Baltimore??

Baby_Bunny_Hopeful

I'm planning my mom's 60th birthday celebration... we're thinking of doing a day trip to the Inner Harbor in late May/early June.  

Any suggestions on places to go/things to do during the day? (We have a 2 year old with us and a bunch of adults).  Lunch at a restaurant would be nice too... nothing too fancy... but fun.

Also- we'd like to get her and my dad a nice hotel room for the night... something with a nice view and close to everything, but not crazy $$$.  Suggestions??

Finally- any suggestions on a nice restaurant for dinner?  Maybe with live music (Jazz or Italian, etc)....

TIA!!!

xmaryrickx

Hotels, there is the Marriott waterfront that is lovely. There is also Pier 5 hotel, a Hyatt, the renaissance. Not great views but the tremont grand is spectacular and while not in the inner harbor it's in Mt Vernon which is very nice. For a fancy dinner the Prime Rib is classic and has love piano/jazz musicians. It's very old school with waiters in tuxs and fancypants decor. For fun things to do, the aquarium is pretty awesome and kid friendly. If your mom likes sports and the orioles are playing Camden yards is a great stadium. Super super nice. Look at the visit Maryland website to see if there are any festivals the weekend you are planning to come. Baltimore has some great street festivals throughout the year. Fells point is a fun neighborhood to walk through. Great shopping, tons of restaurants. Same with federal hill, although that's the other side of the harbor so you would need to pick one or the other. In federal hill there is the cross streets market which is fun for lunch. Ft mchenry is also right outside federal hill and is a nice visit of you are into history. If you just stay at the harbor, and don't venture out of that area, I would avoid the restaurants in the two pavilions. They are overpriced tourist traps. Ms. Shirley's is close to the harbor and deeeeelicious. It's family friendly and fun. Especially for brunch. Yum.

sunshine_day_dreams

I love the Rusty Scupper for dinner.  It's right on the inner harbor and has really good seafood.  If you call ahead, you can get a table that overlooks the harbor.

The aquarium is nice for an afternoon, but it always seems to be ridiculously crowded, and the last time we were there (right after Christmas) it was $$$ for a bunch of adults and one kid.

MrsA1210

We've stayed at Pier 5 and the Marriot.  Both were nice, but Pier 5 practically right next to the aquarium and some other inner harbor stuff, which was really convenient.  I liked the aquarium and I think it would be great for kids.  We had a nice brunch at the Rusty Scupper.

McFelix5711

I would suggest using priceline for the hotel. Our friends used it for the weekend of our wedding (which was in May) and got a night at the Renaissance hotel for around $90. They just selected 4 star hotel. Baltimore Waterfront Marriott, Courtyard, Fairfield, Sheraton, and Hyatt are all right at/around the Inner Harbor.

You can walk through the shops in Federall Hill (I recommend Regi's for brunch or lunch) or walk the other direction and head to Harbor East (Teavolve is good for lunch or brunch), then to Fells Point. Lots of affordable places to eat in Fells Point, and some cute shops.

Fort McHenry is good for adults and kids. Port Discovery is great for kids. People watching in the Inner Harbor is always good, and you can take out the little boats in the harbor. There is a park with a playground on Federal Hill, which has great view of the Inner Harbor. There are a bunch of museums - Walters Art Museum, B & O Museum, Museum of Industry, African American History, VIsionary Arts... Also the Aquarium, Port Discovery and the Science Center are good for kids.

McFelix5711

Missed the restaurant suggestions... so many choices there. I agree with PP that Rusty Scupper is a good choice - seafood with great views of the Inner Harbor. Not sure what night you are going, but Germano's in Little Italy has a cabaret show some nights. Amicci's is a more casual place that has decent Italian food with a very family friendly atmosphere. Aldo's and Da Mimmo's are the more expensive, good restaurants in Little Italy, but don't recall music there. La Scala is also supposed to be good, but I haven't actually been.

mavjen

For lunch, check out Faidley's for their awesome crab cakes.  It's in a food market and it's a fun experience.

For dinner, we loved Sabatino's for Italian.  You must have their house salad dressing, it's really addictive.  The food and atmosphere are wonderful.

For any meal, especially breakfast or brunch, we really enjoyed Blue Moon Cafe.

I would check out Camden Yards for an Orioles game.  Great ballpark.