Considering A Trip To DC

[Coffee Warlord]

Hmm...yeah, I think I'll spend the extra money for a much quicker route into downtown.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Necromancy time!

Think me and the wife are going to DC in late July. Looking at flights. Is Reagan that much more convenient than Dulles? The cheapest return flight has us going out of Dulles instead of Reagan (little under 100 bucks difference in total going out of Dulles).

Make sure you bring your sunblock and sweat towel.

I'm with Subby, and you it looks like, spend the extra $100 if you're not going to get a car.

[Coffee Warlord]

And...flight's booked.

So, as an aside for any of you in the DC Area - Me and the Missus will be there July 17 - July 20, if anyone wants to meet up with us for a drink.

(And no to an above question. Fuck rental cars.)

[Coffee Warlord]

We are here! Free beer for any fofcer that finds us! Limit 1.

[terpkristin]

Where ya staying? And what are your plans?

/tk

[Coffee Warlord]

Hotel George, just ne of the capitol building. And we are singing it. Standard tourist stuff, and standard boozing and dining.

[MrBug708]

So I'll be visiting my sister in Northern VA in July and will be staying in DC during that time. Actually the trip is 3 days in Philly, 4 days in DC, and 4 days in NoVa.

We are staying at a friends house in Philly so I'm not concerned there. My plan is to avoid renting a car and taking Amtrak to Union Station. From there, I'd like to jump on the Metro to our hotel. We don't plan on spending a whole lot of time in our hotel, but seeing the sites.

A question I have is how feasible the metro is for a few days of sightseeing? It looks good enough to me, but as a native Californian, I'm wary of public transportation somewhat. Is it reliable? Safe? I would imagine so, but I want to be sure that I can take it to pretty much everywhere.

The hotel I was looking at was the Hyatt in Arlington. It is right next to the Rosslyn Metro station. It seems like a good location?

A few more inquiries:
Is the Capital Mall a one day thing? Or does it need a couple of days?
Arlington looks huge on the map. Is it easy to walk the whole thing? Or better to have a car and drive around it? (If possible)
The Zoo looks cool, but we have the San Diego Zoo out here and is not needed

My sister and brother-in-law will likely join us on the last day (Wed) before we head back to their place and I'll work with them as well, but I wanted the FOFC advice on things to do, see, how to get around, et al

[Logan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

So I'll be visiting my sister in Northern VA in July and will be staying in DC during that time. Actually the trip is 3 days in Philly, 4 days in DC, and 4 days in NoVa.

We are staying at a friends house in Philly so I'm not concerned there. My plan is to avoid renting a car and taking Amtrak to Union Station. From there, I'd like to jump on the Metro to our hotel. We don't plan on spending a whole lot of time in our hotel, but seeing the sites.

A question I have is how feasible the metro is for a few days of sightseeing?

Easy. And the best part is that you can walk to the majority of sites once you get to the main area you'll want to be in.

It looks good enough to me, but as a native Californian, I'm wary of public transportation somewhat. Is it reliable?

As reliable as it gets. As a NYCer, I would kill for DC's subway system.

Safe? I would imagine so, but I want to be sure that I can take it to pretty much everywhere.

Extremely.

The hotel I was looking at was the Hyatt in Arlington. It is right next to the Rosslyn Metro station. It seems like a good location?

I haven't spent any time in that immediate area but it's the first stop outside DC on the orange/blue lines so you're looking at a very short ride.

A few more inquiries:
Is the Capital Mall a one day thing? Or does it need a couple of days?

You can definitely do it in a day but I'm not a big sightseer so others may disagree.

Arlington looks huge on the map. Is it easy to walk the whole thing? Or better to have a car and drive around it? (If possible)

You can definitely walk parts of it but I don't think it's really walkable if you're talking about the entire city. You can definitely take the Metro (orange line) around though.

If you're looking for places to eat/hang out at night, you might want to look into staying a little further out in Arlington near the Clarendon or Ballston metro stops. Ballston is about 8 minutes longer on the train than Rosslyn and Clarendon is about 4 minutes longer, and the whole trip is really nothing. I've stayed at a Hilton right on top of the Ballston Metro a few times in the past year and really liked it. There's a bunch of solid restaurants and bars that you can walk to easily.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

So I'll be visiting my sister in Northern VA in July and will be staying in DC during that time. Actually the trip is 3 days in Philly, 4 days in DC, and 4 days in NoVa.

