motor House Theatre and one of the Baltimore Points of Interest.

Graffiti Alley Baltimore

Baltimore Graffiti Alley is not the most fantastic area so I suggest getting an uber to the Baltimore Maryland Motor House Theatre and then the same thing to exit when you are done. Prior to its renaissance as Graffiti Alley, this area was best known for heroin addicts and prostitutes.

When you get out at the Motor House Theatre Baltimore Graffiti Alley is literally behind the theatre. Head onto the main street and walk down and on your right, you will see a gate (which won’t be locked) and what is very obviously a large amount of Baltimore Graffiti.

The area was purchased by Graffiti Warehouse and it was their decision to allow the area to be a haven for local artists. The entire L shaped area is regularly repainted and everything from the floor to the rubbish bins are covered in graffiti.

It is now one of the Baltimore Maryland attractions focussed on the arts. As someone from Melbourne, this reminded me of Hosier Lane – but there were far fewer tourists! I got some great shots here and highly recommend adding Graffiti Alley to your sightseeing in Baltimore list.

⇒ Fantastic philadelphia is not far from Baltimore and just as photogenic! Check out my post on the 20 Most Instagrammable Places to visit in Philadelphia and the best Philadelphia Food Tours.

2. Hampden

Formerly a blue-collar community Hampden is now the hipster place to be. Hampden has some gorgeous streets with super cute brick rowhouses. I started my visit to Hampden at the fantastic Artifact Coffee.

It is a little tucked away to find (thank goodness for uber!) but was well worth it as the coffee was brilliant! And don’t miss my post on the best coffee shops Baltimore has on offer!

From Artifact, I then did the 15-minute walk to “The Avenue” or West 36th street which is the main thoroughfare of Hampden. There are loads of super cute shops, cafes and interesting murals in this stretch. Don’t miss some of the fabulously names shops like a Ma Petite Shoe.

Over the yoga studio is one of circa 30 “Love” Murals that are throughout Baltimore. Four separate hands spell out the letters of love. One of the fun things to do in Baltimore is to track down as many of these Love murals as possible.

Advice for the residents of Charm City

Café Hon is one of the best-known spots on the street due to great food and its giant pink flamingo adornment. As you head down west 36th you will see the Charmery on your right, a deliciously upmarket ice cream store.

Walk down the road it is on the corner of and you will see these gorgeous blue walls and a well known Hampden local mural “Stay Humble Baltimore”.

3. The Painted Ladies Baltimore

Charles Village is a lovely Baltimore neighbourhood and the home of the world-famous John Hopkins University. The majority of the area is 2 and 3 level row houses.

In 1998 residents of the area were given the challenge to paint the facades of their homes in unusual colours and within 5 years more than 100 “painted ladies” appeared in the neighborhood. The Painted Ladies are now one of the popular Baltimore MD attractions.

The Painted Ladies of Baltimore

The entire thing was actually a competition which finished in 2003 but the Painted Ladies Baltimore remain and hopefully, the competition may happen again! A great place to come and take photos when you visit Baltimore.

More Painted Ladies houses

The Painted Ladies appear throughout the area, particularly in the sub-area of Charles Village known as Abell and on Guilford and North Calvert Streets. I took all my shots on North Calvert between 26th and 30th streets – do let me know if you find a more prime patch!

⇒ Canada has some very Instagram friendly cities – check out my post on 17 Instagrammable & Fun Things to do in Ottawa and Outaouais and the 26 most Instagrammable things to do in New Brunswick.

4. American Visionary Art Museum

This is a hard museum to describe! Let’s start with the fact that it is in a rather extraordinary building. The home of the American Visionary Art Museum is a mix of mosaics and bricks and glass and stunning features and wow there is just a lot of stuff going on – including a glass tree on the sidewalk!

The colourful exterior of the American Visionary Art Museum

Quack!

Once inside the American Art Visionary Museum there are multiple insta worth exhibits from glass bunnies to the helpful duck in a tie to Mae west to my favourites – the amazing over the top floats of the Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race (May 5). This was one of my favourite places to see in Baltimore.

