Baltimore: On Maryland’s east coast, Baltimore is a hip, cool, cosmopolitan city. Famous for its friendliness, Baltimore is brilliant choice for a city break in search of intriguing history, fabulous food and a buzzing evening scene. 

Head to the harbour for a sense of Baltimore’s maritime roots. Stroll the cobbled streets of historic Fells Point, a regenerated waterfront neighbourhood which once marked the centre of the city’s ship-building industry. Now brimming with excellent boutiques, low-key bars and trendy eateries, this is a great place for an evening out. Pop into the Baltimore Maritime Museum, take the kids to the glass-pyramid-topped National Aquarium, and admire the Fort McHenry National Monument. The star-shaped fort is the stuff of legend, having inspired America's national anthem, 'The Star-Spangled Banner.’

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Amble through the more commercial Inner Harbor district, and make time to wander around desirable Mount Vernon, Baltimore’s oldest neighbourhood. Studded with 19th-century buildings, this centrally-located district is also home to the striking George Peabody Library, which contains 300,000 volumes. Other sites of interest in the city centre include the Maryland Historical Society, the Walters Art Museum and the 178-foot-tall Washington Monument — perfect for breath-taking city views. Don’t miss the home of poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe, or the American Visionary Art Museum, which is close to the waterfront.

Round off days of history and culture with laid-back boat trips, big Ravens or Orioles game nights and farm-to-table dinners at buzzing eateries. Many of the best places to stay in Baltimore are within easy reach of great evening spots — and some boast top-notch bars and restaurants of their own.

Annapolis: Come sail away to Annapolis, home of the US Naval Academy (which you can visit), standing proudly where the Severn River meets the mighty Chesapeake Bay. It has more 18th-century buildings still in use than any other American city. The capital of Maryland, it is also ‘America’s Sailing Capital’, with boating and fishing on the Chesapeake Bay. The town’s welcoming red-brick streets offer art galleries, maritime antiques and designer clothing, while the 18th-century Middleton Tavern serves up delectable Maryland crab cakes.

Cumberland: Cumberland may have 27 listings in the National Register of Historic Places – a tribute to its proud past as a transportation hub, first as the starting point of the National Road (now known as Route 40), and then as home to numerous railroads and the western terminus of the famous C&O Canal – but it’s the town’s new arts and entertainment district that has helped revive the Downtown area and turned it into a thriving community with galleries galore, regular theatre events, antique shops and boutiques. 

St Michaels: Over the decades, St Michaels has transformed itself from its early days as a shipbuilding town to a tourist and sailing haven. Known as ‘the town that fooled the British’ (when, in 1813, British marines overshot St Michaels, firing instead at lanterns placed in treetops outside the town), it has maintained its charm through careful restoration and is reckoned to be one of the most romantic destinations in the US. Horse-drawn carriages ply the streets and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum highlights the bay’s role through history.

National Harbor: Just south of Washington, DC on the banks of the Potomac River, National Harbor is a 300-acre, mixed-use development offering tree-lined promenades that tempt visitors with incredible dining experiences and more than a million square feet of shopping along Fashion Boulevard – all based close to the marina. Water taxis will take you to Old Town Alexandria and onward to Georgetown in DC, as well as to George Washington’s historic home, Mount Vernon. 

Frederick: The handsome gateway to the Civil War battlefields of Antietam and Gettysburg is known for its intriguing National Museum of Civil War Medicine, the tomb of Francis Scott Key, author of America’s national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, and the home of feisty patriot Barbara Fritchie, whose defiance of the invading Confederate army inspired a rousing poem by John Greenleaf Whittier. 

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By contrast, the Assateague Island National Seashore – a dramatic and romantic barrier island off the eastern coast of Maryland and Virginia – is famous for its wild horses. Local folklore maintains that the horses were survivors of a shipwreck off the Virginia coast, but it is more likely they are descendants of horses brought to barrier islands like Assateague in the late-17th century. They are split into two herds, one on the Virginia side and one on the Maryland side of Assateague.

Fun for Families: Ocean City, Maryland is 10 miles of sun and sand along the Atlantic. Bike the boardwalk and indulge in local treats such as boardwalk fries, Maryland crab cakes or juicy “Delmarva” fried chicken. At night, the boardwalk comes to life with arcade rides and strolling performers.

Best Lakeside Retreats: Deep Creek Lake is Maryland’s largest body of fresh water and a four-season wonder. Indulge in warm-weather fishing, swimming and boating. Fall and winter bring incredible autumn foliage to the Western Maryland mountains and the chance to try your hand at skiing or dog sledding.