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Hi all! I'm a regular poster in several other forums, and I was hoping for ideas and advice.
For our birthday, my fiance's parents gave us a trip to your fine city for the weekend of the 4th. I don't know which airport we're flying into or where we're staying yet (his mom booked it) but I'm not an idiot so I'm certain we can work all that out.
So this is really just a super open-ended thread about what we should hit (or miss) while we're there. It's both of our first trips to DC, we're urbanites and we've lived in several large cities, and we love street life, festivals, great parks and delicious food.
I am sure we will hit at least one or two of the big museums, but I'm less excited about that than exploring the city in general.
What major festivities will be going on for the holiday?
Thanks in advance to all those who offer advice and ideas!
4th of July is a mess in DC. Everyone and their mama will be in town. Don't even THINK about driving or even taking a taxi, traffic is horrible. If your hotel is near the National Mall you should be fine. The fireworks are set behind the Lincoln Memorial ( i think) so you should be able to see the fireworks from most parts of the city. The mall itself gets pretty crowded so make sure to get their early if you want a space. Also, bring blankets, water etc....
We defintely don't plan to rent a car. We'd only take a taxi if we were coming home from a late dinner with a bit of a buzz on. Otherwise we'll be plenty happy with the subway or whatever you guys call it!
The metro gets extremely crowded as well on the 4th of July. I suppose it's worth it to see the fireworks behind the monument, but it's not for the faint of heart. I recommend walking if you can.
Since you haven't visited DC before, I can say that every well-known site and attraction in the city is worth seeing. You won't be disappointed with anything. BTW, I recommend touring the White House and U.S. Capitol. You need to call your Senator or Congressperson now to book in advance.
As for neighborhoods, Georgetown is a must. DuPont Circle, Adams Morgan and Penn Quarter are nice as well if you have time to see them. There are lots of up-and-coming neighborhoods that are worth visiting in DC.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 05-11-2011 at 02:05 PM..
^Do they do the fireworks on Monday the 4th? If so, we'll have already flown home. I do know a fair amount of cities do them on the 3rd ...
Yes, it's on Monday. If you're coming here that weekend, it doesn't make sense to leave without seeing the fireworks. Have you booked your flight already?
Neighborhoods I recommend visiting:
-Georgetown (DC's premier high end shopping district and oldest neighborhood)
-Gallery Place/Chinatown (Verizon Center, Restaurants, Lounges, Bars, Movie Theater, Bowling Alley, Shops)
-U street corridor (Ben's Chili Bowl and many other restaurants as well as lots of bars and clothing boutiques)
-Columbia Heights (Meridian Pint and Red Rocks Pizzeria are must go places)
-Adams Morgan (DC's biggest club and lounge scene)
-Mt. Pleasant
-Dupont Circle (DC's most liberal neighborhood, plenty of restaurants, bars, lounges, clubs, cultural events, etc)
-Farragut Square/Golden Triangle (Plenty of bars and lounges)
-Penn Quarter
-Logan Circle
-Barracks Row/Eastern Market
-Capitol Hill
-Old Town Alexandria
The cool thing is that all of the neighborhoods I named are pretty much connected via Circulator bus and metro (subway).
The 14th street line serves: Downtown (14th and K street), Logan Circle, U street, Columbia Heights, Mt Pleasant and Adams Morgan.
Circulator:
The K street line serves: Georgetown, Golden Triangle, 14th and K and Chinatown (North)
The 7th street line serves: Penn Quarter, National Mall, Waterfront, Mt. Vernon Square
The Navy Yard line serves: Union station, Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Barracks Row, and the Ballpark District.