We are staying at a friends house in Philly so I'm not concerned there. My plan is to avoid renting a car and taking Amtrak to Union Station. From there, I'd like to jump on the Metro to our hotel. We don't plan on spending a whole lot of time in our hotel, but seeing the sites.

A question I have is how feasible the metro is for a few days of sightseeing? It looks good enough to me, but as a native Californian, I'm wary of public transportation somewhat. Is it reliable? Safe? I would imagine so, but I want to be sure that I can take it to pretty much everywhere.

The hotel I was looking at was the Hyatt in Arlington. It is right next to the Rosslyn Metro station. It seems like a good location?

A few more inquiries:
Is the Capital Mall a one day thing? Or does it need a couple of days?
Arlington looks huge on the map. Is it easy to walk the whole thing? Or better to have a car and drive around it? (If possible)
The Zoo looks cool, but we have the San Diego Zoo out here and is not needed

My sister and brother-in-law will likely join us on the last day (Wed) before we head back to their place and I'll work with them as well, but I wanted the FOFC advice on things to do, see, how to get around, et al

I'll answer a couple of these.

I travel to work in Arlington. The Arlington Hyatt is damned convenient to the Metro (across the street) and a nice hotel. Better than the Key Bridge Marriott (which shows its age). I stay there occasionally, but I'm a Marriott points junkie so I stay up the hill at the Courtyard. It's a very safe business area, nothing to worry about. As an aside, the "Deep Throat" parking garage is around the corner from the Hyatt. There's not a ton of food right here (I'm literally looking at the Hyatt right now), but one Metro stop up (Courthouse) has plenty of restaurants and two up (Clarendon) has even more.

The National Mall is pretty big. Is it a "one day' thing? Depends on what you want to do, because it could easily be a "one month" thing. There's probably a dozen or more great museums, the Capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln, Jefferson, WWII memorials...it keeps going and going. If you're not going inside any museums, you're not spending much time at any given memorial and you're ok with walking your ass off then yeah, you could do it in a day. If you start exploring the nook and crannies of the Lincoln Memorial (true to Fallout 3, there is an area within it!) and every other place, you won't make much progress.

I'm assuming you're asking about Arlington National Cemetery. It's big, but you don't need a car. The "touristy" stuff is all centrally located - JFK grave, Lee site, Tomb of the Unknown soldier - and all fairly close to the entrance. Whereas it's a pretty good haul down to Section 60 where my brother is buried. If you're talking about Arlington proper, what the heck do you want to see here? If you're at the Hyatt, then Metro will take you most any place you'd want to go. And yes, it's safe. The cars aren't in great condition, but it's safe.

If you don't want to do the zoo, then the National Cathedral is pretty interesting.

[Barkeep49]

I did DC last year and stayed at the Arlington Hyatt. I also never used a car.

The Metro is definitely the way to go. I never felt unsafe on it. I ended up taking the bus a few times to visit some people and felt unsafe once there but never on the Metro.

When you say the "mall" are you including the various Smithsonians? If so it's not a 1 day thing. The National Park service has an iPhone app that I used for a walking tour and it took me a basically a whole day just to do their complete tour of the Mall, meaning the monuments. I spent a couple more days doing the various Smithsonians. I recommend, btw, the food court at Mueseum of the Native American. There's some unusual food there that was fun to try. It's not cheap though.

[Izulde]

The Metro is an excellent transportation system, as others have said, and I felt safe on it. Like with any situation, keep alert and you'll be fine.

I don't see the National Mall as being a one day thing. Too many great museums there, each of which can fill up an afternoon easily. Monuments could probably be done in a day, if you're willing to put in the walking effort.

[Coffee Warlord]

We did the monument walk, from the Capitol Building down to the Lincoln Memorial (a lonnnnnnng fucking walk), in an afternoon.

I will reiterate, it's a long fucking walk. It's a good way to spend a day in the late morning/early afternoon, followed by a shower, a trip to the bar, and a relaxing dinner.

[chesapeake]

I take the Metro to and from work every day and have frequently ridden it home in the dead on night. It is perfectly safe and will get you to or near just about every major tourist attraction in the area. The only touristy thing really worth seeing that is not on the Metro is Mount Vernon, but I believe most bus tours stop there.

The only reason I can think of for getting a car is if you were a Jefferson fan and wanted to go down to Charlottesville and see Monticello.

