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Thinking ahead about planning a trip with the wifey (not now of course -- a few months down the road after Covid-19 has faded).
What are some nice areas of North Virginia / Maryland which remind you of the Raleigh/Cary/Durham/CH area? I felt the question is better asked of triangle residents who are familiar with *visiting* the DC metro area, rather than folks who live in the DC metro area who have a completely local perspective and may not even know what makes the triangle vibe what it is. Here is the criteria I'm looking for:
- Under 30 min drive to/from anywhere in non rush hour traffic
- Good upscale hotel options
- Lots of dining options, active nightlife a big plus
- More of a suburb feel -- less concrete, less high rises, some character to the area would be nice. The kind of place that feels like there's some elbow room -- has more actual parking lots than multi level parking garages.
When we go to DC we like to stay at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria. It is NOT in Old Towne, but it's right across the street from the King St Metro station. There are several good restaurants in walking distance, and Old Towne Alexandria is a short walk. Like all Embassy Suites it has free cooked to order breakfast and free evening happy hour. THere is a Holiday Inn in Olde Towne that looks nice.
We stayed in Arlington once, and didn't care for it - it felt deserted in the evening but the metro stop was right around the corner. Also stayed right in DC once when we were coming here to visit (and have stayed there while on business trips with DH) and I don't recommend unless you are VERY familiar with it as you can literally walk out your hotel and turn one way and go a block and be in an area you don't want to be in and go a block the other way and be perfectly fine. None of the museums are open at night anyway.
Also don't recommend driving into DC, you will be sorry if you do it and try to find a place to park. Metro is super easy to use there.
There's a poster named michgc who used to live there and even though she used to be a resident I bet she will chime in with some good info for visitors.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rubelru
Thinking ahead about planning a trip with the wifey (not now of course -- a few months down the road after Covid-19 has faded).
What are some nice areas of North Virginia / Maryland which remind you of the Raleigh/Cary/Durham/CH area? I felt the question is better asked of triangle residents who are familiar with *visiting* the DC metro area, rather than folks who live in the DC metro area who have a completely local perspective and may not even know what makes the triangle vibe what it is. Here is the criteria I'm looking for:
- Under 30 min drive to/from anywhere in non rush hour traffic
- Good upscale hotel options
- Lots of dining options, active nightlife a big plus
- More of a suburb feel -- less concrete, less high rises, some character to the area would be nice. The kind of place that feels like there's some elbow room -- has more actual parking lots than multi level parking garages.
What would you suggest as a place to stay?
Lived in DC metro for 22 years. Have been living in Triangle for 8 years.
1. There is no where in the metro area that is under a 30-min drive to anywhere in non-rush hour. Nowhere. Rush hour is much longer in both morning and evening (3-4 hours each). Traffic is bad virtually around the clock, and while sometimes you can get lucky, it is unpredictable. There is Metro which is very easy to use and helps you get around.
2. Lots of upscale hotels throughout the metro. Most are in the city or more urban parts. How upscale are you talking? There is: Ritz Carlton Tysons, DC, the Willard, DC, JW Marriott, DC, Four Seasons, DC, among many others. But there are tons of "nice" hotels like Sheratons, Embassy Suites, etc. Each city and section of DC have a plethora, so it would be best to narrow down location first.
3. Dining options are numerous and varied throughout the DC metro. Downtown, there is Adams Morgan which has a lot of ethnic options, DuPont Circle, in DC, Bethesda, MD has lots of variety, etc. All of those areas have an active nightlife.
4. To get more of a suburb feel, you are going fairly far out. Starting from the center of DC and moving outward, you don't feel very suburban until maybe Rockville in Maryland and McLean area in NoVA. Inside those boundaries toward DC, it will be much more urban with multi-level parking garage. Although there is a ton of green space and elbow room in DC walking around (other than in the core tourist areas in the high season).
