Getting Around Baltimore: A Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Transportation Guide

Getting Around Baltimore, One Neighborhood at a Time

Baltimore rewards visitors who understand that it is less one downtown than a ring of neighborhoods around a harbor. Each has its own street pattern, its own parking situation and its own best way in and out. This guide walks through the areas visitors and business travelers ask us about most, then covers transit, Penn Station and the run to BWI Marshall Airport.

The Transit Picture in Brief

Baltimore's transit is useful on certain corridors and thin on others, so it helps to know the shape of it.

• Light RailLink runs north to south through the city along Howard Street, linking the northern suburbs with downtown, the Convention Center, Camden Yards and, at its southern end, BWI Airport and Glen Burnie.
• Metro SubwayLink is a single line running from Owings Mills in the northwest through downtown to Johns Hopkins Hospital on the east side.
• Charm City Circulator is a city-run shuttle bus with several routes through downtown and nearby neighborhoods. Routes and hours change from time to time, so check the current map.
• Water taxi service connects landings around the harbor, including the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Canton and Federal Hill. It is as much an experience as a commute.
• Local buses fill in everywhere else.

The key limitation: the waterfront neighborhoods east of downtown are not on either rail line. For those, you will be walking, taking a bus or Circulator, using the water taxi, or riding in a car.

Inner Harbor and Downtown

This is the most transit-friendly part of the city, with Light RailLink, Metro SubwayLink and the Circulator all close by. The Convention Center, the major hotels, the National Aquarium and the office towers along Pratt and Light streets are within walking distance of each other. Parking is almost entirely in garages, and rates climb on event days. Pratt and Lombard are the main one-way east-west pair, and they slow noticeably at rush hour and whenever a game or convention lets out. Hotels here have proper porte-cocheres or loading zones, which makes chauffeured pickups simple.

Harbor East

Just east of the Inner Harbor, Harbor East is a compact district of corporate offices, upscale hotels, restaurants and shops. It is walkable from downtown along the waterfront promenade, but it has no rail stop. Parking is in garages, and the streets around the central traffic circle get congested at dinner time. For business visitors, a car dropped at the hotel entrance is the path of least resistance. Our Baltimore limo service page covers corporate and hotel pickups here.

Fells Point

Fells Point is one of the oldest parts of the city, and it shows in the best way: Belgian block streets, narrow lanes and rowhouses near the water. It also shows in the parking. Street spaces are scarce on weekend evenings, many blocks have residential permit restrictions, and the stone paving is hard on rolling luggage and dress shoes. This is a neighborhood where being dropped at the door of the restaurant is a real advantage. For a night out, decide on your ride home before the evening begins.

Canton

Farther east along the waterfront, Canton centers on O'Donnell Square and the residential blocks around it. It is primarily a neighborhood of rowhouses, with restaurants and bars around the square and along the water. There is no rail service. Street parking is possible but competitive in the evening. Boston Street is the main route in from downtown, and Canton has comparatively quick access to I-95 and I-895 for trips out of the city.

Federal Hill

South of the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill combines a famous park overlooking the skyline with a dense grid of rowhouses, the Cross Street Market and a busy bar and restaurant scene. Streets are narrow and residential permit parking is widely enforced. On Ravens and Orioles game days, the neighborhood absorbs a share of stadium traffic and parking demand, so allow extra time. Its location near I-95 and I-395 makes it one of the easier neighborhoods to reach from the airport.

Mount Vernon

North of downtown along Charles Street, Mount Vernon is the city's cultural district: the Washington Monument, the Walters Art Museum, the Peabody Institute and a concentration of historic architecture. Charles Street runs one-way northbound and St. Paul Street one-way southbound, which is worth knowing when you give directions. Penn Station sits at the northern edge of the neighborhood. Parking is a mix of meters and garages.

Hampden

Hampden lies northwest of the center, and its heart is West 36th Street, known locally as The Avenue, lined with independent shops and restaurants. The Jones Falls Expressway (I-83) is the fast route from downtown. Parking is mostly on the street and fills up on weekends and during neighborhood festivals. It is a little removed from the rail network, so most visitors arrive by car.

The Stadiums

Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium stand next to each other on the southwest edge of downtown, where I-395 delivers traffic from I-95. Light RailLink stops beside them, which makes it a popular game-day choice. Driving means pre-purchased lot parking if you can get it, garage parking downtown and a walk if you cannot. After the final whistle, expect slow traffic and busy rideshare pickup areas. A pre-arranged pickup at an agreed spot a few blocks away is often the quickest way out. See our pages for Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium and Baltimore sports transportation.

Penn Station: Amtrak and MARC

Baltimore Penn Station is on the Northeast Corridor, served by Amtrak and by MARC Penn Line commuter trains toward Washington. It is north of downtown rather than in it, so most travelers need a short onward ride to the harbor hotels. Local buses and the Circulator serve the station, and taxis and rideshare are available out front. If you are arriving with luggage for a meeting, a chauffeur waiting at the station removes the last uncertain leg. For intercity trips by road, see Baltimore to Washington DC.

The Run to BWI

BWI Marshall is roughly ten miles south of downtown. The standard route is the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD-295) to I-195, which leads straight to the terminal. I-95 to I-195 is the alternative when the parkway is slow. Outside rush hour it is a short drive; on weekday afternoons and on game days, allow more. Light RailLink also runs from downtown to the terminal for travelers with light bags and flexible timing.

BWI Chauffeur provides flat-rate transfers between any Baltimore neighborhood and the airport, with real-time flight tracking and 45 minutes of complimentary wait on domestic arrivals, 60 on international. The BWI corridor guide covers the airport area itself, and the airport transportation guide compares BWI with DCA and IAD.

Book online or call 877-609-1919 for a confirmed rate.