I’ll return to respond to all of the wonderful suggestions more fully in a bit, but I wanted to address a couple of things immediately.
I think I understand where Shagnasty was coming from, even if the wording was a bit odd. For the record, I am black and grew up in South Central Los Angeles, and find the mini-controversy fairly amusing. Nevertheless, I’ll do my best to avoid inadvertently wandering into any slums.
Secondly, to Cliffy – I commute daily on the trains and subways of downtown LA, and I’m a stickler for the stand-right/walk-left rule, trust me. I wouldn’t mind a shove if I was holding up the line, because I’d be happy to return the favor here at home. We don’t have turnstiles in LA (yet) though, so that’s bound to be interesting.
Its been a few years since I went to DC, but the US Bontanic garden was amazing. Disclaimer: I hate gardening and things like that. With that said I was blown away by what I saw there. Each room recreates a climate from part of the US and the associated plants that grow there. The Bontanic garden is located on the same side of the mall as the Air and Space and to the right of the US Grant memorial.
Here is a PDF map of the mall and ajoining areas
Also they used to do a walk down tour of the Washington Monument. You rode the elevator to the top and then with a tour guide walked down the inside. During the walk back down, you got a history lesson on how the monument was built. We lucked into this tour when we went and it was a high point for us. At the time we went they only did this tour twice a day 10 and 3 IIRC. I don’t know if they still do this tour post 9/11 so I googled around and did not see anything about it. Perhaps a call to the National Parks Service could shed more light.
Have fun.
One more thing: if you are going to visit the Holocaust Museum, you should buy your tickets in advance. Admission is free but if you just show up, you might have to wait around a while. You have to pay a nominal “convenience charge”–it’s something like $1.50, but then you have a set time to go and won’t waste time sitting around.
Honestly I think DC is a very strange place. I feel like there’s not much “there” there. It is a city whose population moves on every four years, not a place where people put down roots. I’m not doing a good job describing the feeling I have. The city just has no soul. I grew up in NYC and to me, the deserted streets of DC at night are just plain freaky. (yes, I know there are areas which are plenty active at night).
That said, it has lots of interesting stuff. Museums and historical sites that others have already touched on. Long story short, fun place to visit; wouldn’t want to live there.
It’s also a good idea to get your tickets first thing in the morning. During busy times of the year, they go very fast. Last time I visited, we got tickets for the 3:00 tour when we went there at 11 AM.
It’s a huge museum, so give yourself plenty of time. Remember that the experience can be very moving. When I left the first time I visited, I was crying, and I’ve seen others break down in tears, or become so upset they had to leave.
A travel tip-- when you’re touring the museums and government sites, try not to take any bags with you. Security is tighter than it used to be, and it’s sometimes a pain to have to stop so they can search your bag. I don’t even carry a purse with me when I go. Treat it like an airport, because you’ll often have to go through metal detectors and the like.
A note about Ford’s Theater-- to see the actual theater itself, you have to attend the play. There is a neat little museum in the basement which has a lot of Lincoln assastionation artifacts, but don’t expect you can actually just wander up to see where he was shot. You can go across the street to the house where Lincoln died, and walk through it, which is kinda cool.
For bibliophiles like myself, I always suggest a trip to the Folger museum. They have a lot of early books and manuscripts, including some early Shakespeare folios. Last time I visited, they had a really neat exhbit on Elizabeth I, including letters she had written and books she had owned.
Do NOT waste time going to the national aquarium in DC. It’s literally a hallway with a few fish tanks on either side. If you have time in Baltimore, go to the aquarium there. It’s a couple of huge buildings and is really very nice. The rest of the inner harbor there is pretty nice, too.
I’ve heard that going up to the top of the post office gives you one of the best views of the mall, but every time I’ve been there I’ve been in a rush and haven’t had the time to see it for myself.
Three days is not a lot of time, if you are going to be spending any decent amount of time at all in the smithsonions. You could spend a week down there and not see it all.
Another thing is that you don’t realize how BIG the mall area is until you start walking around it. There are tour busses that you can get a pass for. They go from stop to stop, and you get off and look around, then catch the next available bus to your next destination.
The last time I was down there, pennsylvania ave was under construction. You might want to check and see if it still is, because the view of the white house was total crap and not worth the time it took to walk over there.
Because DC lacks a skyline, it’s hard to tell what’s nearby. You can be walking down a cozy residential street, turn a corner and BAM there’s the Kennedy Center. Here are some previous threads on the subject:
It’s all done. They put in those mechanical posts that can be raised and lowered as various important people need to drive in and out. But you can walk/bike/rollerblade in the area.
