Washington DC advice About This Page:

[lorilovestigger]

It looks like we're going to take a weekend trip to DC the 3rd weekend in October. Anyone out there have an advice on where to stay or NOT to stay? Right now I'm looking at 2 hotel near the Navy Yard. And we may take Amtrak down so we don't have to drive in the city.

Other than the zoo and "mall" any other great places to visit? Our friend works at the Pentagon so he's going to take us there that Friday.

Thanks!

Lori

PS-planning a WDW trip is easier than this.

[Teresa]

The Smithsonian Museums are good- and FREE!!
Don't bother with the National Aquarium - we see better fish, and a wider display at the local pet store.
We absolutely LOVED the Holocaust Museum - even DH who usually doesn't like those things was very affected.
I can't advise on where to stay - we were in a Doubletree in Bethesda for a week, then spent one night in an Embassy Suites in VA. when our flight out was cancelled due to weather.
I would say that if you stay in the city, you'd be fine without a car or anything.
We bought a 2 day pass for a sightseeing tour bus (double decker), and you can hop on and off at will.
One place we all loved was the Spy Museum, which is around the corner from Ford's Theater. It cost money, but was cool.
Also - we didn't think we'd like Arlington National Cemetary - but my 14 yr. old DD and 19 yr. old neice said it was one of the coolest places they'd been all week (and we went EVERYWHERE!!!!)

[minemoz1]

I went for the first time this year. I had 1-1/2 days. My friend lives in Alexandria, VA and took me around. We went to the National Archives and saw the Constitution, Declaration of Independence etc. Get there early as the line does get LONG! We wanted to go to Ford's theater, but there were school groups and the line was too long. We also did the spy museum and liked it but again was VERY crowded.

The best thing we did was a trolley tour. We did the DC at night tour and it was GREAT if a bit rushed. We saw Capitol Hill from the trolley and stopped at the Marine, Roosevelt, and Lincoln Memorials.

We did Mount Vernon on my 1/2 day and took the bus there as my friend didn't have a car then. You can access the bus from one of the Metro stops but it's a long ride.

Have a great trip.

[Shadowfax]

I can highly recommend the Holiday Inn Capitol, which is just a block from the National Mall and the Metro. Great location and comfortable, clean hotel. We'd stay there again in a heartbeat. Don't miss the new Museum of the American Indian (the food court there is terrific!) and if you can, take the shuttle bus out to see the new wing of the Air and Space Museum at Dulles. Both were fantastic!

[ilovedisney0_0]

My DD was born at Walter Reed in Washington DC. We were in military housing or a hotel, so I don't have much advice on that front. The advice I do have is to keep your valuables close. We were told not even to wear jewelry, because it could be stolen right off of your person!

[lorilovestigger]

Originally Posted by ilovedisney0_0

The advice I do have is to keep your valuables close. We were told not even to wear jewelry, because it could be stolen right off of your person!

YIKES!! I'm usually a "carry a backpack around" kind of person but maybe this trip I should us my passport carrier that goes around my neck and put my $$ in that.

[COMinnie]

Ooh, I love talking about DC!
Definitely go to the Smithsonian museums. The Air and Space Museum is my personal favorite, but they're all great. The Native American museum is relatively new and really awesome- the food court has food from different regions of the US and their tamales are SO GOOD!
Hmm..to see a lot in a relatively small amount of time, try one of the Tourmobile tours. They take you to a whole bunch of the monuments and up to Arlington Nat'l Cemetary (really interesting).
Try the Hirshhorn Museum- there's cool modern art exhibits and a sculpture garden. It's way less hokey than it sounds!
Where else...Mount Vernon (a bit out of the way, but worth it), and the Spy Museum are both great choices. You can have lunch on the roof of the Hotel Washington- the food is pretty hit-or-miss, but the view of DC is fabulous.

One hotel suggestion- the Willard Hotel has been in the same spot since the early days of the nation's capital. Lots of history, and walking distance to pretty much everything you'll want to see and do.

I hope this helped you out! Have a great trip

BTW, we live right outside of DC and have never had any problems with anything being stolen. If you walk around the Mall at 1:00AM, then you might be in trouble, but otherwise you shouldn't worry too much.