Rosslyn is a nice location; you've got quick access to the Metro to take you to the sites in DC and to better food options in in Clarendon just to the west. You can also walk to the Marine Corps Memorial, which is just on the other side of the highway from you.

Incidentally, if you want to splurge a little and go to a great restaurant in Clarendon, I highly recommend Eventide. It is near the Clarendon Metro stop.

If you hope to do a White House tour, call your Congressman and/or Senators right now. Tickets are in very limited supply and tickets during the busy summer months go very quickly.

[Coffee Warlord]

Incidentally, I'll also note - cabs in DC are unbelievably cheap. Coming from Chicagoland, I was absolutely amazed at how cheap the cab fares were there. It was awesome.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

Incidentally, if you want to splurge a little and go to a great restaurant in Clarendon, I highly recommend Eventide. It is near the Clarendon Metro stop.

Worst friggin' meal - and one of the most expensive ones -I've had in Rosslyn was there. That place is awful. Even their chicken was shitty.

Now go to Rays to the Third and get a cheeseburger...that's some good eatin' for a reasonable price. Or Ray's the Steaks at the Courthouse stop for a high-end steak.

[claphamsa]

talking about food... if you are adventurous, DC has one of the largest Ethiopian populations outside Ethiopia, and they make great food

[claphamsa]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

I did DC last year and stayed at the Arlington Hyatt. I also never used a car.

The Metro is definitely the way to go. I never felt unsafe on it. I ended up taking the bus a few times to visit some people and felt unsafe once there but never on the Metro.

When you say the "mall" are you including the various Smithsonians? If so it's not a 1 day thing. The National Park service has an iPhone app that I used for a walking tour and it took me a basically a whole day just to do their complete tour of the Mall, meaning the monuments. I spent a couple more days doing the various Smithsonians. I recommend, btw, the food court at Mueseum of the Native American. There's some unusual food there that was fun to try. It's not cheap though.

one of these days i need to try this, Ive worked across the street for over 7 years....

[chesapeake]

Huh. Never heard of anyone having a bad meal at Eventide until now. Sorry it sucked for you. I've had nothing but exceptional (better than great) experiences. Last time I was there I had the grilled pork loin which the chef timed perfectly. So many places overcook pork, but this one was perfectly moist. FWIW, Eventide is one of the highest rated restaurants on Open Table in Clarendon. The rooftop is also very nice on a warm night.

I can't speak to steaks. My wife is a vegetarian, so Ray's isn't on our list.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

Huh. Never heard of anyone having a bad meal at Eventide until now. Sorry it sucked for you. I've had nothing but exceptional (better than great) experiences. Last time I was there I had the grilled pork loin which the chef timed perfectly. So many places overcook pork, but this one was perfectly moist. FWIW, Eventide is one of the highest rated restaurants on Open Table in Clarendon. The rooftop is also very nice on a warm night.

I can't speak to steaks. My wife is a vegetarian, so Ray's isn't on our list.

Eventide did have a good reputation but not so much anymore - the later Yelp reviews aren't complimentary. I'm not kidding when I say my meal was truly dreadful. The scallop appetizer was rubbery and there were a whopping two of them. I've never had blander chicken in my life and the sweet potato side dish could have been used as a hockey puck. The portions were tiny (which is a common complaint on Yelp about this place), but that's ok because the food was inedible.

I swung by the Wendy's about 2 blocks down on the way home to actually get something to eat that night.

[Coffee Warlord]

Nothing too fancy, but we hit Rosa Mexicano when we were there. Upscale mexican food, we really enjoyed it.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

We did the monument walk, from the Capitol Building down to the Lincoln Memorial (a lonnnnnnng fucking walk), in an afternoon.

I will reiterate, it's a long fucking walk. It's a good way to spend a day in the late morning/early afternoon, followed by a shower, a trip to the bar, and a relaxing dinner.

It's about 2.5-3 miles, iirc, to start at Supreme Court/Capital building, go to the Washington Monument, take a quick detour towards the White House, and then get back on the Mall towards Lincoln, then wrap around to FDR and Jefferson. That's a pretty good afternoon all by itself. If you are going in the offseason, you could probably get tickets to tour the Capital and start with that. The Washington Monument opens back up in May so if you're there then, you'll want to get those tickets in advance: pay the $1.50 online because you're not going to get there early enough to get tickets in line unless you really like going to things early.

