Baltimore is a city of contrasts. There is a lot of poverty in and around Baltimore....but there are also amazing parts of the city as well. When I am Baltimore, I usually stay in the Inner Harbor area. This is the tourist area of Baltimore and one of the few places you will not need a car. In fact, when I stay in the Inner Harbor, I usually never get a rental car.
Lining the sides of the harbor itself are a ton of shops and restaurants. You can find anything from the national chains...to restaurants with more of a local flare. Right in the middle of the Inner Harbor is the National Aquarium. Although I have never been inside it myself (why visit it when I have the largest and best aquarium in my hometown of Atlanta!).....but I have been told it is pretty cool inside. Alongside the aquarium are a number of permanently docked US Navy and Coast Guard ships that you can tour. This area also seems to be one of the safest areas of the city as well.
Right next to the Inner Harbor is "Little Italy". This part of Baltimore is filled with one Italian Restaurant after another. On the advice of a local, I went to Sabatino's Italian Restaurant. I was told their house salad dressing was amazing....and their pasta was great as well. I definitely will go back here next time I am in Baltimore. Also....if you like gelato....there are numerous gelato shoppes around "Little Italy".
Since I visited Baltimore last, the city has introduced the downtown/inner harbor "Circulator". This bus system is free and arrives every 10 minutes. There is a north-south line...and an east-west line. The beauty of this system is that the buses are new, very nice, and have GPS systems onboard. These GPS systems let you track (on the Internet) when the next bus will be at your location. Also....most of the bus stops have digital readouts that give you an idea when the next "Circulator" bus will be arriving. Being someone that HATES public transportation (and avoids is like the plague), I actually enjoyed using the Circulator buses.
If you are looking for a gym in the Inner Harbor, there is really only one good option (there used to be two good options...but the Golds Gym at the Inner Harbor closed a month ago). The Maryland Athletic Club (MAC) on President Street is a great new facility. The equipment is all new and the gym is really nice. This is more of a health club than a gym....and the crowd seems pretty metro-sexual (straight).
From talking to gay guys in Baltimore, I get the impression that this is not much of a gay city. Gay guys usually live here because they are in school, work in the city, or have family close by. Most of the guys I talk to would prefer to live in "gayer" cities like DC and NYC....but they are here out of necessity....and not by choice.
