I'm going to Washington D.C. *Squee!* Help?

Consider Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and the USS Constitution. Really, though, too bad you’re not flying into National, the airborn views are tremendous.

On top of the Kennedy Center is a great place to take pics. You should be able to get in here are free wthout going to a show. You would think that the Wasington Monument would be great too, but its windows are so small and thick pics don’t come out all that well.

Here’s a pretty decent tourist map.

Frankly, I wouldn’t waste time changing hotels. If you’re on a Metro line you’re close enough, even in Arlington.

There was a trolley service called Tourmobile that hit all the big tourist spots around the Mall. You could buy a day pass and and use it to get around on your own schedule.

You might want to look into renting bikes – you can bike along the Potomac all the way to Mount Vernon. Eh, maybe not with such limited time.

I always liked the Dumbarton Oaksgargens, but the museum is closed for renovations.

Just walking the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol is great. Also a great experience at night.

The National Zoo in Rock Creek Park is great, as is the Park. When I lived in DC the Park roads were closed to auto traffic on Sundays for walkers joggers and bikers. Don’t know if this is still the case.

See an IMAX film at the Air and Space Museum if you haven’t experienced IMAX before. If you’re into planes, check out the rest of it.

The Holocaust Museum is impressive, but depressing. I was so overwhelmed, I just had to walk out after a while – an incredibly powerful experience.

The National Gallery of Art has one of the ten best collections in the world, IMHO.

If you like architecture, a walk out west from Massachusettes Avenue from Dupont circle has lost of interesting buildings 00 this is “Embassy Row”.

Unfortunately a long weekend just isn’t long enough, even just to see all the great Mall museums, if you’re a real history dork. I lived there 12 years and there’s lots I didn’t see.

Some of my info might be dated as I haven’t lived there since '92.

Look up Tono Japanese Restaurant for good sushi, and for an interesting green tea infused creme brule.

Since you’re near the Zoo, be sure to check out the Weiland Mural near the entrance.

And if you’re down near the Mall, be sure to dodge the softballs on the fields … The inscribed walls at the Lincoln Memorial are impressive, as is the Vietnam Memorial. If you have any friends or famiuly who lost someone, bring some paper and do an etching for them.

The WWII Memorial is interesting. Something about that one doesn’t quite click for me.

Another recommendation for the Air and Space Museum. I really like the facility at Dulles, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

I’ve mentioned the National Building Museum in other threads. The Great Hall is worth a visit, I think.

For dining options, I would try Zaytinya near the MCI center. The food is pretty good as long as you don’t have too many pomegranite sangrias, which will give you a pounding hangover.

Since you only have three days, I would limit myself to the main tourist attractions on the mall and Capitol Hill. To get to Georgetown, you can take the metro to Foggy Bottom or take the Metro to Roslyn and cross the Key Bridge. If you go on Sunday, you can have brunch at Cafe La Ruche which isn’t too expensive for brunch especially for Georgetown. (I’d provide a link, but their website crashes my browser). For night life options, you can check out Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan which are two neighborhoods. Dupont Circle has a metro stop on the Red Line and you can reach Adams Morgan by walking up 18th from Dupont. It might be worth going in the evening just for the people watching opportunities. A good place to have a late meal is Afterwords in Dupont.

There is a Franciscan monastery in NE but I wouldn’t recommend visiting there on a limited schedule. The same thing applies to the Immaculate Conception.

FYI, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is closed for a two-year renovation, so you can cross that off your list.

The Lincoln Memorial at midnight is really cool. Seriously. Read his second inaugural address. As Mr. Carpenter (Klaatu) said in The Day the Earth Stood Still, “These are great words, Billy.”

(I haven’t been there since 9/11, so I hope to Og that they haven’t roped it off, or filled it with metal detectors and such.)

You’ll be fine in Arlington as long as you’re close to the Metro. It’s close in and convenient to everything. If you find something in Rosslyn, you could walk to Arlington Cemetery or Georgetown. It’s really not much less convenient to be there as on the Hill.

If you go to Ford’s Theater, it’s not far from the Mall/Museums, so you can work it in with that easily. The Spy Museum and National Portrait Gallery are just a couple of blocks away; the Mall/Museums are maybe 6 blocks from there.

If you stay in Arlington near the Metro, you’ll be within easy reach of Clarendon, which has lots of bars/restaurants.

In DC you could go to Dupont Circle, U Street or Adams Morgan for nightlife and have a good time.

They are, however, going to be setting up some of the favorite items from the American History museum in Air & Space during the renovation; but I don’t think it will be ready by the time you visit.

Walking around the mall at night is very popular, but there’s been a number of recent incidents of muggings and even a rape or two, so do stick to well-lighted and well-populated areas. You should be fine if you do that; it’s not a massive crime wave, but any muggings on the Mall really get everyone upset since so many tourists visit there at all hours.