I think a tour at the Capital and the Monument Walk is its own day. The Monument Walk is its own morning or afternoon (or both, depending on speed). If you want to see all the monuments (or get the passport stamps for the National Parks passport), go to the National Parks visitors center at the base of the Washington Monument, if it's open, and you can get a map with all ~20ish monuments (18, I think).

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

A question I have is how feasible the metro is for a few days of sightseeing? It looks good enough to me, but as a native Californian, I'm wary of public transportation somewhat. Is it reliable? Safe? I would imagine so, but I want to be sure that I can take it to pretty much everywhere.

What everyone else said: it's the best I've ever seen as it covers most everything you'd really want to see (tho the route out to Dulles is still in the works).

A few more inquiries:
Is the Capital Mall a one day thing? Or does it need a couple of days?
Arlington looks huge on the map. Is it easy to walk the whole thing? Or better to have a car and drive around it? (If possible)
The Zoo looks cool, but we have the San Diego Zoo out here and is not needed

I'd pass on the zoo. I've been to both and I think San Diego is far superior. Heck, you even have pandas there so that takes away a lot of the reasons people visit the Washington Zoo. Frankly, I find it a little small for being the "National Zoo".

Back to what I mentioned in my previous post: the Monument Walk is its own day, especially if paired with a Capital tour. I missed the dates you had and, seeing as it's July, just email your Congressman with your dates and they'll be able to get your tour tickets unless there's something strange going on. However, being in July, you probably won't be able to walk up and just take the tour as that's peak tourist season.

That said, I'd spend another day or two on the mall if you like museums. At least hit up American History and then pick another couple you like. I recommend Air and Space for sure and probably Natural History; also don't forget The Archives as they only take maybe a half hour but it contains the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution, and a copy of the Magna Carta. It's a short trip with rarely a long line that people tend to forget about.

I second the National Cathedral suggestion with the caveat that it's a bit off the Metro so you're probably walking close to a mile but it's in decent residential neighborhoods. I would try to hit up one of the guided tours- info on their website as to times and days.

Then I started thinking about other things to do and stumbled upon my previous post in this thread that's long but contains everywhere we visited. Still shameless plug as it's full of a lot of good information.

SI

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Back to what I mentioned in my previous post: the Monument Walk is its own day, especially if paired with a Capital tour. I missed the dates you had and, seeing as it's July, just email your Congressman with your dates and they'll be able to get your tour tickets unless there's something strange going on. However, being in July, you probably won't be able to walk up and just take the tour as that's peak tourist season.

I miss the days you could just walk in and walk around.

Originally Posted by sterlingice

That said, I'd spend another day or two on the mall if you like museums. At least hit up American History and then pick another couple you like. I recommend Air and Space for sure and probably Natural History; also don't forget The Archives as they only take maybe a half hour but it contains the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution, and a copy of the Magna Carta. It's a short trip with rarely a long line that people tend to forget about.

Agree with most of these suggestions, though I don't like the American History museum. It's kinda boring. I think Air & Space is, far and away, the #1 on the Mall. Natural History is great. Agree on the Archives - there's rarely anyone there. And there are so many others that are just fantastic, including the Holocaust Museum, the Native American one, two great art museums...it just goes on and on. But if someone only had a day to tour the museums, I'd strongly recommend doing Air & Space and then going to the Archives in the late afternoon.

[Subby]

If you want to get really adventurous, look in to Capital Bikeshare. We have a great system here and there are stations all over the place in DC and Arlington.

[claphamsa]

Originally Posted by Subby

If you want to get really adventurous, look in to Capital Bikeshare. We have a great system here and there are stations all over the place in DC and Arlington.

but then you would have to ride a bike....

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Subby

If you want to get really adventurous, look in to Capital Bikeshare. We have a great system here and there are stations all over the place in DC and Arlington.

I wouldn't want to bike up the damn hill(s) in Rosslyn. I walk up those a few times a week and that's enough.

[MrBug708]

Thanks for a lot of info. Sounds like the Hyatt is my best bet as far as location/price when using public transportation.

Am I shorting myself with two half days and two full days? I actually don't care too much about tours within the White House. It also seems like two days is probably going to be what it takes at and around the Mall and possibly the Smithsonian. I also sent a request to my congresswoman to get a tour of a couple of placaes, though it's just 3 months in advance. I cannot do the Washington Monument tour until ticket requests start on April 16th.

The Native American Museum looks fairly interesting so that might be on the list and the Cathedral would be something my wife would love to do.

