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What free activities are available in Baltimore?
- Baltimore boasts a good amount of things visitors and locals alike can do with their free time that won’t cost a dime.
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What types of attractions can visitors explore for free?
- There are a number of landmarks, libraries, churches, museums, and parks where families and friends can have fun, learn, and experience the city.
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Are all attractions free every day?
- Some attractions are free only on certain days – please check before you go.
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1. Cylburn Arboretum
The Cylburn Arboretum is an urban oasis encompassing two hundred acres of Baltimore. The grounds are a space for learning and natural beauty, home to hundred of different plantings and trees, a historic mansion, wooded trails, and beautiful gardens. The arboretum is open to visitors throughout the entire year, has no admission fees, and allows leashed dogs on property. The Cylburn Arboretum is open from 8:00am until 8:00pm Tuesday through Sunday. The historic Mansion is open from 8:00am to 3:00pm Tuesday through Friday, while the Vollmer Visitor Center is open 10:00am to 4:00pm Tuesday through Sunday.
4915 Greenspring Ave, Baltimore, MD 21209, Phone: 410-367-2217
2. Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens
The Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens is home to several distinctive environments that enable visitors to be able to see a wide variety of plants from throughout the world. Each of the conservatory buildings provide plants with an appropriate environment, ranging from Mediterranean to desert to tropical environments and more. The Tropical Forest showcases plants from the tropics, including plants native to regions in Africa, tropical islands, Australia, the Americas, and Asia. The largest group among the plants on display at the Rawlings Conservatory is the orchids in the Orchid Room, featuring more than thirty thousand orchid species.
3100 Swann Dr, Baltimore, MD 21217, Phone: 410-396-0008
3. Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower
The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower is open to visitors, free of charge, on Saturdays beginning at 11:00am until 4:00pm. Visitors can explore the tower’s latest exhibits in the museum galleries, as well as view works of art lining the staircase on the fifteenth floor. The galleries display works by regional and local artists. There are a number of areas of paid parking nearby, including a parking garage and street parking. To avoid parking fees, guests can take public transportation to reach the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, a part of the city’s skyline since the year 1911.
21 S. Eutaw St, Baltimore, MD 21201, Phone: 443-874-3596
4. Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art is open to the public with free admission every day. Parking at the museum is free for the first thirty minutes, otherwise, visitors will most likely have to pay to park nearby. To avoid parking costs, guests can take public transportation. The museum houses a world-renowned art collection, consisting of contemporary, modern, and nineteenth century art. Established back in the year 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art is now home to more than ninety-five thousand pieces of artwork, including the world’s largest collection of works of art created by Henri Matisse.
10 Art Museum Dr, Baltimore, MD 21218-3898, Phone: 443-573-1700
5. Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds
Visitors can take a look around the Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds during the daylight hours each day starting at 8:00am. Closing hours tend to vary just a bit by season, closing at 7:00pm in Summer, 6:00pm in Spring and Fall, and 5:00pm in Winter. Exhibits share the Burying Grounds’ history and information on those buried at the site. The Burying Ground outside is free to visit, however Westminster Hall and the Catacombs can only be visited during a tour, which charges a small fee. The Burying Grounds are the resting place of several notable people, including Edgar Allan Poe.
519 W. Fayette St, Baltimore, MD 21201, Phone: 410-706-2072
6. Enoch Pratt Free Library
The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore is a a free library system for the public. The headquarters and central library branch for the Enoch Pratt library system is located on Cathedral Street. There are now more than twenty regional and neighborhood/community branches situated throughout the city of Baltimore. The Enoch Pratt Free Library was officially named as the state of Maryland’s “Library Resource Center” in 1971 by the state’s General Assembly. The mission of the free library system is to provide the public with equal access to opportunities, services, and information that enhance, enrich, and empower their quality of life.
400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, Phone: 410-396-5430
7. Wyman Park Dell
The Wyman Park Dell in the city of Baltimore, Maryland is a public park that measures sixteen acres in size and is one of the city’s landmarks.The park is situated just south of the Baltimore Museum of Art and John Hopkins University. It is also bordered by two different neighborhoods: the Remington neighborhood on the west and Charles Village on the south and the east. The city park is known for its sweeping, large lower lawn and its enclosing, steep slopes. Wyman Park Dell is one of Baltimore’s few parks fully thought of and designed by the notable Olmsted Brothers.
3000 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218
8. American Visionary Art Museum
The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland is open on Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00am until 6:00pm. The museum is closed on Mondays. There is an admission fee for visitors, with the exception of children ages six and under, who can visit the unique art museum free of charge. Among the things to see in the museum is the permanent collection, which includes artwork such as The Giant Whirligig, an outdoor landmark sculpture; painted screens; robots; and the LeRoy E. Hoffberger Shining Youth/Shining Walls, part of the country’s largest apprenticeship program in mosaics.
800 Key Hwy, Baltimore, MD 21230, Phone: 410-244-1900
9. Maryland Institute College of Art
The Maryland Institute College of Art was established back in 1826, originally known as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. It is one of the country’s oldest art colleges, offering degree programs in the visual arts. The First Year Experience is one of the college’s main exhibitions and one of the student shows that is most highly regarded, open to the community with no charge for admission. The exhibit showcases artwork made by rising sophomores. The exhibition is reflective of the diversity of the learning pathways and the people at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
1300 W. Mount Royal Ave, Baltimore, MD 21217, Phone: 410-669-9200
10. Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum is open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:00am to 5:00pm and on Thursdays from 10:00am to 9:00pm. The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Visitors can explore the museum’s installations and temporary exhibitions of its permanent collection for free. The collection features approximately thirty-six thousand items and spans across over seven millennia, dating back to the year 5,000 BCE up through the twenty-first century. The museum collection contains many works representative of the height of humanity’s artistry and creativity, including ancient sarcophagi and a wide variety of art from Asia
600 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD, Phone: 410-547-9000
Plan Your Trip
Table of Contents:
- 1. Cylburn Arboretum
- 2. Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens
- 3. Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower
- 4. Baltimore Museum of Art
- 5. Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds
- 6. Enoch Pratt Free Library
- 7. Wyman Park Dell
- 8. American Visionary Art Museum
- 9. Maryland Institute College of Art
- 10. Walters Art Museum