Residents of Harrisburg playing along the Susquehanna River waterfront.

As a ridiculous city geek, one of my all time favorite things to do is to hit the road (or rails) on a Saturday, find some interesting city or neighborhood I’ve never visited, and explore it. Photograph the local architecture, have lunch at some hole in the wall cafe, check out the downtown shopping… loads of fun.

Living on the east coast offers a bountiful list of targets. Not only do we have lots of bona fide big cities in close proximity, but there are plenty of interesting smaller cities and towns in between. So here is the BeyondDC list of top day trips for urban exploration. To qualify, a destination has to be within approximately two hour travel time from DC (but outside our immediate metro area), and has to be an urban destination – I’m not talking about resorts or outlet malls here.

Before beginning, one quick note about the most obvious omission: Philadelphia does probably technically qualify, but it’s on the outer edge of our geography, and it’s too huge to really appreciate in one day. While it might be fun to hit South Street bars one night, if you’re out to get a sense of the city’s urbanism (the point of this exercise) then it is going to take more than one day to get out there, do your thing, and get back. So while Philly is a great town that deserves plenty of adoration, it’s off this list.

Number 10: Hagerstown
Like a miniature Baltimore, if Frederick is a miniature Washington. Hagerstown spent the first half of the 20th Century as Maryland’s number 2 city, and it’s got the bones of a place that feels like it could have been much bigger had things had worked out differently. Oh, and if you really want to outlet shop, you’re covered.

Number 9: Ellicott City
Tucked in a little canyon way out on the far side of Howard County there’s an adorable little main street, with no discernible residential town around it. It’s one of the weirdest things in Maryland. Ellicott is surprisingly substantial, and has one of the most awesome / terrifying independent toy stores you will ever find.

Number 8: Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg would be the result if a Bond villain hired a fleet of helicopters to transport Old Town Alexandria from inside the Beltway to a spot half-way to Richmond. It’s basically the same size and shape, except the main commercial street runs parallel to the river instead of perpendicular to it. And while you’ll have to venture into the suburbs for it, they have the closest Sonic to DC.

Number 7: Winchester
The main commercial center of colonial-era Northern Virginia. Nuff said.

Number 6: Harrisburg
A downtown with tall buildings, a river with gorgeous bridges, rowhouse neighborhoods, a state capitol, and a train station with plenty of traffic. What’s not to love?

Number 5: Charlottesville and Staunton
The former has one of the nation’s most successful pedestrian malls and most famously beautiful college campuses. The latter has an unbelievable stock of big 19th Century buildings and an incredibly unique train station. Throw in a stop at Monticello and you’ve got an architectural tour de force.

Number 4: Frederick
A worthy end to the wealthy corridor of neighborhoods and cities that begins with Georgetown and Northwest DC, Frederick is gorgeous and stately. And its creekfront is something you won’t find anywhere else in the region.

Number 3: Annapolis
Where did they test the baroque street grid before DC? Where can you find not only 18th, but 17th Century buildings? Where is the oldest still-used capitol building in the US? Annapolis is awesome. If you can find the streets that are less touristy, even more so.

Number 2: Richmond
I don’t care what anybody says, skyscrapers are cool. On top of them, Richmond has a great residential neighborhood (The Fan), an avenue that could rival any in DC (Monument Ave), and an absolutely magnificent train station (Main Street Station). Shockoe Bottom and Carytown are also worth a look.

Number 1: Baltimore
Even though Baltimore is a major city, since it’s both closer and smaller than Philadelphia you can see a big chunk of it in one day. Start downtown and pick a direction. You can even use transit.

Honorable Mentions: York, Harrisonburg, Leesburg, Martinsburg, Easton, Wilmington.