Metrorail:
Georgetown: Red line @ Dupont Circle or Blue/Orange line @ Rosslyn or Foggy Bottom-GWU stations then transfer to circulator bus
Gallery Place/Chinatown: Red/Green/Yellow line @ Gallery Place-Chinatown station
U street corridor: Green/Yellow line @ U street-Cardozo station
Columbia Heights: Green/Yellow line @ Columbia Heights station
Adams Morgan: Red line @ Woodley Park-Adams Morgan station
Mt. Pleasant: Green/Yellow line @ Columbia Heights station
Dupont Circle: Red line @ Dupont Circle station
Golden Triangle: Red line @ Farragut North station or Blue/Orange line @ Farragut West station
Penn Quarter: Green/Yellow line @ Archives/Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter station
Logan Circle: Blue/Orange line @ McPherson Square station then transfer to the Circulator bus
Eastern Market/Barracks Row: Blue/Orange line @ Eastern Market station
Ballpark District: Green line @ Navy Yard station
DC waterfront: Green line @ Waterfront station
Capitol Hill: Blue/Orange line @ Capitol South and Eastern Market
Old Town Alexandria: Blue/Yellow line @ King Street station and transfer to free Trolley Bus
Neighborhoods I recommend visiting:
-Georgetown (DC's premier high end shopping district and oldest neighborhood)
-Gallery Place/Chinatown (Verizon Center, Restaurants, Lounges, Bars, Movie Theater, Bowling Alley, Shops)
-U street corridor (Ben's Chili Bowl and many other restaurants as well as lots of bars and clothing boutiques)
-Columbia Heights (Meridian Pint and Red Rocks Pizzeria are must go places)
-Adams Morgan (DC's biggest club and lounge scene)
-Mt. Pleasant
-Dupont Circle (DC's most liberal neighborhood, plenty of restaurants, bars, lounges, clubs, cultural events, etc)
-Farragut Square/Golden Triangle (Plenty of bars and lounges)
-Penn Quarter
-Logan Circle
-Barracks Row/Eastern Market
-Capitol Hill
-Old Town Alexandria
Good grief, they are only coming for the weekend! I think covering 13 neighborhoods in one weekend is a pretty tall order.
On the 4th, there's a parade around the mall in the morning. The Smithsonian Folk Life Festival will be set up on the mall as well. Every year they choose a couple of regions in the world and have some tents highlighting the culture of those regions. This will all be happening on the mall around the museums so you can sort of meander around the lawns and in the museums, and decide what piques your interest.
In the evening there is a concert on the grounds of the capitol building, and of course fireworks. Fireworks are at the opposite end of the mall from the concert and they coincide, so it can be a challenge to get a spot where you can enjoy both. Note that seating for the concert begins at 3 pm and it does fill up early. If you don't want to camp out all day, they usually have a rehearsal of the concert the day before. Google it closer to the time of your trip to find out exactly when the rehearsal will be, if interested.
If you want 'local flavor' I'd focus on U Street Corridor and maybe Capitol Hill. U Street has lots of black history and a fantastic street life. Capitol Hill has some of the oldest houses in town, an old market (Eastern Market) as well as the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, and other interesting destinations. Go to georgetown if you want good shopping. Dupont Circle is a good place to head to for restaurants and it's easy to get to from touristy areas.
I think all the rest of the neighborhoods are completely missable. Sure Columbia Heights has a nice beer garden but I don't think it's worth going half way across town for. Farragut Square is the middle of downtown office buildings. There's nothing really going on on the weekends, particularly a holiday weekend.
Gallery place doesn't really have anything unique to DC--a movie theater, bowling alley, bed bath and beyond, and fuddruckers. One thing that is worth visiting in this area is the portrait gallery and american art gallery. Between the two is an absolutely lovely indoor courtyard which is a great place to stop and rest, midday. The Building museum is a few blocks away, accessible from either gallery pl. or judiciary sq. metro stops.
IMO, I think it's always worthwhile to visit Arlington Cemetery, and particularly apropos on independence day weekend.
Be prepared for BIG crowds. And heat. And LOTS of humidity. Kansas City has nothing on DC when it comes to humidity (I used to live there, so I know).
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