D.C. Trip Advice/Tips?

[evvander11]

My family is heading down to Washington D.C. for four days since my mother has never been there. Any "can't miss" places to visit other than the really obvious ones?

Is it true that the air and space museum next to Dulles is much better to go to than the one downtown? Is there a shuttle of some sort that runs between the two? My brother is currently in college for aerospace engineering and this would be a good place to see for that.

Lastly, any Metro advice would be great. Where do you obtain daily/weekly passes? Are they worth it?

Thanks

[Doug Meldrum]

Make sure you try to see the basketball court above the supreme court. You may need to call your senator to pull some strings for the back room tour.
The view of the Library of Congress from the room at the top is also pretty great. The Washington Monument. There are so many things to do you just cant go wrong with any of them.
We just parked and picked up the train from the Mall in Arlington. It worked great.

When we go on vacation with our kids, we ask, how was this trip on the scale? The first time we asked was the Disney world trip (we had already been to DC). Their answer was Number two. I was surprised and asked what was number one, they all said in unison, "Washington D.C."
Your going to have a great time.

[evvander11]

Doug, did you use the metro to get around?

We are planning on staying at a hotel in Rosslyn and taking the metro to anywhere we need to go. The metro itself doesnt seem to difficult to figure out but not sure if we should go with unlimited daily passes or a 7-day pass or just pay as we go...

I did not know there was a freaking basketball court above the supreme court...HAHA! The "highest court in the land"....puts some things in perspective...

[jlfernan]

Have been there twice. Definitely the daily pass for the train. Get off and on as often as you want and you will not need a car. There is bus that takes you to Dulles airport for the Udvar-Hazy museum(National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center), then a shuttle takes you to the museum. I preferred the one in D.C. but this was a few years ago and the new museum had only recently opened. You can get lots of info at your hotel.

[MJN]

DC is a great visit. Pack some comfortable walking shoes you'll need them. We went for a long weekend over the Chery Blossom Festival a couple of years back and walked well over 15 miles in three days. You can take public transport into the city but you'll miss things that you would see otherwise if you use it to hop from place to place.

[PSB]

DO NOT try to drive into DC - use the Metro! It will take you close to most of the sights.

As an Aerospace Engineer myself, I was pretty underwhelmed by the Air & Space Museum. I haven't been to the annex yet, but it's got to be better than the main museum. The main museum just isn't big enough to display many airplanes.

Pete

[evvander11]

Originally Posted by PSB

DO NOT try to drive into DC - use the Metro! It will take you close to most of the sights.

As an Aerospace Engineer myself, I was pretty underwhelmed by the Air & Space Museum. I haven't been to the annex yet, but it's got to be better than the main museum. The main museum just isn't big enough to display many airplanes.

Pete

Yea i think that's why the one near Dulles is considered a better attraction right now...they have the space out there to house all the aircraft they are showing.

[cobradawg]

My wife and I were just in Wash. A few months back, the air museum at Dulles is much larger than the one downtown, but the one downtown is certianly worth seeing. Arlington cemetery is a good half day trip plenty of parking and the cost of the guided trolly tour is well worth it. Also the national Cathedral is amazing My daughter works for Homeland Security, so we go up fairly often. Let us know what your food taste are and maybe I can steer you to some good places to eat. I will tell you now that the Old Ebbitt Grill on N Y Ave. near the White House is incredible. It dates to the 1870'S, some presidents use to walk there to eat in it's early days, we always go there for sunday brunch. Oh, call your congressman and you might get a guided tour of the capitol by one of his staff, you will see things not on the normal tours.

[CHOOPS]

Took the Metro from the airport into D.C. The metro is under ground so you don't know where you are when getting on and off if you don't know the street names. Then we rode on the double deck buses. They have a one or two day pass. You can hop on and off any time you want and they take you everywhere. Well worth the money.

Steve

[MVM]

National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights is a "must see".

[CobraDreaming]

Originally Posted by cobradawg

My wife and I were just in Wash. A few months back, the air museum at Dulles is much larger than the one downtown, but the one downtown is certianly worth seeing. Arlington cemetery is a good half day trip plenty of parking and the cost of the guided trolly tour is well worth it. Also the national Cathedral is amazing My daughter works for Homeland Security, so we go up fairly often. Let us know what your food taste are and maybe I can steer you to some good places to eat. I will tell you now that the Old Ebbitt Grill on N Y Ave. near the White House is incredible. It dates to the 1870'S, some presidents use to walk there to eat in it's early days, we always go there for sunday brunch. Oh, call your congressman and you might get a guided tour of the capitol by one of his staff, you will see things not on the normal tours.

