Visit to Alexandria VA--need advice (Arlington, Fairfax: hotels, houses, movie theater)

[BackMtnMan]

I am taking a group of college-aged students to Washington DC but was thinking of booking the hotel in Alexandria (cheaper and easier than driving into DC). Most of the time we'll be in DC but is there anything for a college-aged student to do in Alexandria on a Friday night (besides bars--many will be under 21)? Thanks for any responses.

[CaliTerp07]

Where in Alexandria will you be?

There are several river boat dinner cruises that might be fun for them--they go past the monuments all lit up at night.

[Virginia Prime]

If you're going to book a hotel in Old Town, then here are a couple of possibilities:

1) Walking and shopping along King Street, which is the heart of Old Town's historic district. A few restaurants (e.g., Il Porto on King Street) can handle larger groups if you want to get everyone together for dinner.
2) Visiting the Torpedo Factory Arts Center at the corner of King and Union Streets, where artists create and sell a large variety of high-quality wares directly in their studio space.
3) Ghost Tour of Old Town Alexandria.

If you're going to book a hotel that's not in Old Town (e.g., in the west end of Alexandria or in the unincorporated part of Fairfax County that has an Alexandria postal address), these options may all require a drive.

[weezycom]

Alexandria, Virginia - Washington DC area travel - Northern VA Hotels, Restaurants, Attractions

This site is run by the City of Alexandria. There is a part of the site devoted to meetings & groups.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by Virginia Prime

If you're going to book a hotel in Old Town, then here are a couple of possibilities:

2) Visiting the Torpedo Factory Arts Center at the corner of King and Union Streets, where artists create and sell a large variety of high-quality wares directly in their studio space.

The Torpedo Factory will be closed at night. Metro Stage is like an off-broadway theatre about a mile north on Royal St. They have $25 student tickets.

There is a movie theater on Eisenhower one metro stop south of King Street on the Yellow line. There used to be one on King Street but it closed down.

I have no idea if they card, but there is a karoake bar on King & West called Rock It Grill and across the street music venue upstairs called the NY Deli or something like that. Also, across the street is the original Hard Time Cafe, a famous local chili restaurant chain (I love this place and it is dirt cheap to eat there, the nachos alone could feed 4 people for $7). They have a cool juke box that plays classic western music.

One block south of Washington St. & King there is the Lyceum, which is a history museum but they sometimes have classical music concerts on the second floor at low cost.

It's also just fun walking down King St. and then Union along the river. Most of the stores near the river will be open at night on weekends.

[Pandoras]

There is the AMC HOffman movie theater at the Eisenhower avenue metro. There are some restaurants nearby.

You could take metro and go to the Fashion Center Mall or Pentagon row for restaurants and shopping. It is in Arlington, but only a couple of metro stops away.

[ersatz]

For afterhours tours ($) check out:

DC Haunted House Tours by Washington Walks

Washington DC Memorials by Moonlight - Washington Walks

Washington DC Night Tour | OnBoard Washington DC Tours

If they are next-to-broke like most college students:

100 Free (or Nearly Free) Things to Do in DC

You didn't say when you planned to come. For a daily listing of events in the greater DC metro area see

Restaurants, Bars, Events in DC, MD and VA on washingtonpost.com

And here's a useful overall planning site

Washington.org - Official Tourism Site of Washington, DC

Bienvenue. Wilkommen. Bienvenido. Howdy Y'all!

P.S. Speaking as somebody who's booked groups before, don't rule out a cheaper hotel just because they aren't within walking distance of the metro. Try calling some of your candidate hotels/motels, talk to the Manager (yes, the Manager not the minimum wage person manning the reception desk) and see if they will work you a deal on a shuttle to your destination and the metro. If you can guarantee a certain number of rooms the manager will often book special transportation to service the needs of your particular group.

[Virginia Prime]

Originally Posted by slim04

The Torpedo Factory will be closed at night. Metro Stage is like an off-broadway theatre about a mile north on Royal St. They have $25 student tickets.

There is a movie theater on Eisenhower one metro stop south of King Street on the Yellow line. There used to be one on King Street but it closed down.

I have no idea if they card, but there is a karoake bar on King & West called Rock It Grill and across the street music venue upstairs called the NY Deli or something like that. Also, across the street is the original Hard Time Cafe, a famous local chili restaurant chain (I love this place and it is dirt cheap to eat there, the nachos alone could feed 4 people for $7). They have a cool juke box that plays classic western music.

One block south of Washington St. & King there is the Lyceum, which is a history museum but they sometimes have classical music concerts on the second floor at low cost.

It's also just fun walking down King St. and then Union along the river. Most of the stores near the river will be open at night on weekends.

Thanks for the clarification. The Torpedo Factory stays open late on Thursday (9:00 p.m.), not on Friday (6:00 p.m.).

[BackMtnMan]

Thanks to everyone for their very helpful responses!

[tysonsengineer]

Enjoy the visit! Alexandria is a great place to come see the birth of our nation.