01/09/2024
Baltimore makes influential international list of places to visit
If you are looking for places to visit this year, you might not have to look far, according to an influential travel list released on Tuesday.
Baltimore made the New York Times' annual "52 Places to Go" list for 2024. The list encompasses places across the globe, from major cities like Paris to more remote areas such as Ladakh, India.
Charm City was No. 14 on the list, which cited its urban waterways, artwork and revitalization efforts. Daniel Scheffler, a freelance writer who wrote Baltimore's blurb for the list, told the Baltimore Business Journal that he did not have to push hard to get the city recognized this year. Baltimore has come together to promote its offerings from small businesses and culture to upgrading infrastructure, which visitors and locals alike can enjoy, he added.
"The city has so much to offer and a lot of people don't realize that," Scheffler said.
In the New York Times paragraph, Scheffler noted the timing of picking Baltimore with 2024 marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and efforts underway to turn the former elementary school of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall into a community center in Upton. He also highlighted the Baltimore Museum of Art's push to showcase Native artists, the Baltimore Peninsula development, the city's waterways and, of course, John Waters.
Scheffler, who has traveled to around 130 countries, said Baltimore felt different and unique to him when he visited for the first time a few years ago. He remembered walking street by street alone and being welcomed into stores where he connected with local artists and owners.
"To me, Baltimore is kind of ticking every kind of box,” he said.
Al Hutchinson, the president and CEO of Visit Baltimore, said in a statement to the Baltimore Business Journal that while there is more work to be done, everyone should be proud of Baltimore for this "momentous accomplishment."
"For far too long, we have let naysayers and people who do not understand Baltimore drive our narrative as to what makes a city a great place to live, work, and visit," Hutchinson said in a statement. "The Baltimore we know and love is a place where innovative ideas and ambition are the currency that matters most; where art is seen as a catalyst for conversation, food as a means of connection and history as an opportunity for education."
Baltimore previously made the New York Times list in 2018 for its "packed cultural calendar" which included commemorating Frederick Douglass' 200th birthday and celebrating the Light City festival.
Paris — the host for the 2024 Summer Olympics — neared the top of the list along with a path across North America that will see a total solar eclipse in April. Kansas City, Missouri and Maui, Hawaii were the other well-known American destinations to make the list, along with more off-the-beaten-track places like Craters of the Moon, Idaho; Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni, Arizona; Montgomery, Alabama; Pasadena, California; Boundary Waters, Minnesota; and Flamingo, Florida.
The annual list included places like Paris, Singapore and Flamingo, Florida.
