Going to DC Area for a week

[ihearyou2]

Ive never been. Write an itenerary for me of everything that I should do. We're going to spend a day and a half down by Colonial Williamburg/Jamestown as well.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

I've never been there, but my wife has. She says don't even think about driving in the city, the traffic is horrific but they have an excellent light rail system. Of course, the Smithsonian is a "must see" she said she could have spent a week there alone.

[Anne_in_VA]

Love DC! What do you like to do? Museums, shopping??? Where are you staying? Try taking a bus tour (forget what it's called) that takes you to all the sights in downtown DC - the mall, all the museums, Arlington, the memorials, etc. You can get on and off as much as you like and it's pretty reasonable. I've stayed at a hotel near Union Station and got the bus there.

I love the Smithsonian, National Gallery, visiting Georgetown with all it's shops and restaurants, all the memorials around the mall area.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I agree, don't think of driving in the city. Parking's difficult to find and outrageously expensive. When we stayed there last year, I think I paid $35/day to park our rental at the hotel. Fortunately, it was only for 2 days. We then moved out to the 'burbs' on one of the Metro lines and took that.

Plan on spending 2-3 days at the Smithsonium, which includes the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. Next door is the National Gallery of Art, which you can get lost in. You'll want to take in the Holocaust Museum, sobering but a must see and that'll take a couple hours to see. Make sure you take in all the monuments.

If you want to tour the White House, you'll have to get entrance via your congressman. That info is available online. If you want to get into the Capitol, you can also get reservations online for a tour free. The tour's pretty good, I went the first time last spring. There's Arlington Cemetary and Mount Vernon (Washington's home) which you should catch if you have the time, but it's outside of DC.

Make sure you take comfortable shoes, you'll be doing LOTS of walking.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

I just remembered, there's also an FDR Monument most people don't know about. It's very small, because he insisted that no monument erected to him could be larger than his desk.

[tcu2003]

Check out the Einstein memorial - it's near the Lincoln Memorial (across the street). Also, walk the Mall both at night and during the day. My all-time favorite thing to do in DC is walk the Mall at might (I go from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument) - it's a wonderful walk with a fabulous view at night. Spend some time at the WWII Memorial along the way - it's a great one!

The Smithsonian Museums and the National Gallery are both on my favorites list. I've also been to the Newseum and the International Spy Museum the last couple of times I've been to DC - neither are free, but they are pretty fun to go through.

Library of Congress is a good one, and the Capital Building. I've never done the White House tour, so that's on my list the next time I go, assuming I get enough notice.

I'll echo what everyone else said - don't drive in DC. The metro system is pretty good, and easy to use. And taxis aren't that expensive, depending on how far you have to travel.

[mtntigger]

You don't need to take a bus tour, just hop on the Metro.
My favorite museums are the Air and Space and American History. Each take me a day to go through, let alone all the other museums and memorials. Arlington (for me) is also a must see each time. I enjoyed Monticello more, but Mount Vernon is closer to D.C. if you wanted your family to see a plantation.
Once you get tired of absorbing the history, D.C. has quite a number of great alternative theaters and night clubs; tickets are pretty inexpensive.

[wvugurl26]

Definitely do not drive! It is soooo not worth the hassle and parking is nonexistent. If you fly into Reagan the metro runs to there. I like walking around the Mall area and there are tons of museums and things to see there.
A tip from my coworkers, apparently the cafeteria at the Indian museum is really good. I've never been there when they've went but everyone says it is good. I'm back down there for two days the first week in March so maybe we'll go.

[mtntigger]

apparently the cafeteria at the Indian museum is really good

Really? I didn't think it was that great... granted, it had a distinctly different menu than the other museums, but the taste was still not great. Maybe it's because I was there in the first couple months after it opened.
That's one thing that you have to expect on the mall... crappy, overpriced cafeteria or vendor food. I usually try to pack something beforehand, even if only just deli sandwiches and apples. I don't even recall seeing a decent restaurant on the mall.

[wvugurl26]

When we went out last time we ended up at a deli. Of course I was with a different group of people then. I've never been just heard about it so it could suck. I'm down there 2 days in early March and one of the people going with me is the one who told me about it.
Our cafeterias pretty much suck. Sodexo has a lock on it. I've never had a decent hot meal. Even the lasagna was weird, too much cilantro or something. Is it that hard to bake some pans of Stouffers?

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I will recommend an excellent, inexpensive restaurant in DC that is near the convention center. The restaurant is called Busboys and Poets and I did not have a bad meal there. It was around the corner from my hotel and I ate there about 4x while I was there. Meals range from $7-$18.

[wvugurl26]

Yeah so I went to that museum cafe and I was not impressed. It was pricey too. 2 tacos, chips, and pop were $17 with federal employee discount. I think the place we went to today was called atrium cafe. Its just a sandwich place but they slice whole hams, turkeys, and slabs of roast beef for your sandwiches. I had been craving a turkey sandwich made with turkey like that.

[Peace77]

If you'd like an inexpensive place to eat, go to the lower level of Union Station. The Food Court has great choices and something from every ethnic group.