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My wife and I will be visiting DC for about 5 days in June, before heading up the coast to New England.
I need help with a place to stay, as I know there are definite "good" ares and "bad" areas.
I was told to avoid Capitol Hill area for its proximity to bad areas. I was told to stay in Georgetown, and that walking / riding the Metro is no problem to get to the standard tourist stuff (Capitol Building, White House, FBI Building, Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian, etc.)
Is that good advice? I know Georgetown is a beautiful area, but is it close enough and safe enough for walking to stuff?
Georgetown is a very nice area, but it's main downside is that getting to the metro can be a pain. Dupont's a good area, and you can also look at places in downtown near the Farragut, McPhereson Square, or Metro Center stations. As for Capitol Hill, it's a safe area, and definitely not a place you should avoid. You can grab lunch there while checking out the Capitol, or walk over to Eastern Market (big farmer's market). Most of the restaurants and shops are on Pennsylvania Avenue between 2nd and 8th, 8th Street SE between PA Avenue and the highway, and up next to Eastern Market itself (7th Street a few blocks north of Pennsylvania).
Georgetown is certainly safe (it's very posh, and a tourist destination in its own right) and still pretty close and convenient, but I agree that you're better off looking at Dupont Circle. Dupont Circle is a fun neighborhood, has tons of shops and restaurants, is more conveniently located for Metro, and is safe. I agree with above - no need to avoid Capitol Hill. If you do stay in Georgetown take a look at the bus maps, too, as sometimes tourists forget that DC has buses in addition to the metro.
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