Washington DC Questions
 

Thinking about taking my wife to DC in the Fall, she has never been.
I need recommendations on places to stay near the Smithsonian, Wash Monument and good restaurants too. Hopefully short cab rides.

Thanks in advance

First thing to do is contact your state or local representative. There is a link on the dc.org page. He can set you up with all sorts of special/private/behind the scenes tours all for free. WELL WORTH IT!! You will bypass all the lines.

You can stay in the city if you want, but we usually stay in Crystal City. Hop on the subway and 8 minutes later you can pop out wherever you want. Eveyplace you want to go is on the subway. We never had a need for a cab at all. Also recommend orange trolleys, as you can get on and off all day long at different stops for one price.

Since they've opened the new Capitol Visitors Center, I doubt you can get a behind the scenes tour of the Capitol itself anymore unless you really know someone well. I got a dome tour once, but I was working for the Congressman who personally led it. The tours your elected reps. can help you with are the FBI and Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Wash. Monument is about a mile walk from the Capitol. I don't know how anyone could spend more than a few minutes looking at it from up close, since you can see it better from just about everywhere else in the city. You can walk to all the Smithsonian Museums from the Capitol except the Udvar Hazy Center near Dulles Airport. Just stay near a blue, orange or red line Metro station and you can get anywhere from there. Please remember to stand on the right and walk on the left while on Metro escalators. DC restaurants are the most overrated in the US. If you have preferences, I can tell you all the great spots in VA to try out.

here is a few to get you started, and yes you can still get the congreessman led capitol tour along with the printing, archives, white house, supreme court and others..

http://www.dctours.us/
http://www.trolleytours.com/washington-dc/
http://www.tourmobile.com/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours_and_events/
http://www.vrc.dc.gov/vrc/cwp/view,a,1196,q,446799.asp
http://www.vrc.dc.gov/vrc/cwp/view,a,1196,q,447100.asp

Very good advice, that is exactly what we did last visit.

I used to live in Alexandria, VA and the Metro goes out as far as Springfield now. You don't have to stay inside DC.

Lots of very good ethic food around DC.

One suggestion: The old Post Office building, which is not crowded and has great views of DC. The Jefferson memorial is usually not very crowded, except in the spring when the cherry blossems are out.

Forget the Whitehouse tour. It is not what you see on TV or in the movies. The last time I did that tour, the whitehouse smelled like cat urine from "Socks".

How many days are you going to be there?

You don't want to go the Old Post Office Bldg. anymore. It is very crowded at lunch, you have to stand in line for the metal detector to get in and it's just an everyday mall food court in there, usually full of screaming kids on school trips. Hate the place. Nice bldg. from the outside though. Harry's, a burger joint/bar with outdoor seating, is excellent and just a block away. If you stay in Springfield, the closest hotel to the Metro is the Hilton on Franconia Rd., which is a good mile or so by foot through the (run down) mall parking lot and the Rt. 7100 underpass. Not very convenient. If you want to stay in Old Town Alexandria, the closest Metro is King St. on the yellow and blue lines, though not a short walk from the waterfront. Good gun store there on the water, Potomac Arms. I'd stay in either Crystal City or near the Rosslyn Metro. If you have a car, there is some AMAZING food in the NoVA and MD suburbs. Again, DC restaurants are just incredibly overrated and usually overpriced. 10% restaurant tax in DC and Fairfax Co. too.

I concur as well. I rarely stay in DC. I prefer either Crystal City, Arlington or Rosslyn near a metro stop. Also, fall is a good time to visit.

Something else to think about if you are going to stay for week or so: There are a lot of historic towns around DC that are worth renting a car for...if you stay in Crystal City, Reagan National and every rental car company you need is a very short cab ride away.

Fredericksburg, Va is a great day tour if you have any interest in the Civil War. Walking Maryes Heights is a very powerful experience. You drive against traffic both ways.

Mount Vernon is also an excellent 1/2 day trip.

Don't ignore historic Arlington. Very cool part of the DC metro experience. Accessible by metro.

If you are more adventurous, try Solomons Island, MD for a long day trip. Solomons is a very neat former fishing village near me that is very popular in the summer with DC folks and tourists. In the fall things slow way down. If you like/want to try fishing I know a few Captains that are always happy to take folks out on the Chesapeake.

Annapolis. Good day trip. Get a tour of the Naval Academy.

St. Mary's City. About 2 1/2 hours south of DC. Really quaint town that was the first capital of Maryland. Great tours and a reproduction village. You can combine with Solomons.

Monticello. Long day or 2 day trip. Stay in downtown Charlottesville, VA. If you rent a nice car you can take in parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I can recommend much more. The most popular day trips I've taken friends of mine from California on have been Fredericksburg and Monticello (They love Solomons and St. Mary's as well but I live just minutes away).

Best of luck and enjoy. PM me if you need any help. I'd be happy to meet you for lunch if you get down this way.

4 nights.

Don't miss Ft. Marcy Park;).

Well, it has been a while since I was in DC. I think 2000, now that I think about it. The "socks" tour was 1995 or 96.

Besides the stuff in DC, I concur on Washington's and Jefferson's homes. What is interesting is (I believe) both are privately held by women's non-profit organizations that had the vision to rescue them from rotting into the ground about 100 years ago.

Thinking of homes, go to Arlington National Cemetary and do the tour of the "Lee" home.

The Lee home is Old Town Alexandria. You're referring to the Custis Mansion.

Looks like we are going November 3 - 7, Embassy Suites.
Looks like lots of restaurants within walking distance.
Is it safe to use public transportation, from Crystal City to the tourist attractions??

Crystal City Metro is an easy walk from Embassy Suites. It's all underground. The bars and restaurants in CC are all on 23rd St. Crystal City Sports Bar is excellent. Porsche of Arlington is about two miles down Rt. 1. Pentagon City is almost walkable from CC.