samuel

that’s where I live/went to school
Inferno

Saw that the other day on facebook. I’m definitely going to try to show up. Being from College Park however, I can’t really recommend much.
Marc Alan Di Martino

I grew up in Baltimore. You could take the Homicide/Wire tour (there must be one), or check out the Aquarium or a ball game at Camden Yards. Or just go get sloshed at Fell’s Point and play pool all night. Enjoy.
incunabulum

Whatever you do, don’t spend a lot of time doing the typical inner harbor thing. Check it out, sure. But don’t see only that and think you’ve seen the city. I recommend skipping the aquarium altogether.

If you have time, try to check out some of the more interesting Baltimore neighborhoods. Hampden or Fells Point would top my list… The Visionary Art Museum is really cool. Check out Edgar Allen Poe’s grave, but not his home. Um… There’s Ft. McHenry if you are into American History. That’s all I can think of right now.
Andrew T

Fell’s point is a phenomenal neighborhood. Charles Village is too, I was born there. Whatever you do, make sure to try something from the Clipper City Brewing Company; it’s a great local brewery. Loose Cannon’s one of my favorites.
AxeGrrl

Hemant, pick me up a John Waters’ “Come to Baltimore and be SHOCKED” bumper sticker if you see one!

Baltimore bumper sticker
Nicoline

I don’t know how much time you’ll have, but if you enjoyed “The Wire” you may want to take the time to do “The Wire” driving tour. http://wikitravel.org/en/The_Wire_Tour
If you don’t have that much time, make sure you visit Hampden.
jim

the aquarium is the 2nd best thing to do in baltimore. definitely blow off glen burnie. 🙂 i lived there for 10 years. sucked.
Julie

One of my favorite restaurants in Baltimore (my hometown!) is Papermoon Diner. Open 24 hours, lots of vegetarian/vegan options (if you’re into that), and a wacky atmosphere. Love it there!
Joe

Oh man. My backyard. I gotta find a way there but unfortunately I don’t drive 🙁
AxeGrrl

A few more location suggestions…..

The darkly lit Drinkery (205 W. Read St., 410-225-3100) in the Mount Vernon area ~ just outside the bar is where Divine performed the infamous ‘act’ at the end of ‘Pink Flamingos’ 🙂

and…..

Waters refers to his beloved Baltimore as the “hairdo capital of the world” and suggests the best “hairdon’t” area is Eastern Avenue in the eastern part of the city, where “you can usually see women struggling to fit their huge heads into their cars as the wind blows old newspapers and garbage up against them.”
adambomb

I currently live at the border between the Roland Park, Charles Village, and Waverly neighborhoods in Central Baltimore. Nothing to see in this area (very residential). But The Avenue (36th Street) in Hampden, to the west of Johns Hopkins’ Homewood campus, is an interesting place. Lots of curious boutique shops and hipster restaurants. I don’t have a very high opinion of Fells Point: way too townie/touristy. Mt. Vernon has a lot of nice restaurants and bars frequented by young professional types. Definitely check out the Visionary Art Museum and/or the Aquarium. Both are spectacular. I haven’t been to the science museum, but it’s around the same area. Other than that, you can skip the rest of the Inner Harbor and Federal Hill.
Jerry Ballwell

I just moved from there this past summer. Definitely check out Rocket To Venus. Great food, vegetarian selections, excellent stuff. Email me if you need somebody to show you around. I have some good friends there who’d make good company.
Liz

Oh, hopefully I’ll be able to make it! I moved just outside of Baltimore three years ago…and I honestly know nothing about the city =[ Perhaps I’ll take some of these comments and actually check some stuff out besides inner harbor.
I Go Pogo

Baltimore has one of my absolute favorite art museum in the world, (and I’ve been to many around the world), if interested. The American Visionary Art Museum, comprised entirely of Outsider Art, is fascinating and should be seen by everyone.
Ol’Froth

Ft. McHenry is pretty interesting. It features the biggest collection of 19th century “big guns.”
Parse

If you’re there when it’s open, you may want to check out the Book Thing.
Matthias

As a student at UMBC, I can make a few suggestions, I suppose. Right around the corner from here is Old Ellicott City. It’s a neat little place, but the restaurants tend to be a little more up-scale, as are their prices, but you pay for the quality of the food and service. Probably one of my favorite places to go to in Ellicott City is Pure Wine Cafe. They have an incredible selection of wine that you can purchase by the glass and a knowledgeable staff that can pair any dish on their menu with a particular wine, depending on your tastes.
As people have said there’s quite a bit to do in Fells Point. As soon as you arrive in the area, you’ll probably notice bumper stickers telling you to “Eat Bertha’s Mussels.” Their Jazz Night is an awesome experience, but I’d suggest looking at different places around the area that interest you, personally. Really though, if you’re planning on going into the city and Fells Point (or anywhere in the area for that matter) I’d suggest making some local friends and having them help you find your way. Baltimore still isn’t the safest city, especially not when you’re on your own.
BMoreBeowulf

That’s my hometown! I love it here, as there’s so much to do. I’ll try to make it up for your talk.

As for stuff to do, downtown is the place to be. Great food throughout the Harbor and Little Italy. There won’t be any O’s games on 3/30, but the Inner Harbor is excellent to wander around, and Federal Hill or Fells Point are great for the nightlife. I’m suggest Pub Dog or Stalking Horse in Fed and Max’s in Fells.
ACN

I went to UMBC for undergrad! I am still in the area and totally planning on attending this!

If you want to go into Bmore, I’d highly recommend going to Fell’s (Max’s on Broadway is a great place to start!). You can grab pretty good pizza at BOP (Brick Oven Pizza) and then saunter over to Max’s for a drink!

If you want to stay by UMBC there is a delightful little townie bar called “Center Court” in Arbutus. There is also a fantastic hookah bar near Center Court if that sort of thing floats your boat. In addition to a fine selection of shishah, their onion rings are INSANE.

For meat eaters, I always recommend a trip to Chap’s Pit Beef, but that might not be so exciting for you Hemant 🙂
Ahab

@#$%! I won’t be able to attend the talk because I’ll be traveling that day. Rats.

While you’re in Baltimore, I definitely recommend the Visionary Art Museum, the Walters Art Gallery, and the Baltimore Basilica. If you’re fond of craft beer, DuClaw Brewery is the place to go.
ACN

For anyone coming to the talk tonight, please keep in mind that UMBC’s parking rules are in effect as usual (this isn’t their spring break).

The official rules are here:

and a parking map of the campus (includes where to find metered spaces) is here:

Summary:
All rules are enforced until 9pm. Park in non-metered lots at your own risk before then. It is unlikely that you will be ticketed, but certainly not out of the question. Metered lots can be found on the parking map above, and I’m pretty sure meters run only until 9pm also. The closest metered lots to the talk are the Admin Drive Garage and the Commons Garage.