Baltimore

Native blue crabs seasoned with Old Bay are reason enough to visit Baltimore, but there's much more to experience in this waterfront town. Take, for example, this underrated city's revitalized Inner Harbor area, where you'll find where you’ll find Kimpton’s new Hotel Monaco (opened in July 2009); the upscale neighborhood of Mount Vernon, home to the nation's first large-scale Washington Monument and the 29-room boutique Hotel Brexton (opened in March 2010); and Harbor East, where a number of hotels and restaurants are opening their doors. Its new, contemporary look aside, you can still discover some 300 years of American history along Baltimore's cobblestone streets (not only was the "Star Spangled Banner" written here, but abolitionist Frederick Douglass lived and worked in the historic waterfront community of Fells Point in the 1830s) and track down the settings for John Waters's films (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Female Trouble, among many others, were all shot here). Sports fans will also find no shortage of outlets, since Baltimore is also home to the Orioles baseball team, Ravens football team, and the Preakness (the second leg of the Triple Crown).