Save a weekend in October for the sailboat and powerboat shows, or any summer weekend for crab houses and a walk across the bridge into Eastport. Annapolis is Maryland's capital and a sailing town on the Chesapeake Bay, with the US Naval Academy sitting right on the water. The historic downtown has brick streets, colonial houses, and the State House, and City Dock is where boats crowd into Ego Alley.
It is a small city of about 41,000 in a metro area that feeds off both Baltimore and Washington, each about 30 miles away. That makes it a pricey place to live, with housing costs well above the national average and homes selling fast. Violent crime is above average, though it is mostly away from the tourist streets. Downtown floods at high tide even on sunny days, hurricanes and nor'easters bring storm surge, and summers are hot and humid. Parking is a headache.