Arlington National Cemetery seems like it would take another 1/2 to full day to visit as well.

Any other thoughts. Anyone have a quick look at what my itinerary should realistically be?

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Thanks for a lot of info. Sounds like the Hyatt is my best bet as far as location/price when using public transportation.

Am I shorting myself with two half days and two full days? I actually don't care too much about tours within the White House. It also seems like two days is probably going to be what it takes at and around the Mall and possibly the Smithsonian. I also sent a request to my congresswoman to get a tour of a couple of placaes, though it's just 3 months in advance. I cannot do the Washington Monument tour until ticket requests start on April 16th.

The Native American Museum looks fairly interesting so that might be on the list and the Cathedral would be something my wife would love to do.

Arlington National Cemetery seems like it would take another 1/2 to full day to visit as well.

Any other thoughts. Anyone have a quick look at what my itinerary should realistically be?

BTW, it's not just "the Smithsonian". That's about 8 museums in and of itself.

For two days, I would probably do the following:

Whichever is the better weather day, I'd do the walking tour of the Capital and the Mall (Monuments). You probably could get over to Arlington National Cemetery that afternoon.

The other day I'd do the Air & Space and either the Holocaust Museum or the Natural History Museum.

After that your feet will fall off.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

BTW, it's not just "the Smithsonian". That's about 8 museums in and of itself.

For two days, I would probably do the following:

Whichever is the better weather day, I'd do the walking tour of the Capital and the Mall (Monuments). You probably could get over to Arlington National Cemetery that afternoon.

The other day I'd do the Air & Space and either the Holocaust Museum or the Natural History Museum.

After that your feet will fall off.

YMMV, but if I'm in DC and only have one day for museums, the Holocaust Museum is about 15th or lower on my list of things to do. It's built around being sensory overload and pretty much wipes you out the rest of the day. I don't think it's the most effective use of a limited time visit.

SI

[MrBug708]

Might be spending a third full day there. So I'd have half of Sunday, all day Monday thru Wednesday and maybe Thursday morning

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

YMMV, but if I'm in DC and only have one day for museums, the Holocaust Museum is about 15th or lower on my list of things to do. It's built around being sensory overload and pretty much wipes you out the rest of the day. I don't think it's the most effective use of a limited time visit.

SI

That's all a matter of personal preference. I'm highly interested in the subject matter, so it's high on my list. You may feel differently. Kind of like I think the American History museum is pretty boring (wheee....Fonzie's Jacket!) while others like it.

[Coffee Warlord]

By the way, it's one of the few museums where you have to pay, but the Newseum is actually *very* interesting. It was worth the money, IMO.

[PilotMan]

I've spent the better part of 3 days in DC in the Mall area and I've not even touched the tip of what there is to see. Not even close. The Archives are underrated. Capitol (tour) is cool. I crashed a group and got a tour of the Supreme Court, that was pretty amazing. I've done American History at least 4 times. Natural History could take a half day all alone. I think I've seen all I can at Air and Space but it's amazing too. Then you get the monuments in there. Martin Luther King is even further away than Lincoln if you plan that. I still haven't done Jefferson or the White House either.

[terpkristin]

I'll only add that the Air and Space Museum annex at Udvar Hazy is pretty cool. Unfortunately, you can't get there by metro. But if you wanted to come see it, I could pick you up at a metro station.

Edit to add: assuming I'm not totally broken at the time. Always a risk.

/tk

[MrBug708]

Another question - Which tours need to be requested from a congressman/woman?

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Another question - Which tours need to be requested from a congressman/woman?

"The get anally invaded b/c we thought you were an intern" tour.

Highly recommended.

[MrBug708]

I dont know what that means?

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I dont know what that means?

Congressmen...interns...sex...corruption...oh, forget it.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Another question - Which tours need to be requested from a congressman/woman?

You needed to request the White House tour about 6 months in advance of your visit, unless they've changed the process in the last year or two so that's probably out.

The tour of Congress is pretty easy to get just by eailing your local Congressional office. Most have information about it on their website. I dislike Eric Cantor but I lived in his district in Richmond, his office was very accommodating about a tour for the Capitol. I think most are similar. It appears you can even do it on the Capitol website now.

The Supreme Court has some odd hours where you can only go certain times so check their website if you want to do that. It was something we were never able to due because they don't do tours on the weekends and only on certain weekdays.

SI