Showing Off SoBo: Tips to Charm Your Visitors

In October, when we asked Peninsula Post readers to tell us about their experiences hosting out-of-town guests, our belief that there’s a lot to love in SoBo was massively confirmed. Dozens of readers told us about their favorite places to take visitors, favorite walks, and must-visit restaurants and shops – so many tips that we couldn’t fit them all in the article we published on our “Hosting Out-of-Town Guests” survey in our December 2024 issue.

We’ve collected a long list of these reader suggestions in this post for you to use next time you have visitors – or you might find a hidden SoBo gem you didn’t know about that you can enjoy yourself.

Neighborhood Treks & Sights

• Eating out at Nick’s Fish House, grabbing ice cream at Bmore Licks, and savoring the view from a rooftop deck shows people how idyllic it can feel here. Going to Federal Hill, Riverside, or Latrobe Park is also a must.
• Taking out-of-town friends on the free Harbor Connector between Locust Point, Fed Hill, Canton, and Fells Point is always fun.  Small bites in a couple of different places are great, especially if it is a nice day and you can sit outside and people watch.
• Restaurants and bars on Fort Avenue, walking the harbor promenade, views from Fort McHenry and Federal Hill Park.
• Water taxi from Hull Street, Ice Queens, local restaurants and breweries, O’s & Ravens.
• Koba Café is always our first stop! Fort McHenry to get some fresh air and history, then a local restaurant and brewery.

Places to Go

• American Visionary Art Museum
• B&O Railroad Museum (Pigtown), especially with children
• Baltimore Museum of Industry
• Camden Yards ballpark tour
• Cross Street Market
• Farmer’s markets (in season) at the Baltimore Museum of Industry and downtown under the highway
• Five Iron Golf (Little Italy)
• Fort McHenry, on foot or bikes
• Illusions Bar & Theater
• Inner Harbor and promenade
• Maryland Science Center
• National Aquarium (Inner Harbor)
• Port Comedy Club (Fells Point)
• Rash Field Park
• Riverside Park
• Topgolf
• Top of the World (Inner Harbor)
• Trivia or bingo at local bars
• Under Armour waterfront campus

Getting Around

• Harbor Connector and water taxis to points all around the harbor
• Circulator free city bus

Special Events

• Fleet Week
• Inner Harbor events, including the Christmas Village
• Locust Point Festival
• Neighborhood Christmas lights
• “Volunteering Untapped” events
• Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore events

Eats & Drinks

• Amicci’s (Little Italy)
• Blue Moon
• Bmore Licks
• Brewer’s Cask
• Ceremony Coffee
• Checkerspot Brewing Co.
• Cinghale (Harbor East)
• City Limits
• Clavel (Barclay)
• Diamondback Brewing Co.
• DiPasquale’s
• Don Tigre
• Dulceology
• EAT (Eggrolls and Tacos)
• Ekiben
• Hersh’s
• Ice Queens
• Koba Café
• Little Donnas (Upper Fells Point)
• Little Havana
• LP Steamers
• M8 Beer
• Mick O’Shea’s Irish Pub (Downtown)
• Mikie’s Pizza
• Ministry of Brewing (Upper Fells Point)
• Miss Twist
• Moo Moo Cows
• Mum’s
• Nicks Fish House
• Pickett Brewing Co. (Pigtown)
• Riverside Taphouse
• Rye Street Tavern
• Sam’s Bagels
• Shotti’s
• SoBo Cafe
• Spoons
• The Outpost
• Wico Street Brewing Co. (Pigtown)
• Wiley Gunter’s