Ford’s Theater isn’t far from the National Archives, three or four short blocks; and the Navy Memorial is just a block or two away (by the Archives Metro stop), It’s a round fountain-lined area with an open area in the middle, and at lunchtime on most summer weekdays they have something military-related going on – a drill team, a reenlistment ceremony, you name it. When I worked near there, we would often go sit there to eat our lunch and watch the ceremonies. It’s all right next to the Mall (the Archives are diagonally across the street from the Natural History Museum), so you can just wander around.

Whatever you do, wear comfortable shoes!

Oh, and cabs in DC don’t use meters – they’re on a zone system. So there’s flat rates to travel within zones, between zones, etc. There’s a map in each cab showing what zones are where, and sometimes you have to keep a close eye on the cabbie to make sure he doesn’t try to charge more than he should. Cabs are also allowed to pick up extra people while you’re in them if they don’t go more than a few blocks out of their way to drop the extra person off, so don’t be horrified if that happens, either.

Just don’t block the sidewalk like a herd of sheep when I’m trying to get to work! (or the escalators or any thoroughfare)

(grumble grumble tourists)

:wink:

You can get to Georgetown via shuttle at the Rosslyn Metro station in Arlington.

Georgetown Shuttle

The website says it’s only $1, but I believe they’ve raised the price.

Here’s a map of the area around the Rosslyn station.

Rosslyn station

And if there aren’t any where you live, make sure to get a burger from Five Guys.

Five Guys

I think she and I have decided to just stay at a Capitol hotel the entire time. I’m a bit of a hotel priss, so I’m a bit worried about these less than Hilton-esque options. That said, I’m a total cheap bastard, so this may just be a trade off I’m willing to make.

It seems that the Hotel Harrington is a bare bones, old hotel. The rate for us would be $115 a night and that seems like a great price considering the fact that we’ll be so close to just about everything. Does anybody know of the safety around that hotel? I looked up the place on TripAdvisor and most reviews seemed to be very favorable; a few even mentioned that they were single female travellers and felt fine.

The other option is the Kalorama that The Big Cheese mentioned. Of course, they don’t have prices on their website and I can’t quite figure out where exactly they are located in conjunction to all the stuff. I’ve been trying to get ahold of someone there, so wish me luck :).

Oh, and our decision to stay in one place (on the Hill) stemmed from the fact that the hotels in Arlington skyrocketed over a one night period and are now comperable (if not more expensive) to those on the Hill.

Really dumb question: where is the Constitution? Library of Congress? National Archives? Room 147 at the Hilton on 3rd? :slight_smile:

Mama Tiger, thank you for bringing up the safety issue. In all honesty, is it a good idea for she and I to go walking around the mall alone at night, even if we stay in the lighted areas? We’re both pretty small (vertically), not totally unfortunate looking 20 year old girls. I just want to get a feel for how good of an idea my evening trip to the Mall is.

It’s in the Chinatown/downtown part of the city, which is just as safe as anywhere else. Really, the parts of the city that tourists are likely to be in are of pretty much equal safety these days. Washington has changed a lot in the last 10 years – gentrification all over the place. I’ve lived in this area since 1994 and I’ve never been in a “bad” neighbourhood (except when I’ve taken the wrong exit off I-395, but I don’t think you’re likely to end up there.

The Hotel Harrington is easily recognised, because its logo looks like the Bat Signal.

Kalorama is near Adams-Morgan, which is the place where locals go at night (fantastic restaurants). It’s accessible to the Red line, but it’s not really close to the touristy stuff you’re going to want to see.

Archives

As she said, lots of people walk at night on the Mall. I’d second her advice. I don’t think anyone can really say “definitely don’t go if you are more than X attractive” or “definitely go.”

The Constitution is located in the National Archives; the Archives are just off the Mall, on Pennsylvania Ave. near the museums. Here’s a link.

The Library of Congress is just east of the Capitol, or “behind” it if you’re approaching it from the Mall.
Can’t help with the Hilton :smiley:
As for the Mall at night thing, they did have a recent small spree of attacks, but they also declared a police emergency of sorts and have beefed up patrols. Odds are overwhelming that you’ll be just fine. Use common sense like in any city.

One thing that may actually work in you favor is not having a car. Parking is tough in DC. Sometimes, you have to park on a dark side street several blocks from your intended destination. If you Metro or cab it, you can make sure you stay in busy, well-lit areas more easily. Where you’re staying is pretty safe. North of there it can be iffy, though.

It’s also pretty close to Ford’s Theater, IIRC.

Have Fun!

Oh, yeah, and stand to the right on the Metro escalators, ya dang tourists!