[JoanW]

I think I'd avoid the Navy Yard area too. It's not close enough to stuff and the neighborbood is iffy.

[chezp]

As far as places to visit, Arlington National Cemetery is amazing and we love visiting all the monuments - our favourites include the new Second World War one, the Jefferson and the Korean - that one really is haunting. If you can, take a tour, but it's also worth considering a night-time tour, as some of the monuments are really beautiful at night.

[DrDolphin]

There is the trolley tour - you can hop on and off all day - at your own pace - plus they have a guide to tell you about things if you choose not to get off.

My Do not miss list (I lived outside DC for 4.5 years) -
Holocaust museum
Mall and all the Smithsonian Museums (FREE!)
The main memorials - Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, Washington
The War Memorials - Vietnam, Korean and the New WWII (I haven't see this one yet - it was under construction when I left town)
The zoo is good - and FREE - a rarity these days.

Have a great time - and I agree - Dave and Jennifer need to write a Passporter for DC.... too much to see too little time.

[lorilovestigger]

Originally Posted by JoanW

I think I'd avoid the Navy Yard area too. It's not close enough to stuff and the neighborbood is iffy.

I was afraid someone was going to say that. There's Courtyard by Marriot down there and priced just right. Anything else that I looked at was $200 or more
a night .

Any good places to eat??

[COMinnie]

If you're going with kids, pretty much any place in Georgetown is going to be family friendly. Here's some more suggestions:
Clyde's, in Georgetown
Sequoia, on the Potomac River, which has an outdoor patio that's right on the river and you can see all of the boats go by. Good crabcakes!
Paolo's, in Georgetown...good Italian food.
Anything in Chinatown is really reasonable as far as price goes.

Whichever hotel you decide to stay in, definitely talk to the concierge because they'll be able to get you menus and make the reservations for you- all you have to do is tip them, but it's worth it. Good luck- PM me if you need other suggestions!

[marianne e cornett]

OK! I second the Willard Hotel. My Dad took me there when I was a teen and it was still in original condition so that we could get the historical feel as many presidents have stayed there. But it has been totally refurbished in the last couple of years and is gorgeous. The travel channel had a whole show about it. And you can walk to alot of stuff from there. What about the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence ? Or the National Mint to see money and stamps being made? Or the FBI tour? Definitely the Smithsonian however you could spend your whole weekend here and never see anything else. And I heard that they had resumed tours of parts of the White House. Anyone else heard this? You could call your congressman or senator and find out. Also you can ask them for a tour of the Capitol building as well as a flag that has been flown over the capitol (my dad got one of those). Do not miss the Lincoln Monument, it is awe inspiring. Oh, yes and for the adults, the Vietnam War memorial. It is supposed to make your stomach flutter. My only other advice is there are some of the different countries' embassies that give tours. The Spanish one used to do this and it was very special - you felt like a VIP. I guess go on line if this interests you. My personal time of year to go see Washington would be cherry blossom time. We have it here on the Door County Peninsula and it is like it's snowing! Hope this helps a bit. Bigred

[JoanW]

Unfortunately, after 9/11, there is no more FBI tour. If you check the website, it always says the Tour is down for maintenance or refurbishment. The laboratory moved entirely out of the building, thereby eliminating 50% of the stuff to see.

I would look into a hotel in Crystal City, Virginia or Arlington near the subway. You can see most of the city from these hotels, and might not pay as much for inside the city.

[blondie]

We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Alexandriaa, about 9 miles from the Mall one year. The other year we stayed in a Quality Inn Iwo Jima right across the river from the Mall. Both were fine as far as safety. Both were about $95.00 per night or so. The drive from the Comfort Inn seemd intimidating at first ... 6 or 8 lane freeway into the city, but on Saturday and Sunday it was smooth sailing as nobody was on the road except tourists. We parked on the mall both times and had no problems. We got there about 9:30 and had plenty of spaces to pick from. We walked all the way around the mall and visited as many of the monuments and museums as we could. We especially loved the new Native American Museum and the Natural history Museum. The new WW II monument is huge and don't miss the Vietnam Memorial. At night, go to the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR monument is fantastic.

We had no problems with crime, but then again we always travel safely and smart. Have fun!