Not since the War of 1812 have Baltimore and Paris been mentioned in the same sentence. Architecturally speaking, however, Baltimore may have more in common with the City of Lights than any other city in the Mid-Atlantic region, according to the folks at expressnightout.com in this guide to Mt. Vernon, one of the Baltimore's most historic neighborhoods.
Here's an excerpt:
A FRENCHMAN (
Pierre L'Enfant) designed D.C.'s avenues and circles to mimic Paris. But the most old-school European patch of the mid-Atlantic may be Baltimore's
Mount Vernon, a townhouse-lined zone filled with so many statues, historic buildings and cobblestones that it often stands in for the City of Light in costume dramas.
Storied institutions such as the
Peabody and the
Walters Art Museum established the downtown 'hood as the city's cultural center in the 19th century. But the area isn't just for history buffs and architecture fiends: Its eclectic restaurant scene and boutiques mean it's loaded with modern pleasures, too.
Read more
here.