A newly revitalized downtown – one of Maryland's Arts & Entertainment Districts – is filled with shops, galleries and restaurants, making Cambridge, which is on the banks of the Choptank River, a destination rather than a pass-through town on the way to the beach. Events like the springtime Groove City Jazz & Blues Fest add flavor.

For lodging, Cambridge has a variety of B&Bs along High Street, as well as the 400-room Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina.

Just south of Cambridge is the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 27,000 acres of marshland sometimes called the "Everglades of the North." You'll find plenty of migratory birds here – especially ducks and geese, along with other wildlife.

Harriet Tubman, who helped enslaved people escape to freedom during the Civil War, was born in Cambridge. Look for area tours that depict her role as the conductor of the Underground Railroad. Annie Oakley was another Cambridge native.

Visit the Cambridge city web site.