Oh, duh; I was referring to the fact that your hotel in the Chinatown area would be fairly close to Ford’s…
Carry on…

The Harrington is in a good neighborhood. Chinatown isn’t shady at all. I know single women who live in that neighborhood so you shouldn’t be in any danger.

I have, but as a tourist, you won’t be heading into those parts of town anyhow. As a tourist, you won’t be heading in those directions anyhow.

The Harrington is not on the Hill though, Capitol Hill is mostly in SE, and NE. The exact boundaries are always a little disputed. Capitol Hill is a nice neighborhood but it isn’t a nightlife destination although there are good restaurants and there are bars in the area that are pretty nice.

There have been a few muggings and a sexual assault on the Mall at night, so be careful, don’t wander around alone in dark areas. DC has gotten a lot safer than it used to be in the 80s and early 90s but it still is a large city and there is crime, so be careful and pay attention to your immediate surrounding.

I would check out the Museum of Natural History if you have time.

Are you sure you’ve got that right, Jim?

I used to live in Harrisburg and got down to D.C. about every 2 months or so. I’ve got two good insider tips for you to check out.

See if they still do tours of the stairs at the Washington Monument. I got there once about 5 minutes before the tour, thinking it would be full. Quite the opposite, I was the only person there for the tour. Then the ranger found another family that didn’t want to wait an hour, so they joined our group. We took the elevator up, then the ranger unlocked the door and led us down the stairs. There are commemorative stones that were donated by states, cities and other groups. The one from Alaska is jade. It’s interesting, and bypasses the long line to just go to the top and back. This link says they still do the tour on weekends.

I also went to the Library of Congress, not knowing quite what to expect. They had some interesting rooms downstairs (one with memorabilia from the Gershwins, including a hand-written score of Rhapsody in Blue; another with original comic strips, including an early Doonesbury), a Gutenberg Bible, and there was a temporary exhibit of miscellaneous stuff they just happened to have around. There was Maya Lin’s original proposal for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the contents of Lincoln’s pockets on the night he was shot, baseball cards for Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance, and lots more that I can’t even remember. Find out if they’ll have anything interesting on display while you’ll be there.

If you can get to an internet-enabled computer Friday afternoon, check out Wonkette’s “To Do” list. She/he/they publish a weekend events calendar with some pretty cool bands and offbeat ideas. Check out today’s list and see if it’s the sort of thing you’re interested in. It might be worth checking DCist all week from work to see what’s going on in town, too.

Oh, and obviously, pick up a D.C. “City Paper” (or any other independent – e.g. the “Blade” caters to gay DCites) when you get to town, and see if you can grab the Metro Express; it’s a slimmed-down digest version of the WaPo for commuters. Both will have weekend sections with plenty of interesting events.

I just checked my travel notebook in which I make notes on all of our travels, and I discovered that I had stayed at the Hotel Harrington in 2003.

Nearby the Harrington is am Italian resturant called Lugino’s. They serve a dish called something like “Triangoli Margoli” which is like a cheese raviolli in cream sauce. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

In Arlington, there’s a resturant called Portofino on south 23rd Street. Another Italian resturant, also very good. It has a lovely ambience and a wide variety on the menu. My notes say that the bill for dinner for two was $52. It also notes that the tables were small and the resturant would probably seem crowded and hectic if they were really busy. (Translation: don’t go at peak hours.)

Last year, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Crystal City.

If you’re on the Hill from the early evening on (although it’s best at 1:00 am :wink: ), let me recommend one of my favorite places to go from when I lived in DC years ago. It’s called the Tune Inn, and is the best dive bar in DC, if you like that kind of thing. Great old country music on the jukebox, surly bartenders, and the best greasy cheeseburgers in the city. And when I lived there, it wasn’t common to see the odd slumming senator or two. Plus, $5.50 pitchers of beer!

I suppose I should ask: where is this Crystal City in relation to all the touristy stuff? A subway ride? How long?

And speaking of food: are there any good Greek restaurants around DC? I loves me some Greek food, but can only really get it when I’m back east (I suppose CA makes up for that in delicious Mexican food). Any suggestions?

I’m also up for trying out some good Italian (something that is sorely lacking around my town), but my family is Italian- so Italian food isn’t as important as good Greek :).

Fiddle Peghead, sounds like a great place for a burger, but- ALAS! I’m 20, as is my travelling partner.

Crystal City is in Arlington, at it’s southeastern edge. As you go south-ish along the Virginia side of the river, you have Rosslyn, then Arlington Cemetary, the Pentagon, a buncha highway/bridges, then Crystal City, then National Airport. It’s very convenient to the DC tourist stuff and the Crystal City Metro stop is there. If you get on the Yellow line at Crystal City it’s only 4 stops to the Archives Metro stop, 3 stops to Arlington Cemetary.