Baltimore's Historic Charles Street

Along Charles Street, stores reside in the beautiful 19th-century brick buildings that seem to tower over the narrow street. A highlight is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary that was completed in 1821, becoming the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the U.S.

Continue to enjoy the beauty and history that Baltimore has to offer through museums and by admiring memorials and statues, namely the Washington Monument which is topped with a 16-foot-tall statue of George Washington.

Outside of downtown, the skies feel more open as the buildings move farther from the street and thin out while trees provide pops of green along the sidewalks. Keep an eye out for Johns Hopkins University and its stately Georgian-style buildings.

While there is no forest along Charles Street, this is the most rural portion of the road trip in which the stunning trees between University Parkway and I-695 provide a relief from the narrow street and brick facades by filling the views with lush green colors.