Ditto this. Another couple didn't show on our tour so it was the 2 of us and the staffer. Saw and was pointed out all sorts of neat things the normal joe doesn't see. The catafalque used for Lincoln and every subsequent President who has laid in state for instance. Congress wasn't in session and got to go on the floor. Could have sat in the Speakers chair (staffer invited me to) just couldn't bring myself to do it. Various other things.

Museum of national history to see the "star spangled banner" the flag that flew over FT. McHenry. May not be your cup of tea but was quite moving for me. Be sure to look up times as it is only revealed at certain times of the day.

The mall is huge. Spent a week just touring the various museums and never even had time to make it down to the memorials / Arlington. I think it would take about 2 weeks to do Washington up right.

Went there 20 years ago and still say it was the best vacation I have ever taken

[evvander11]

Thanks for the advice on places to see, and anyone reading this who may have more to list please do so!

I cannot wait to see Arlington, last time I was there was about 2006 and I was burying a friend of mine . I still think of him every time I hear the national anthem...

[CobraDVM]

I was there in February of this year - one of the best vacations I have taken. Definitely get accommodation close to a metro station - forget about renting/driving a car.
Old Ebbits Grill is definitely worth a visit for lunch or dinner. You can take the Metro out to Arlington cemetery - that was the highlight of my visit. Check out some video of the changing of the guard of the unknown soldier and you'll see the best place to stand is at one end - not in the middle area.
All of the monuments and museums are worth visiting - Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial (bummer that you still can't go up it), Korean War memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Air and Space Museum etc etc.

Bring good walking shoes. You can reload metro passes at any of the stations. We went in February as I said, and the weather was perfect - might be a bit hot at this time of year - drink lots of water.

[Shawn]

Definitely catch the Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps and Silent Drill Team at Arlington. They do a twilight performance several time a week in the summer. Check the schedule and don't miss it.

[hxly2]

The Washington Monument is closed because of earthquake damage.

[Bullethole]

Check out Ben's Chili Bowl. The last time I as there, Bill Cosby was there eating a chili burger.

[CraigS]

I would do both air museums especially since you have a family member who is interested. I know they have a restaurant in the original and pretty sure they have in the new one too so you can plan your time around eating there. If you get to either at opening time of 10am, and plan to eat somewhere else, you will really shortcut your visit. 2 hours doesn't work at all. The original museum has an IMAX theater so check what is showing cause that will be very worthwhile. Here is a wild and crazy idea if you are coming this weekend.A bunch of us will be running an SCCA autocross at FedEx field Sunday the 19th. We should be running at about 10-12 AM. If you can get out there you can definately get a couple of ride alongs.We will have 4 FFR roadsters, an FFR coupe, and a Backdraft roadster running w/ possibly 2 more FFR roadsters who haven't registered yet..

[cobradawg]

They have a Mac donalds at the Dulles museum, but the day we were there the lines were 20 yards long. There are several resturants about a mile away in Reston.

[Someday I Suppose]

Bummer that the Washington Monument is still closed, I took my dad a few years back for a visit to DC and it was one of the things I enjoyed most.

On visiting the capital, try to visit on a weekday, on weekends the tour is much shorter, basically just three rooms, the Crypt, the Rotunda, and the Old Senate Chamber. The wings are secure and you aren't able to visit them (over the weekend.)

Also, we did a trolly tour the first night there, it is a little cheesy, but a nice way to see everything up front and then decide what you want to go back and see in more detail. The Korean War memorial at night is a bit eiery or so I thought.

Arlington as noted is a good half day or so. The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is something you will want to see, and of course the eternal flame.

HTH and have a great trip!

-Scott

[evvander11]

So we spent the day at Arlington cemetery and then saw the marine corp. commandants drum and bugle band at the Iwo Jima memorial. They only perform on Tuesdays during the summer. They were awesome to watch!! I can post some photos of the trip when we get back on Friday or Saturday.