I’m not sure if this is accurate. I visited Ford’s theater last summer (or was it two summers ago?) and after touring the basement you could wait around for the next guided tour up in the theater itself. True, you couldn’t just wander up there, but the guided tour was extremely interesting. We all sat in the theater seats and the guide told the story of what happened.
If you want to visit the International Spy Museum, there are two things you need to know. One, unlike the Smithsonian museums, it is **not ** free. Tickets are about $12 per person if I recall. Two, buy them in advance. If you just show up at the door you will see signs telling you that all the entrance times are sold out for the day. Or, at best, the next available time will be 5 hours away. For what it’s worth, I liked it. According to the radio adverts, they are now featuring a “movie spy” display. James Bond and such. Of course, the regular stuff is still there. I liked all the code-breaking info.
Right across from Union Station is the Postal Museum. So if you are into stamps and history of the post office, this might be a good way to spend an hour after eating lunch at the Union Station food court. Who knows, you may even pass me on the street! (I work just 5 minutes from there and commute out of Union Station each workday).
Others have hit most of the highlights. At least the things to do during a 4-5 day trip. Do be sure and go over to the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials. They are in the same general location. Seeing the names on the wall for the Vietnam War Memorial is sobering. Name after name after name. And the tokens of remembrance that family member leave at the base of the wall–photos, flowers, stuffed animals, etc…it will affect you forever.
The clock tower in the Old Post Office? Yeah, it’s a great view. It’s also less crowded than the Washington Monument, which is why it’s much easier to get to the observation deck in the clock tower than the one in the Monument, at least prior to 9/11.
The Old Post Office is also a good place to eat. In what was once the basement, there’s a food court and a stage on which there is live entertaiment (music, mostly) nearly every day of the week–lunchtime on weekdays and afternoons on weekends.
Maybe I misunderstood what the staff person told me. He said there was a play going on while we were there, and if we wanted to see the actual theater, we’d have to wait for the next showing. No one said anything about a guided tour-- I’d have been all over that if I had known.
If you don’t know what you want for dinner take the Metro to Woodley Park. There are about a dozen restaurants of almost every cuisine on one block (Lebanese Taverna is highly recommended). If none of those appeal to you you can either walk or take the shuttle to Adams Morgan.
Emotional doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface! The Vietnam Wall pushed me right over the edge. Controversial as it is, I found it to be a beautiful and moving tribute. The whole trip was great. We were there for 3 days, and we didn’t even begin to see everything we wanted to see, so we’ll be going back.
Hmm. Today is apparently “correct inane misapprehension about D.C. day.” Nobody moves on, which is one of the reasons housing is so expensive. New people come in with the Administration every four years, but the folks in the outgoing Administration just move to the private sector. No, it’s not New York, but that’s because nothing is New York but New York.
Some time ago I tried to get into the food court at the Old Post Office bt they’ve ramped security up something fierce. I wouldn’t plan a trip there.
While the city is steadily gentrifying, there are still plenty of bad areas in NE, NW, and SW that don’t require you to cross the river into Anacostia. Sure, it’s unlikely any tourist will go into these areas, but not completely out of the question. If you travel a few blocks north or Union Station, for instance, you’re in a fairly bad area.
Ok, I guess you don’t have to cross the river. But I still maintain that there aren’t any seriuos slums anywhere near tourist areas anymore. (And at least some that the Union Station neighborhood is gentrifying like mad. I graduated from law school down there less than five years ago and it’s completely unrecognizable. Although of course that’s not exactly where you’re talking about.)
The old Children’s Museum has been gutted and they are building some luxury condos which aren’t going to be cheap. Yes, the area is not Dupont but it definitely isn’t as bad as you are making it out either.
I live not too far from that area. Since we bought in May, they’ve opened a bar and the same owner is opening another three or four. Throw in the Martini Lounge, which has a different owner, and the area is really picking up. There is also the Atlas Theatre, the Joy of Motion Dance Studio for different interests.
I’m not talking about that area, although north of the former Children’s Museum was no treat the last time I was over there. I’m talking about the area around the Greyhound station and the North Capitol Street corridor. Sure, it’s not as bad as it was even a year or so ago, but it certainly wouldn’t be wise for tourists to be wandering around their with their fanny packs and digital cameras.
And since you mentioned it, some areas around Dupont Circle are still a little dicey after dark.
We don’t have turnstiles in LA (yet) though, so that’s bound to be interesting.