Fort McHenry

The fort was finished in 1800 on a point covering the entrance to Baltimore harbour, a five-pointed brick star with a dry moat, and it is remembered for a night in September 1814 when British ships bombarded it for about twenty-five hours without taking it. Francis Scott Key, held on a truce vessel offshore, watched and wrote the verses that later became the national anthem. The flag he saw was deliberately enormous, made by Mary Pickersgill; the surviving original is at the Smithsonian in Washington, not here. The site is run by the Park Service with a film, the restored barracks and magazine, and a flag ceremony on the parade ground. Water and city skyline are on three sides.

What you actually see

• A five-pointed brick fort - finished 1800, with a dry moat.
• The 1814 bombardment story - told in the visitor centre film.
• Restored barracks and magazine - inside the walls.
• Harbour and skyline on three sides - the point it guards.

When to go

April to October. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

The original flag is in Washington, not on site - a common disappointment. The fort itself is small and quickly walked. Summer on the parade ground is hot and shadeless. Parking fills at weekends.

Nearby

Baltimore's Inner Harbor is north; Federal Hill is between.