5. Sherwood Gardens

I was lucky enough to visit in the spring and gosh was the Sherwood Gardens Baltimore in bloom! This is Baltimore’s Keukenhof! The Sherwood gardens are a privately owned community park and free to visit.

Sherwood Gardens are best known for their spring tulips but also do beautiful plant things all year round.

The Sherwood Gardens are surrounded by stunning homes that can add to your photos! I visited late April and I can’t imagine it gets better in terms of capturing the blossoms and the many many stunningly gorgeous tulips.

⇒ If you love coffee as much as I do check out my post on the top Coffee Shops Baltimore.

Colourful tulips in bloom

Again – Sherwood Gardens is not the easiest place to visit so an uber in and out works well. Sherwood Gardens is one of the prettiest places in Baltimore.

6. Pierces Park

I literally wondered across Pierces Park as I was walking the length of the Baltimore Inner Harbor. I think it is mostly frequented by local families.

When I visited Pierces Park there was a gorgeous silver horn sculpture (very photogenic) and what appeared to be other art installations in progress.

Sculpture in Pierces’s Park

However, I most liked the fantastic outdoor giant silver xylophones or musical fence at Pierces Park Baltimore. There are actual “utensils” (I don’t know what to call them!!!) in little buckets under the fences and you are able to essentially play the fences. And you know what – even with no idea the sound is quite pleasant! One of the lovely Baltimore places to visit.

7. Baltimore Aquarium

Like the American Visionary Art Museum, the National Aquarium is Insta friendly inside and out and one of the major Baltimore Inner Harbor attractions.

Let’s start outside the National Aquarium. The buildings are stunning. A mix of strong primary colours and steel they can be nicely captured either literally in front of them and outside or from the opposite side of the harbour or water taxi.

My favourite shots of the ones I took were literally walking around the harbour just underneath the National Aquarium Maryland.

Once inside the aquarium there is a visitor centre with lots of info about what to do and trip ideas for your visit to the aquarium. Once inside I found the jellies the most Instagram friendly of the animals at the Baltimore Aquarium.

The blue background shots were taken holding the camera up on the glass. I also really liked the jelly display they had hanging over the cafeteria area.

There are of course also dolphins etc and so much more at the National Aquarium but it was the jellies that really stood out for my camera. This is a don’t miss it Baltimore tourism attraction!

⇒ Heading south to Las vegas? Check out my post on 25 Fantastic Things to do in Vegas besides gamble.

8. Fell’s Point

Fell’s Point is a lovely neighborhood on the harbour just past the Inner Harbour area. It is filled with stunning red brick houses and a mix of local colour and cute shops.

Head to Broadway Market to try Sofia’s delicious Pierogi – the pure cheese flavor was my favourite. Walk along South Broadway down to Thames Street and take a left.

⇒ Heading to NYC? Check out my post on 8 Fun Things to do in Lower Manhattan.

Everywhere you look will be gorgeous buildings, colourful and eclectic shops and interesting cafes. There were a few random street art installations in Fell’s Point whilst I was there which are always fantastic for photography! They were mostly located on Thames Street.

Wandering the streets of Fell’s Point is one of the nicest Baltimore things to do.

9. Peabody Institute

What is the Peabody Institute? It is the oldest conservatory in America and part of John Hopkins University. This beautiful building is currently housing students and concerts but you can gain access to several areas.

There are tours of the Peabody Institute which can be pre-booked (3 days in advance is recommended). There is also a brochure that allows you to do a self-guided tour. The windows and staircases are particularly lovely. One of the architectural things to do in Baltimore Maryland.

A beautiful staircase in the Peabody Institute

I do love a spiral staircase!

10. Paper Moon Diner

The unusual and colourful Paper Moon Diner is not far from the Charles Village area. It is very close to the fantastic R.house which is warehouse housing about 10 different and interesting little food places.

It is very easy to walk to the Paper Moon Café from R.house and then continue on walking to the Painted Ladies. The Paper Moon Diner is one of the most colourful Baltimore Maryland tourist attractions!

