Because there is also a Baltimore County adjacent to (but not including) the city, it is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City when a clear distinction is desired. Baltimore's harbor is the location of Fort McHenry, which came under attack by British forces in the War of 1812 and whose defense inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," which furnishes the lyrics to the United States national anthem.

Baltimore became an independent city in 1851, being detached from Baltimore County at that time. Baltimore is the location of the Baltimore World Trade Center, the world's tallest equilateral five-sided building (the five-sided JPMorganChase Tower in Houston, Texas is taller, but has unequal sides).

Baltimore is also the location of Pimlico Race Course, the home of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The Preakness has been run since 1873.

In recent years, efforts to redevelop the downtown area have led to a revitalization of the Inner Harbor. In 1979 the Baltimore Convention Center was opened and was subsequently renovated and expanded in 1996. Harborplace, a modern urban retail and restaurant complex, was opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland's largest tourist destination, in 1981. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball moved downtown to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and in 1998 the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League moved next door into the newly renamed M&T Bank Stadium, formerly known as PSINet Stadium until PSINet went bankrupt.

Museums and Attractions American Visionary Art Museum
Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption
Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore Maritime Museum
Blacks In Wax Museum
B&O Railroad Museum
Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum
Fort McHenry National Monument
Harborplace
Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame Museum
National Aquarium in Baltimore
National Museum of Dentistry
Star Spangled Banner Flag House and 1812 Museum
USS Constellation
Walters Art Museum
Westminster Hall and Burying Ground