Founded in 1845, the Naval Academy occupies a 338-acre waterfront campus designed largely by Beaux-Arts architect Ernest Flagg at the turn of the 20th century. Bancroft Hall — the dormitory housing all 4,400 midshipmen under a single roof — is one of the largest college dorms in the world. The 12.30 p.m. weekday formation in front of the building, when the entire brigade lines up before marching to lunch, is the most reliably impressive sight on campus.
Walking tours leave from the Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center; bring photo ID for entry. Highlights inside include the Naval Academy Chapel with its Tiffany stained glass, the Naval Academy Museum with one of the finest model-ship collections in the world, and the bronze ram from the USS Maine at the Mexican Memorial. The Army-Navy football rivalry, played each December, is the social event of the year in Annapolis.