Annapolis ★ 4.3
Famous for: Steamed crabs, oysters and the City Dock waterfront
Annapolis pairs the Maryland capital's colonial waterfront with serious crab houses; cracking a dozen at a dock table is the canonical Chesapeake day out.
Food destinations within easy reach of Baltimore. worth the train, the rental car or the early start.
Worth the trip
St. Michaels (Eastern Shore) ★ 4.2
Famous for: Eastern Shore crab, oysters and waterfront dining
St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore is a wooden-boat harbour town built for slow seafood lunches, with crab houses, oyster bars and waterfront dining.
Frederick ★ 4.1
Famous for: Voltaggio-brothers dining and a historic downtown
Frederick anchors a day trip around the Voltaggio brothers' Wye Oak Tavern and a walkable historic centre of cafes, breweries and the carrol-creek canal.
Ellicott City ★ 4.0
Famous for: Historic Main Street dining and Indian cuisine
Ellicott City's stone Main Street climbs a hill of cafes, pubs and the celebrated Sangam Indian kitchen, a short, scenic drive west of Baltimore.
Sparks (Hunt Valley) ★ 4.2
Famous for: The Milton Inn's French fine dining in a 1740s stone house
North of the city in horse country, Sparks holds The Milton Inn, a Foreman Wolf French fine-dining room in a 1740s stone house worth the drive.
Owings Mills ★ 4.0
Famous for: Linwoods, a long-running New American fine-dining room
Owings Mills, northwest of the city, is the home of Linwoods, Tom Devine's long-running New American fine-dining room and its pepper-crusted tenderloin salad.
Kent Island ★ 4.0
Famous for: Waterfront crab decks at the foot of the Bay Bridge
Kent Island, just over the Bay Bridge, is lined with waterfront crab decks where you crack steamed blue crabs with a view back across the Chesapeake.