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Travel - Washington DC

52342cyclone

52342cyclone

Active Member
Sep 13, 2011
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Toledo, IA
Was wondering if anyone had any tips for visiting Washington DC. I already have times booked for White House tour, FBI building tour, and Holocaust museum tour. I plan on seeing all the monuments and definitely Arlington National. Would appreciate any other tips, must see, etc. I will be there for 7 days and all 3 of my scheduled tours are on 1 day so I have plenty of time. THANKS!
 
Would recommend the Newseum since it's going away at the end of this calendar year.

You'll have plenty of time with 7 days there. Hit all the Smithsonian, the Mall, Arlington, Newseum, and Spy. Try to get a tour through your local congressman/woman for the capitol. Didn't think the FBI building was that special in my experience, might get a bit dry for kids if they're tagging along.

The mall is way bigger than it looks. Like 3 miles and depending on the time of year the heat and humidity can be relenting.

There's a mini golf course right near the Jefferson Memorial. Oldest continuous mini golf course in America.

National Arboretum is neat in the spring or fall. Coolest things though are the old pillars of the original capitol building just chilling there in the open.

Also not related to America at all, but you should check out Nando's! It's a fast casual chicken chain from South Africa and made popular in the UK. One of the few places to get it in North America is in DC! I highly recommend it. I am so addicted that I got seeds from Africa to try and grow the plants here in the states and make my own sauce.
 
One place that I regret not seeing on my trip to DC was the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum hangar that's about 30 miles away from the National Mall.
 
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I've lived in DC/Arlington for my whole my life (other than going to college at ISU and living in Syracuse for two years), so I can help you out. It sounds like you have most of the museums and landmarks already booked and taken care of, so that's good. If you're looking for a very good place to eat, try Oyamel. It's Spanish tapas and is absolutely delicious, but a little pricy. Go check out Navy Yard and see a Nationals game there if you're into the MLB (try to see Scherzer pitch since he's a freak). U Street area is a lot of fun at night if you're into going out at night. DC is a very culturally diverse city, so any kind of food you can think of, there's a good restaurant for it. If there's a specific type of food you're into, just ask and I can probably give you a decent recommendation. Be prepared to spend some money as DC is very expensive (similar cost to NYC). There are also some very good music venues in DC. See what's playing at The Anthem, 9:30 Club, Echostage, or The Fillmore Silver Spring while you're in town visiting as a lot of good music acts come through DC. Have fun in DC!
 
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I recommend anyone get a metro card and use that for transportation. It’s fast and the easiest way to get around DC. When we went a couple years ago, we stayed about 5 miles from the New Carrollton station (last stop on that line). We took Uber to and from our hotel and used the metro to get around the city. Saved us hundreds on rental car and parking fees. Of course, if you’re staying down by the mall this is less important, but still an easy way to zip around the city.
 
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arobb said:
One place that I regret not seeing on my trip to DC was the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum hangar that's about 30 miles away from the National Mall.
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Have been to that, I would highly recommend it. It is very much a "guy" thing to do out there. Better than any other exhibit the Smithsonian Air and Space has on the National Mall. It's at the south end of Dulles Airport, so there are no trains to get you there, you have to drive. If you are spending time outside the city seeing Mount Vernon or the Jamestown settlement, it would be a good thing to do. Traveling away from DC early in the day by car is not bad at all, but coming back in was terrible no matter which time of day we tried.
 
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throwittoblythe said:
I recommend anyone get a metro card and use that for transportation. It’s fast and the easiest way to get around DC. When we went a couple years ago, we stayed about 5 miles from the New Carrollton station (last stop on that line). We took Uber to and from our hotel and used the metro to get around the city. Saved us hundreds on rental car and parking fees. Of course, if you’re staying down by the mall this is less important, but still an easy way to zip around the city.
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I also recommend the Metro. Very easy to use and goes about anywhere. But check where you are staying. The summer repair season is on and there are some lines that are unavailable coming up from Virginia. We stayed in southern Maryland and took the red line into DC every day with the kids. By the end of the week there, they were comfortable enough with the train they could get around by themselves. But use up the balance on your Metro cards when you leave. We never got our refund using the promised procedure.
 
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Tour of the US Capitol > White House Tour.

If you talk to your Congressman or Senator, you can get a guided tour from one of their aides and movement is much easier. One of the highlights of our last trip, along with the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier..
 
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We drove out, it isn't bad at all. Came home to eastern Iowa in a day.

One thing we did that we had not planned was the 9/11 Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania, which was only a few miles off the Turnpike on good old US Highway 30. A perfect memorial I thought in terms of tone and pitch, everything there has a purpose.
 
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A couple more suggestions:
- if you have kids going, trip up to the National Zoo (Metro goes there)
- rent a car and drive up to Gettysburg for a day
- take the bus to Mount Vernon
- contact your senator on possible White House tour

DC is a great place to visit
 
Die4Cy said:
Tour of the US Capitol > White House Tour.

If you talk to your Congressman or Senator, you can get a guided tour from one of their aides and movement is much easier. One of the highlights of our last trip, along with the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier..
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When my family went to DC ~10 years ago, we set up a tour through Sen. Harkin's office, and his aides did a pretty good job with the tour. The WH tour was cool too, once you get used to the Secret Service agents staring you down.

Side story: When we got done with the Capitol tour, our group was gathered outside of the office when Tom showed up. His aides kept trying to whisk him away ("he's got a meeting!") but he ignored them and stuck around to shake hands, chat and take pictures. Thought that was cool.
 
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Die4Cy said:
We drove out, it isn't bad at all. Came home to eastern Iowa in a day.

One thing we did that we had not planned was the 9/11 Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania, which was only a few miles off the Turnpike on good old US Highway 30. A perfect memorial I thought in terms of tone and pitch, everything there has a purpose.
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I 2nd this. We drove it last year and were there for fireworks over the mall on the 4th. We hit Gettysburg on our way home. I wish we would've hit the Flight 93 memorial. Didn't even think of it until we drove by the Shanksville exit.
 
I don't know what it is, but unlike most other cities I've been to around the US as a tourist, everyone in DC was very helpful--to the point of offering assistance when we hadn't asked for any. Maybe it's because nobody is from there, but transplanted from across the country.
 
You can also visit Pentagon. They will give you a tour in the building. Really impressive.
I second Udvar-Hazy: that’s is unbelievable.
Another one you can see is Ford Theater. Also go to a night tour with the National Park service - they will take you for a walk from World War Ii Memorial, MLK and Fdr memorial.
Library of Congress
 
When touring Arlington National, be sure to see the changing of the guard. It's one of the most striking things I've ever seen.

Pick out a couple of the Smithsonian museums that you want to see. A couple of them stay open until about 7 so take advantage of those.(I know that the portrait gallery and the American art museum are open late. There may be others).

See the Einstein statue. It's just NE of the Lincoln Memorial. It's nothing big but is kind of cool.

Check out Union Station. It has a ton of different restaurants, great architecture, a bunch of souvenir places and is a hub for many tours.

If looking for an area to hang out during the night, try Chinatown or Dupont Circle.

Try to walk as much as you can. It almost seems like there's something memorable on every block.
 
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