Hot on the heels of 36 hours in NYC we bring you DC in a day. Still with the same crew a two year old a six year old, mum and dad. We’re looking for tips on the best place to park and how to get to see the most in one day.
Smithsonian-its free after all.
A well-packed day in Washington DC:
Park in a lot near the White House. Get tickets for a 9 AM White House tour.
From the White House, walk down to Constitution Avenue, make a left. Check out the (Smithsonian) Museum of American History, and, after that, Museum of Natural History. Spend the time between the two as you wish, but be out of there by 2:40 PM.
From there, continue on Constitution till 7th Street, right on 7th, left on Independence Avenue. Walk to the Voice of America Radio Station building and take the 3 PM tour of their facilities.
Then backtrack on Independence to the Air and Space Museum, which I believe closes around 6 PM.
Take the Metro back to the White House area and retrieve your car. Drive to the area of 7th-8th Street and F Street, where you have your pick of the National Crime and Punishment Museum or the International Spy Museum, which don’t close until 8 PM or so.
Finally, drive around to see the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, which never close.
Don’t you have to get tickets months in advance or at least approval?
Generally, one month is enough. In any case, the OP didn’t indicate that he didn’t have time ahead to prepare for the trip, only that it would be of short duration.
I’m a D.C. native but haven’t lived there for 20 years, so I may not be up on traffic and parking changes. From my experiences, driving in D. C. is hell. Get lodging in the suburbs (Silver Spring is a good choice). Use the Metro subway system, which has a station in downtown Silver Spring. The subway (Metro) is really the best way to get around in D. C. and its suburbs. For the most part, D. C. residents are friendly and will help you get where you need to go – don’t hesitate to ask for help. While you’re planning your trip, go online to a D. C. site that provides info on its historic sites and decide which ones you want to see and spend time on. The Metro subway has a stop that exits on the mall, where there are many Smithsonian museums – Natural History, American History, Art galleries, etc. There’s also the Air and Space Museum, which kids love, but if you and the rest of the family aren’t particularly interested, you might want to skip it. By the way, all of these museum and art galleries are FREE. Enjoy your visit!
We decided on D.C, earlier this evening as I wanted to get to the Air and Space museum after missing out on the Hayden Planetarium earlier today.
This really is an unplanned trip as we weren’t sure I could get time off work until about six days ago. We’re really looking to make it a budget trip this year so we have some idea as to what to expect on the return visit next year. We had planned on finding a beach to sit on until the 18th when we have to be in Roanoke for a conference.
After that we may decide to take an extra day out on our trip home in which case I may need to create another thread. I’m thinking that one might be “A Flop at the Falls” or “Barrel me over Niagara style.”