Things to Do in Maryland, United States: City Guides

Maryland is a small state with an unusually varied character, from the Appalachian Mountains in the west to the Piedmont, the Chesapeake Bay and a short Atlantic coastline. Its history, cities, waterways and fertile land make it a rewarding destination to explore. Neywo offers free audio guides for 3 cities in Maryland, with 217 narrated places in total and 8 walking tours.

What to see and do in Maryland

Explore Maryland’s mountains and western landscapes

Western Maryland reaches into the Appalachian Mountains, creating a wooded and mountainous setting that feels very different from the rest of the state. Elevation, wind and distance from the coast influence the local climate, while wooded areas provide habitat for abundant plant life and large populations of white-tailed deer.

This part of the state is a good place to appreciate why Maryland is sometimes called “America in Miniature”: mountain scenery is found within a relatively compact state that also includes lowland, bay and coastal landscapes.

Discover the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is one of Maryland’s defining features. It shapes the state’s geography, food production and commercial fishing industry, and its influence extends into the communities and farmland around it.

The bay is also central to environmental efforts. Maryland has joined neighboring states in work to improve its health, making the waterway part of both the state’s identity and its continuing challenges. A visit to Maryland is therefore closely connected with understanding the relationship between its people, its waters and its landscape.

See the Atlantic coastline

Maryland’s Atlantic coastline is short, but it adds another landscape to the state’s compact geographic mix. Together with the Chesapeake Bay, the coast helps create local conditions shaped by water and changing winds.

The contrast between the Atlantic shore, the bay and the mountainous west is one of the clearest reasons to travel across Maryland rather than treating it as a single type of destination.

Visit Annapolis, the state capital

Annapolis is Maryland’s capital and one of the cities available through Neywo. Its narrated places include the Banneker-Douglass Museum, the Brice House and the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

The Banneker-Douglass Museum is also listed among the city’s highlights as the Banneker-Douglass Museum of Afro-American Life and History. Together, these places offer different ways to encounter Maryland’s maritime, architectural and cultural heritage.

Read more in the Annapolis city guide.

Explore Baltimore

Baltimore is Maryland’s largest city and a major center for transport, culture and economic activity. The city’s narrated highlights include the USS Constellation, the United States lightship Chesapeake, the USCGC Taney and the USS Torsk.

These vessels point to Baltimore’s long connection with the water and the Port of Baltimore, an important transportation center supported by rail and trucking connections. The city also reflects Maryland’s wider urban and industrial development, shaped by seaports, railroads and immigration.

Find more places to visit in the Baltimore city guide.

Walk through Ellicott City

Ellicott City is another Maryland destination covered by Neywo. Its narrated places include the Potton-Hayden House, Hangar 25 Air Museum, St. Thomas Catholic Church and First Presbyterian Church.

The town brings together historic buildings, religious sites and an aviation museum, offering a different scale of discovery from Maryland’s largest city. It is a useful stop for travelers interested in the state’s local architecture and community history.

Continue with the Ellicott City guide.

Understand Maryland’s history

Maryland’s history began with Native peoples including the Piscataway, Patuxent, Nanticoke and Powhatan. European exploration of the coastline preceded the chartering of the Province of Maryland in 1632 through the efforts of George Calvert and Cecil Calvert.

The colony was intended as a refuge for Catholics persecuted in England, although religious tension continued and Catholics remained a minority. Maryland nevertheless had more Catholics than any other English colony on the mainland.

Tobacco plantations became central to the economy. Indentured servants and enslaved Africans were brought in to provide labor, leaving forced labor as an essential and painful part of the state’s history. Maryland’s modern boundaries took shape after a long dispute with Pennsylvania was settled.

During the Civil War, Maryland remained in the Union. Its location near Washington, D.C. and Virginia gave it strategic importance. Slavery was abolished under a new state constitution in 1864. After the war, seaports, railroads and immigration from Europe helped drive industrial growth.

Experience Maryland today

Maryland’s population is concentrated largely in the central region around the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas. Its proximity to Washington, D.C. has influenced its modern economy, which includes public administration, higher education, information technology, defense contracting, health care and biotechnology.

The state is also a major center for life sciences research and development. Rail lines form part of the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, while the Port of Baltimore connects transportation by water, rail and road.

Maryland is notably multicultural. Its residents include people born in Africa, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean. Alongside English, languages spoken in the state include Spanish, Chinese, West African languages, French, Korean, Amharic, Arabic and Tagalog. This mix of communities is an important part of Maryland’s present-day character.

Taste Maryland’s connection to land and water

Commercial fishing is an important part of Maryland’s food-production sector, centered on the Chesapeake Bay and extending to the Atlantic coast. Inland, fertile agricultural areas—especially in the coastal and Piedmont zones—support farming.

That food economy also reveals a tension in the state. Urbanization is pressing on agricultural land, while the health of the Chesapeake Bay affects fishing and the wider landscape. Maryland’s food culture is therefore connected not only to what is served, but also to the condition of its waters and fields.

Explore Maryland with Neywo

Neywo has free audio guides for 3 cities in Maryland: Annapolis, Baltimore and Ellicott City. Across the region, the app includes 217 narrated places and 8 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Download Neywo to explore Maryland while walking through its cities and discovering the history behind the places around you.