A blue woman sitting in the front of the Paper Moon Diner

The Paper Moon cafe has a broad menu – everything from vegetarian and vegan options to meat feasts. Try some of their more unusual meal options like the Bacon Milkshake or Deep Fried Ravioli.

The colourful exterior of the paper moon diner

I am sure there are many more Instagram worthy places to visit in Baltimore Maryland. Please do email me if you find any more so I can add them in!

⇒ Hungry? Check out my post on the Baltimore Food Tour: How to Eat the Best of Baltimore.

⇒ If you want to learn more about Baltimore check out more things like the Science Centre, African American History in Baltimore, Fort Mchenry National, lots more history and some interesting profile reading of well-known people from the area on the official Baltimore Tourism website.

Plan Your Day Going Insta Mad with this Map of Baltimore Instagram worth tourist attractions!:

Boutique Hotels in Baltimore

I had a wonderful stay in Baltimore at the fantastic Hotel Indigo. The hotel has a fantastic location in the Mount Vernon area – it was very easy to get everywhere.

The rooms at Hotel Indigo Baltimore are beautifully decorated and the hotel itself offers multiple Instagram opportunities! And if you’re looking for things to do in Baltimore at night they have a great bar and restaurant.

⇒ Read my review of Hotel Indigo Baltimore

⇒ Read more reviews of Hotel Indigo on TripAdvisor ⇒ Book Now

More fun items from the American Visionary Art Museum

If you’d like to stay in lovely Fell’s Point check out the Admiral Fell Inn

⇒ Read reviews on TripAdvisor ⇒ Book now

For something different checkout Gramercy Mansion, a 1902 English Tudor house on 45 acres just outside Baltimore.

⇒ Read reviews on TripAdvisor ⇒ Book now

Shortcut Travel Toolkit Ready to Book? Here are my travel favourites: ⇒ For accommodation Booking.com – great prices, great clear layout of accommodation options & brilliant for cancellation (& good photos!) ⇒ Or feel like a local by staying at an airbnb or having one of their great local experiences Airbnb ⇒ For flights skyscanner.net – always have the cheapest prices and great tools to help easily figure out if it would be better to leave the day before etc ⇒ For car hire rentalcars.com – huge range of options and a price match guarantee ⇒ Every trip is improved if you know at least a little bit of the local language – Rosetta Stone is the best and often have great getting started deals. ⇒ Skip the Line tours – Viator have over 14,000 of these – I am always so happy when I have pre-booked one of these! And you can cancel most Viator tours with full money back if you’re more than 24 hours out ⇒ And finally and super important – Roam Right for Travel Insurance have an excellent rating and lots of choice. I particularly like their policies that just cover medical or car rental. They also have great options for adventurous travellers.

Getting to Baltimore and Getting Around

The main airport for Baltimore is BWI which is an international airport. However, there are other options. Penn station has easy connections to new york City, Washington DC and many others.

It is also possible to use the main international airport in Washington DC as an entry and exit point but remember it is about 40 miles away so you will need to adjust for time.

⇒ Flights to Baltimore

⇒ If you’re planning a trip to the US and thinking about flying premium economy – which is a great idea – check out my reviews and comparisons of American Airlines Premium Economy 777 , Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy Review and British Airways World Traveller Plus Review.

Baltimore is quite walkable around the harbour area. Walking from the American Visionary Museum to the National Aquarium, for example, takes only about 15 minutes. Or take a Baltimore water taxi!

However, once you are away from the harbour I used Ubers to get around.

⇒ Interested in heading to California? Check out my posts on Unique Restaurants in San Francisco, things to do in Calistoga, my review of the great Solage Spa, visiting Yosemite in One Day, and in Yosemite in October and my guide to a Livermore Wine Tasting.

Who Paid for What with this Post

I paid for my return flights from London to Baltimore. Visit Baltimore covered my accommodation, most of my meals and my activities whilst I was in Baltimore – thanks guys! But as always, my opinions are my own.

And this post does contain affiliate links. That means that if you click through on them and make a purchase I may well receive a small commission. I just wanted to make sure that you knew.

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