Experience the best of Frederick

Frederick sits in a broad valley beneath Catoctin Mountain in north-central Maryland. Its centre of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century brick buildings is known as the City of Clustered Spires for the church steeples that rise above its roofs. Carroll Creek Linear Park, a landscaped promenade with bridges and a mural, runs through downtown. Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words of The Star-Spangled Banner, practised law in Frederick and is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Monocacy National Battlefield, south of town, marks the 1864 battle that delayed a Confederate advance on Washington, and Antietam National Battlefield lies to the west at Sharpsburg. Gettysburg is to the north, and Harpers Ferry on the Potomac to the south-west. Catoctin Mountain Park and Cunningham Falls State Park, with a waterfall and a lake, have trails in the hills.

Farm-to-table restaurants, local breweries and weekly farmers' markets fill downtown, and Maryland crab cakes and oysters are on many menus. The Catoctin ridges colour in October, and spring brings orchard blossom to the farms around town.