Based on what you wrote, I would suggest looking in the Bethesda/Chevy Chase/Friendship Heights area of MD/DC as a fairly central place to stay. If you pick a hotel near the metro, you can park and forget it for the most part. You can head downtown pretty easily but still have green space where you are staying. Areas relatively nearby would be the Zoo, Great Falls, Rock Creek Park, lots of dining and places to go out.
-Rock Creek Park is a 1700-acre park in DC that is part of the National Park Service and is a gem! https://www.nps.gov/rocr/index.htm
-Great Falls is also part of the National Park Service. There is a Maryland side and a Virginia side. You would have to drive here, but it's worth it. https://www.nps.gov/grfa/index.htm
-Bethesda is an urban/suburban small city which is somewhat similar to Cameron Village area, I would say. Lots of restaurants and nightlife and great to walk around. There are parking garages but still lots of greenspace, parks, and bikepaths.
-Friendship Heights is urban and is in DC but is not downtown, so there is more room to spread out but is still a city.
-Heading out to the burbs like Rockville would put you in a more suburban area with lots of places to eat, and some things to do, but wouldn't be a particularly unique experience and would involve more driving.
Going in a totally different direction - there are bucolic areas of the DC metro that are pretty far out with wineries, some smaller, quaint towns, etc (like Middleburg, VA, Frederick, MD, Occoquan, VA). But it would be inconvenient to go other places from there - particularly if you want to get into the city, too.
If you can be more specific about what you are looking for, I could guide you better. For now, based on what you wrote, my best suggestion is Bethesda, MD.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Ha, ha, you know me! Alexandria is an excellent suggestion, too! For some reason, I honed in on the Maryland side, but Alexandria would be neat to visit, too and is also convenient. A bonus with Alexandria is that you could potentially take Amtrak there and get off at the Alexandria stop if you want to go car-free for the weekend. Great bike trails, close to DC and Mount Vernon, too. Lots of places to eat and walk around, bars, etc.
For a really suburban feel, with shopping and restaurants close by, I'd suggest Reston, VA. Like the Triangle, it has lots of walking and running trails and greenery.
Ha, ha, you know me! Alexandria is an excellent suggestion, too! For some reason, I honed in on the Maryland side, but Alexandria would be neat to visit, too and is also convenient. A bonus with Alexandria is that you could potentially take Amtrak there and get off at the Alexandria stop if you want to go car-free for the weekend. Great bike trails, close to DC and Mount Vernon, too. Lots of places to eat and walk around, bars, etc.
Usually we're exhausted from NoVA traffic LOL....so stay on the side of the area. I do love that area of MD, though.
Reston is also a good suburban call - one of my friends live there.
You want to find a spot for your vacation.....that is just like the area where you live? Don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but it seems like that kind of defeats the purpose of "getting away" you know?
To everyone: Thank you for all the suggestions so far!
Quote:
Originally Posted by From66to40
For a really suburban feel, with shopping and restaurants close by, I'd suggest Reston, VA. Like the Triangle, it has lots of walking and running trails and greenery.
Thank you, looking at Reston on Google maps, it looks the closest to what we're looking for of the suggestions so far. Would be great if we could find something similar a little closer to the center, but that is probably just an example of a compromise we will have to make.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TarHeelNick
I'm confused...
You want to find a spot for your vacation.....that is just like the area where you live? Don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but it seems like that kind of defeats the purpose of "getting away" you know?
Not everyone has the same purpose/goals or reasons for "getting away" -- in our case we would like to have relatively easy access to many things to do in the DC area, but prefer a specific type of setting for our "home base".
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Alexandria is an excellent suggestion, too! For some reason, I honed in on the Maryland side, but Alexandria would be neat to visit, too and is also convenient. A bonus with Alexandria is that you could potentially take Amtrak there and get off at the Alexandria stop if you want to go car-free for the weekend. Great bike trails, close to DC and Mount Vernon, too. Lots of places to eat and walk around, bars, etc.
