Welcome to the Meeting and Event Planning Guide to Baltimore, a city guide for meeting professionals. Planning meetings in Baltimore is great, because Baltimore is easily accessible by plane, train and highway and is within driving distance of more than one-third of the nation's population. Proximity to New York, Washington, DC and Philadelphia make it a prime meeting destination as much as its sparkling Inner Harbor.

The Washington/Baltimore Metropolitan area is served by three major airports: Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in Maryland, Washington Dulles International Airport, in Northern Virginia, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington County, VA. It is also a stop on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.

Largest among the city's convention venues, Baltimore Convention Center is within walking distance of several Baltimore event venues, including Oriole Park at Camden Yards Overhead walkways link the convention center to the Inner Harbor, fine-dining venues and nearby Baltimore attractions. With 300,000 square feet of exhibition space, 50 meeting rooms, and a 36,672-square-foot ballroom, the Baltimore Convention Center has the facilities to accommodate large and small groups. The Center is close to public transportation for easy access by MARC Train to Washington, DC or Baltimore's Light Rail to the Baltimore International Airport (BWI).

Hotel venues in Baltimore abound by the convention center and by the scenic Inner Harbor. Baltimore's biggest hotel is the 757-room Hilton Baltimore, which is connected to the convention center via an enclosed, climate-controlled pedestrian walkway. It contains 62,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 25,000-square-foot Key Ballroom. Also near the Convention Center is Kimpton Hotel Group's Hotel Monaco Baltimore, located in the city's former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Headquarters. The 202-room property has nine meeting rooms, the largest of which has capacity for 170 people. The 195-room Royal Sonesta Harbor Court has 11 meeting spaces, the largest of which can host 250 for dinner, as well as a seventh-floor rooftop garden and restaurant. In the Mount Vernon Cultural District, the 104-room Wyndham Baltimore Peabody Court is housed in a converted 1920s Renaissance-style building and features 3,536 square feet of meeting space. Meeting properties in the Inner Harbor include the 337-room Sheraton Inner Harbor, which features more than 10,000 square feet in 16 meeting spaces: the 620-room Renaissance Inner Harbor, with 31,000 square feet in 21 rooms; and the 488-room Hyatt Regency, with 44,000 square feet; 524-room Marriott Inner Harbor, with 18,000 square feet; 750-room Marriott Waterfront Hotel, with over 80,000 square feet; and 256-room Four Seasons, with 20,595 square feet.

Higher learning institutions including Johns Hopkins University, Loyola College, Maryland Institute College of Art, the Peabody Institute, Sojourner-Douglas College, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Morgan State University, Towson State University and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, draw meetings of their own, but offer conference facilities to all.

Baltimore also offers many special event venues for parties and receptions. The city's wealth of museums and attractions includes the Baltimore Museum of Art, three miles north of Inner Harbor. It contains 90,000 works of art, including the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum offers several event spaces including the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse with capacity for more than 1,500 for a standing reception and 450 for a seated dinner, the 6,400-square-foot Outside Pavilion, and a 1,200-square-foot, multi-purpose room. Located at the base of historic Federal Hill, the American Visionary Art Museum has been awarded both national and international awards for its aesthetic appeal and design. With a magnificent architectural backdrop, it is a wonderful setting for a cocktail reception or seated dinner. Docked in Baltimore Inner Harbor, the USS Constellation lets up to 250 visitors explore four levels with areas including the original captain's cabin, gun deck, officer's quarters and galley. In conjunction with the pier, the venue can accommodate up to 600 visitors.