Marsden

The “Inner Harbor” is the one absolutely stupid, touristy part of the city, you won’t miss a thing by avoiding it.

Instead, check out Guilford, Sherwood Gardens, Homeland, Roland Park, Dickeyville, Johns Hopkins, Mount Vernon, Federal Hill, Camden Yards, Fells Point, and on and on. Baltimore is full of fascinating neighborhoods, and the first few on this list are also stunningly beautiful.

But yeah, avoid the ghettos, okay? Except for “Great Blacks in Wax” —yep, a wax museum :)

The good parts of Richmond (chiefly the “West End”) are exciting and beautiful. See, for example, Virginia House in the caption. The bad parts (most of the city, unfortunately) can be really scary. So I agree with the boosters and the naysayers both!

Same goes for Baltimore and several other cities, btw. The worst thing about Richmond is that its leaders are in deep denial about the city’s crime epidemic. And until they fix that, nothing’s gonna get better. Sad.

Everything I love about Europe in this one town.

Awesome architecture, civilized public life, a tremendous range of history, great hotels and restaurants, and a heady experience anywhere you like just by walking around.