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I will be visiting Washington DC on November 2nd to Nov. 4th. I am wondering what would be worth to visit while I am there.
I know that the National Mall is a must and I also want to visit the Smithsonian. I know that visiting the White House requires to make an appointment ~6 months before and you have to be supported by a representative -having said that, it's out of the question-, but I don't know if either the Capitol or the Supreme Court requires something similar.
Do you know good places to eat as well?
Also, it would help me a lot about the order, so I could follow an ordered check list and squeeze my time to make the most of it.
I know it will be difficult to visit everything in such a short period of time, but at least I want to be able to say that I visited Washington and its highlights.
I hope I am not asking for too much.
Thanks.
PS. I will be using public transportation. Does the city have a weekly pass like in some other cities?
Here is a link to the complex of Smithsonian museums. Smithsonian . They are all free of charge, and open 364 days a year.
DO NOT try to drive in the Washington area. The traffic overall is some of the worst in the entire USA. Stay in a hotel either in DC itself, or in Arlington/Crystal City, or otherwise near a metrorail station. http://www.wmata.org . Avoid the hotels on New York Ave. N.E. which is a slum.
So will you have all day each day to tour the city? If so that is still a good amount of time to see a lot.
Day 1
You have things like the Arlington Cemetery and National Zoo that are nice to see but would probably require half a day or more because of the distance you must travel to get to them. I think if you plan your day right though you can do both in one day.
Day 2
Holocaust museum is free but you should get online and get the tickets so that you can see the whole exhibit. You could do this the same day that you hit another couple museums or/and WW 2, Vietnam wall, Korean memorial.
Day 3
National archives, museums, walk by the US capital and Supreme Court. I'm not sure about tours but they are both close to each other so you could at least walk by each and check them both out.
I just listed some stuff I did and how you could probably fit them in each day. It really all depends on how long you'd want to stay in certain museums. The National Archives can be time consuming because it's a line a lot of times.
The Air & Space, National History, and American history museums are worth checking out and depending on your interest you could spend 1 hour or 4 hours in each.
The WW 2 memorial, Korean, Vietnam wall, Lincoln memorial are all kind of in the same area which in a couple hours time you could hit all of them. This would really be worth checking out if the weather is nice.
As far as restaurants I know China Town has some good ones. But the main downtown area of DC has a lot to offer I'm sure. I'd try googling restaurants in DC and you'll probably get a nice list.
Hopefully the weather is nice when you visit. It will be November so you might get some cold weather.
As soon I as I remembered the Smithsonian, I wanted to go to the National Air and Space Museum, that would be a must for me. I am the kind of person who usually goes to the museums and other places that make the city famous, after that —if time allows it— I try to cover all the city. I usually try to ask the locals about, well everything, because sometimes the websites don't have the most recent information and sometimes the reviews are old, sometimes even on yelp.
Thank you, I will surely try some of those options. The best part is that the list has addresses and ratings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Statz2k10
So will you have all day each day to tour the city? If so that is still a good amount of time to see a lot.
I have to say that I love your list, thanks. That was exactly what I was looking for. The thing is, there are sometimes that we can try to trace a line to connect the places to visit, but it is nearly impossible to know how long it is going to take or how close/far are to each other; that's why I try to ask first, and then curate all the suggestions to make a plan for the trip.
I forgot to mention it: I will be visiting Washington DC during the weekend so, do you know whether the day 3 places are open on Sundays?
As soon I as I remembered the Smithsonian, I wanted to go to the National Air and Space Museum, that would be a must for me. I am the kind of person who usually goes to the museums and other places that make the city famous, after that —if time allows it— I try to cover all the city. I usually try to ask the locals about, well everything, because sometimes the websites don't have the most recent information and sometimes the reviews are old, sometimes even on yelp.
Thank you, I will surely try some of those options. The best part is that the list has addresses and ratings.
I have to say that I love your list, thanks. That was exactly what I was looking for. The thing is, there are sometimes that we can try to trace a line to connect the places to visit, but it is nearly impossible to know how long it is going to take or how close/far are to each other; that's why I try to ask first, and then curate all the suggestions to make a plan for the trip.
I forgot to mention it: I will be visiting Washington DC during the weekend so, do you know whether the day 3 places are open on Sundays?
I believe that the museums on the mall are. I couldn't find any info on the National Archives. You should probably check the websites for these to see which ones interest you more. Usually you'll be able to find operation hours there.
As soon I as I remembered the Smithsonian, I wanted to go to the National Air and Space Museum, that would be a must for me. I am the kind of person who usually goes to the museums and other places that make the city famous, after that —if time allows it— I try to cover all the city.
In that case, the Museum of Natural History, Air and Space Museum and National Gallery of Art are must-sees. You should probably visit those first. The first 2 also have IMAX theaters with 90 X 60 feet screens. You can buy tickets to showings online.
Day 2
Holocaust museum is free but you should get online and get the tickets so that you can see the whole exhibit. You could do this the same day that you hit another couple museums or/and WW 2, Vietnam wall, Korean memorial.
I'd schedule the Holocause Museum for the end of the day. It's very powerful and leaves you drained. You may not want to see other sites immediately after the tour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Statz2k10
I believe that the museums on the mall are. I couldn't find any info on the National Archives. You should probably check the websites for these to see which ones interest you more. Usually you'll be able to find operation hours there.
There are some good suggestions so far. For public transportation, I recommend you get a SmarTrip card as soon as you can find one (they sell them at CVS and at a couple of the train stations). It costs $5, but it'll save you money in the long-run. The metro has started charging $1 each way for paper tickets and that'll add up to $5 very quickly.
Don't try eating near the mall. It's a waste of your time looking. At best, you'll find some chains and you may have to walk a while to get there. Get on the metro and go to Dupont Circle or Chinatown. There are exceptions, but you have to dig for good stuff. I think it's the high rents.
I'd schedule the Holocause Museum for the end of the day. It's very powerful and leaves you drained. You may not want to see other sites immediately after the tour.
Thanks. Actually I was thinking on leaving it for the last day before I leave the city. I read a little about it, and I have to say that it seems that it will be something moving.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgm123
For public transportation, I recommend you get a SmarTrip card as soon as you can find one (they sell them at CVS and at a couple of the train stations). It costs $5, but it'll save you money in the long-run. The metro has started charging $1 each way for paper tickets and that'll add up to $5 very quickly.
Don't try eating near the mall. It's a waste of your time looking. At best, you'll find some chains and you may have to walk a while to get there. Get on the metro and go to Dupont Circle or Chinatown. There are exceptions, but you have to dig for good stuff. I think it's the high rents.
Thanks! I was missing something like that. I was not sure whether the city had a card like that. I will follow your recommendation; it would be the first thing I will buy as soon as I get there.
About the food, I thought that eating close to the mall was a good option, but now that you mention it, it surely has to do with the fact that there are a lot of people trying to eat there and the rents surely are expensive.
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Oh, and I have added you all reputation points.
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