For a special two-part edition of #FrugalCongressTourism for this month, we are going to go to Baltimore, MD in anticipation of the Baltimore Salsa Bachata Congress happening later this month. This first part of the series will be a two-for-one, covering two different very touristy attractions located right in downtown Baltimore, walking distance or a very short drive away from the Hilton Baltimore, where BSBC takes place. The second part of the series, dropping next week, will cover a more off the beaten path attraction located slightly further away from the congress.

The first attraction of this two-for-one entry is the Top of the World Observation Level, located on the top floor of Baltimore’s World Trade Center.

GENERAL INFO:

CITY: Baltimore, MD

ATTRACTION: Top of the World Observation Level

ADDRESS: 401 E. Pratt Street

WEBSITE: http://www.viewbaltimore.org/about

HOURS: Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday/Saturday 10am-7pm

Last tickets sold 30 minutes before closing. Special events affect regular hours, however no special events are scheduled for the weekend of BSBC at press time.

MINIMUM TIME NEEDED TO SEE: about one hour

COST: $6 for adults, $5 for 60+ or military with ID, $4 for children 3-12 years old, free for children under 3

TRAVEL TIMES (ONE WAY)

FROM BALTIMORE SALSA BACHATA CONGRESS: 13 minutes walking, 3 minute drive/UBER/Lyft, 7 minutes on public transit

TRANSIT DIRECTIONS FROM HILTON BALTIMORE:

Walk out of hotel to Pratt St & Howard Street EB – 1265, Take the NAVY or BROWN bust to Pratt Street & Gay Street FS EB, walk back down Pratt Street to the World Trade Center

7 minute trip, $1.80

The Top Of The World Observation deck, located on the 27th floor of Baltimore’s WTC and managed by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, offers breathtaking 360-degree views of downtown Baltimore, MD including the Inner Harbor and the skyline. These views can be taken in either through the windows or provided binocular stations.

Fair warning: bags will be searched at the door. Leaving any nonessential items in your hotel room is advisable.

Due to the relatively early closing time, the downtime between workshops and performances won’t work as a time to see this attraction. If your chosen workshop schedule ends earlier in the afternoon, that would be a good time to see this attraction. As this is a tourist attraction, expect it to be busy at peak hours.

Group tours are available as well.

The second attraction we will cover in this two for one guide is the Baltimore Museum Of Art.

GENERAL INFO:

CITY: Baltimore, MD

ATTRACTION: Baltimore Museum Of Art

ADDRESS:

10 Art Museum Drive

Baltimore, MD 21218

WEBSITE: http://www.artbma.org/

COST: Free for everyone all the time

HOURS:

Gallery:

Thursday: 10am–5pm

Friday: 10am–5pm

Saturday: 10am–5pm

Sunday: 10am–5pm

Monday: closed

Shop:

Thursday: 10am–8pm

Friday: 10am–8pm

Saturday: 10am–8pm

Sunday: 10am–5pm

Monday: closed

MINIMUM TIME NEEDED TO SEE: 1-2 hours

TRAVEL TIMES (ONE WAY)

FROM BALTIMORE SALSA BACHATA CONGRESS: 13 minutes driving/UBER/Lyft, 26 minutes on transit

TRANSIT DIRECTIONS FROM HILTON BALTIMORE:

Walk 8 minutes east from the hotel on Pratt Street to Charles St & Pratt St NB – 121, take the MTA Silver Sv Morgan State University bus to Charles St & 31st St NB – 543, museum is visible from the bus stop.

The Baltimore Museum of Art is an expansive three-level art museum featuring special galleries for Asian art and African art on the first level, American, European, and English sporting art and textiles on the second level, and contemporary art on the second and third levels.

The museum also features a series of special exhibitions on the first and second levels. The special exhibitions that will be running around the time of the 2019 Baltimore Salsa Bachata Congress include, but are not limited to:

DIS | A Good Crisis – a video series on the impact of the 2008 financial crisis

Commons Collaboration: Get Your Life!

Subverting Beauty: African Anti-Aesthetics

Monsters & Myths: Surrealism and War in the 1930s and 1940s

Located directly outside the museum is the beautiful idyllic Janet and Alan Wurtzburger Sculpture Garden and the adjoining Ryda and Robert H Levi Sculpture Garden. These garden are open year-round Wednesday-Sunday 10am to sundown unless there is inclment weather.

The hours page on the website lists detailed rules and policies that apply to both the galleries and the sculpture gardens.

BMA also features a gift shop and Gertrude’s, a cozy restaurant serving chef John Shields’ Chesapeake Bay dishes.

Due to the museum closing in the early evening most days, the morning or during a break in workshops would be the best time to visit.

CONCLUSION:

The Top of the World Observatory and the Baltimore Museum of Art are excellent attractions to see and are both right in downtown Baltimore a short drive away from the Hilton Baltimore.

Museums and observation decks, while excellent and memorable in their own right, are along the lines of what one would expect from tourist attractions in any given city. In the second part of this informal series, we will visit an unexpected very off-the-beaten-path attraction just outside Baltimore City… tune in next week!