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Hey flyingscotsman. I live in Charlotte as well. I lived in DC for 15 years before moving here. Prior to that I lived in Georgia.
As I like to tell the story, I visited DC on 3 perfect autumn days in September back in 1991. I decided after coming back to move there, that's how perfect it was.
I moved there in February of 1992 and on the way back from dropping my mother off at the airport it started snowing. It didn't stop for three days. I WAS TRICKED!!
Seriously, DC is fantastic in Spring and Fall. Not so much the other times of year. Spring is trickier to get just right. Too early and it's still cold and damp. Too late, no cherry blossoms. Fall's more dependable, I think.
Spring, Fall, & Holiday time. DC dresses up very nicely for the December Holidays.
Apparently 4 million people think January 20th is the right time to visit, but I think Metro's going to be packed to the gills and it will be a ZOO.
Seriously, if you've ever been on the Mall for the 4th of July you know what that's like, and it's generally only 1/2 a million. Is anyone else starting to think they should get out of town? This must be how people in New Orleans feel right before Mardi Gras.
Apparently 4 million people think January 20th is the right time to visit, but I think Metro's going to be packed to the gills and it will be a ZOO.
Seriously, if you've ever been on the Mall for the 4th of July you know what that's like, and it's generally only 1/2 a million. Is anyone else starting to think they should get out of town? This must be how people in New Orleans feel right before Mardi Gras.
Tell me about it, I'm torn. Part of me wants to take a nice 4- or 5-day weekend vacation somewhere, but at the same time I feel like I "should" be here since it's all historic and all.........stupid lifetime events....
Regarding when to visit, April and May are (generally) beautiful, as is September and October. June isn't too bad, but July and August are generally oppressive. December's nice, purely because of the decorations. Outside of that, I wouldn't really bother with winter. Going to the monuments would be miserable and there's nothing blooming in any gardens (except for the big greenhouse).
The Cherry Blossoms are a really neat sight, and one of those things you should try to see if at all possible.
However, if you don't mind the cold, I've always done most of the touristy things in January and February. There are basically no lines, no competition at the hotels, etc and it's pretty easy to see the sights. I remember one day in January my buddies and I were walking by the Washington monument and the ranger was like 'do you want to go up' and we were like 'where is the line'. She scoffed--'you'll have the whole thing to yourself' which was kind of neat.
I vote for late September. It's the slowest time of the year for hotels, so you get the lowest rates, but the weather is perfect. No crowds, no need for time tickets for anything.
The Cherry Blossoms are nice, but it's peak tourism season. The weather can be spotty and crowds everywhere you go.
Hoping for a timely reply . . . asking out of the blue
We are "throwing" together a quick, family trip to D.C. . . . mainly because grandpa wants to see the aviation part of the Smithsonian . . . teenagers want to see historical sites. SOOOOOO . . .
1.) what is ideal number of days to spend on first (perhaps only) trip to D.C. I'm making a list of what most of us want to visit . . . but feel LOST . . . I
2.) I'm thinking 7 days there (including two for air travel in/out) may be too much?
3.) We can go this summer . . . 2nd week of July, or Thanksgiving, last week of Nov., or 2nd half of April . . . I'm concerned it's too humid in summer, and that we could encounter snow in Nov./April. I'm not tooooo concerned by heat . . . our little CA town is 100+ every day of summer . . with zero humidity.
We are "throwing" together a quick, family trip to D.C. . . . mainly because grandpa wants to see the aviation part of the Smithsonian . . . teenagers want to see historical sites. SOOOOOO . . .
1.) what is ideal number of days to spend on first (perhaps only) trip to D.C. I'm making a list of what most of us want to visit . . . but feel LOST . . . I
2.) I'm thinking 7 days there (including two for air travel in/out) may be too much?
3.) We can go this summer . . . 2nd week of July, or Thanksgiving, last week of Nov., or 2nd half of April . . . I'm concerned it's too humid in summer, and that we could encounter snow in Nov./April. I'm not tooooo concerned by heat . . . our little CA town is 100+ every day of summer . . with zero humidity.
NEED SOME ADVISE . . . PLEASE !!!
1) It really depends on what you want to do. You could probably spend 4 days just going to museums alone, if you wanted to. I had relatives here for a 4-day weekend and we did a driving tour of the monuments (it was raining, my dad was the chauffeur), the Capitol, the White House, Old Town Alexandria, a museum, and then tried to go to the Pentagon (they were too late for our tour). We weren't overly rushed, but could definitely have filled up more time.
2) You could fill up 7 days without too many troubles. Especially if you would prefer to take your time and not run around like a crazy person.
3) Go in November or April. If you hit snow in either one of those months it's because we've entered the next ice age.....or hell froze over. Even in this crazy winter of ours this past year the snow was gone by March. And it didn't start until late December. Normally you might (if you're really lucky) see a snow shower in January or February. Of the two months, I think April is prettier (in my opinion, April and October are the best months in DC), but November isn't so bad. July and August are hot and humid. It may not be 100+ degrees (though we're getting a good start at hitting those numbers), but the humidity is just awful. Unless you get lucky with a mild summer, you don't even want to move outside. It'd be hard on you, and could be really difficult for grandpa, since there's a lot of walking involved.
Tomorrow will be a great day--100 degrees and humid. Lovely time of year, this.
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Hoping for a timely reply . . . asking out of the blue
