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I'm from California, and am visiting the east coast sometime this summer. Other than the mainstream attractions I've been to in the past, is there anything else interesting to do in Washington D.C and it's vicinity?
Walk around U street, Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, ofcourse the zoo, make the trek out to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, visit the National Harbor, hit up Six Flags maybe?
What type of stuff are you into?
For an aquarium you will have to go to Baltimore.
I'm from California, and am visiting the east coast sometime this summer. Other than the mainstream attractions I've been to in the past, is there anything else interesting to do in Washington D.C and it's vicinity?
My family reported that the Newseum was worthwhile. However it is expensive.
I will second the National Harbor. There are boat trips to Mt Vernon that either leave from there or from Alexandria. Personally, I loved Mt Vernon, and I think it is worth the trip if you have never been.
Stroll around Georgetown, Dupont Circle/Mass Ave (embassies), Eastern Market. Farther out Great Falls, VA. I second the Newseum, Mt. Vernon, National Harbor, and Alexandria. There's also the Hillwood Museum Estate if you're interested in gardens. National Park Seminary in Silver Spring. Udvar-Hazy Air and Space out in Dulles. You could head out to Wheaton Metro Station to see the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere, though the escalators in Bethesda, Rosslyn, and Dupont Circle are remarkable as well.
Adams Morgan and H street are really cool neighborhoods if you're single adults. Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon would be more family-friendly places to visit if you have kids. DC Brau in Northeast Washington is an awesome brewery that has free samples on Saturday afternoons.
Great Falls Park (with several walkways offering views of the Potomac whitewater rapids) - both the MD and VA sides of the river have such public parks.
Old Town Alexandria (colonial-era district) is accessible by metrorail to King Street Station, and the area by the river boardwalk at King Street is very popular with countless cafe's and shops.
The new Marine Corps museum is at Quantico, VA is very moving (and free).
Washington Cathedral, and the National Catholic Shrine, are among the largest churches in the entire world.
Colonial downtown Annapolis, MD is similar to Old Town. It is accessible by car, or by MTA commuter bus.
Further away, are Gettysburg Battlefield, extremely scenic Harpers Ferry WV, the quaint Amish country of Lancaster PA, and Colonial Williamsburg, and Busch Gardens theme park adjacent. Charlottesville, VA is an outstanding, cosmopolitan small city to visit, or live in.
There is sooo much to do. Kenilworth is great if you like the outdoors. But also, hiking around rock creek and its tributaries could take up a weekend alone (Glover Archbold, Kemble battle, soapstone valley, Melvin C Hazen, Pinehurst trails and other trails like Whitehaven and Normastone.
Also, check out the National Arboretum, Roosevelt Island, Kingman and Heritage Island trails.
You should be able to check out the US Barry now that temps are nicer than can walk to the waterfront seafood market. The US Navy has a museum that is near there too that is pretty cool.
You can hop the metro to VA to see the DEA museum and then further south into VA for the Mason Tower and a stroll down King st, try to find the all pink Athenaeum before making your way to the Torpedo Factory. Or Maryland to see the National Museum of Health and Medicine. All free minus the tower.
The Christian Heurich house, Anderson house, Scottish Rites Temple and O street Mansion (especially) are all awesome, centrally located in Dupont and often missed. To a lesser extent, The Phillips collection and Laogai Museum and Meyer House, also in DuPont, are cool and Hillayer gallery is worth a stop. You could spend a day just running around the general DuPont area, so rest at the Spanish steps if need be.
The National Museum of women in the arts was super interesting when I went and even more central, near Metro center stop.
Check out American U and GW museums and then hop on over to the Museum of Arts in America near GW. Get a free tour of the Kennedy Center, also nearby. This would be a perfect time to hop on over to Roosevelt Island.
The Kreeger Museum is a hidden gem, and worth the ten bucks. You can see the Hillwood gardens and Dumbarton Oaks for a small amount of cash.
I went to the National Museum of Health and medicine and somehow missed that one, despite it being so close. Dang. Yet another reason to someday visit the area!
It looks pretty cool from the few images I saw on google images.
edit: come to think of it, an old boss drove me by it, I think (pretty sure) but I had no clue it was that cool.
A great quality of DC is that so much is walkable. In summer it's a great experience.
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