Baltimore's reputation as a dangerous city was cemented internationally by the HBO series The Wire, and this is not far from the truth. Its nickname, the "Charm City", has been updated by local cynics as the "Harm City," and you can probably find an I *heart* Baltimore t-shirt for sale in which the heart is made of guns and knives. An even less inviting nickname of recent years is the grisly "Bodymore." This reputation is in no small part due to its very high murder rate and its status as a major transit point for drugs. The reputation is warranted, but the average traveler should not get overly concerned. The high murder rate needs to be informed by the awful context that nearly all the homicides in the city are of young black men?most of them just in their teens?located in parts of the city that few travelers have ever laid eyes upon. Most crime occurs between individuals that know each other. Few if any travelers will have any experience with the isolated culture, drug and gang-related, where the murders are occurring. Muggings are the violent crime to be concerned with for tourists.
Those areas of Baltimore that attract tourists are safe. You shouldn't worry when going to the opera, museums, aquarium, etc. The popular Inner Harbor area in particular is saturated with police day and night, as the city government relies heavily on this area to generate much needed tax revenues. Some areas just north of the waterfront (downtown above the Inner Harbor around Lexington Market, and around the big public housing projects just northeast of Little Italy) can get a little dodgy after dark, and even during the day sometimes. If you're parking your car on street in the Charles Street entertainment district or even in Fells Point, don't leave anything (even trash) visible in your car, in order to deter smash-and-grab robberies. Generally, the worst annoyance for tourists and residents around downtown are the homeless and/or drug addicts, who ask for money and sometimes become aggressive by yelling or starting to follow people; the best advice is to ignore them, and keep walking, as they almost always give up after a few seconds. Avoid confrontations or yelling back.
Above all, though, just exercise the usual precautions for urban America: know where you are going and how you are getting there, at night walk in groups and do not carry large amounts of money, avoid poorly lit streets, and call a cab if the trip back at night seems beyond your comfort zone.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Baltimore
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Baltimore - updated Apr 2024
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Baltimore Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
