Quote:
Originally Posted by 930addict
It's called the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center and it is a companion site to the National Mall Site.
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Until recently I lived about 15 minutes from there. It is a fantastic (and enormous) collection of aviation-related items. As many times as I've been there, I could still spend hours there. If you fly in/out of Dulles but aren't otherwise going to be out there (it's a good 45 minutes out of DC proper, without traffic), I believe they have shuttles from the terminals over to the museum. If you budget a little extra time, you can do it before you leave the area.
Lots of good points made. Lots to do and see in DC. Definitely plan on using a metro. I'd recommend a hotel along the orange line -- it generally hits or gets within walking distance of most of the high points. Hotels are not going to be cheap, especially in close, but the major areas in which to look outside the district, closest to furthest, are in Rosslyn/Arlington (5 minute metro ride), Ballston area points (15 minute), Falls Church (20 min), Tysons Corner (25 to 30 min), and, lastly, Reston (more like 35 to 40 min). My company HQ was in Reston, but I spent a lot of time working downtown at client sites, so I know that orange line well.
Old Town Alexandria, WWII memorial and mall in general, national zoo, Holocaust museum (I think you need reservations), Mount Vernon, Udvar Hazy, etc. etc. National Cathedral and other areas on interest (e.g., Georgetown) are unfortunately not really convenient to metro - plan on bus or cab at that point. Georgetown waterfront and the tow canal are pretty cool, too.
I don't miss DC traffic, but it is a good city for tourists. It will be expensive to visit (particularly lodging), but the places I just mentioned are (or are mostly) free (probably except for Mount Vernon). Also, unlike it's poor cousin to the north (Baltimore), there really aren't too many neighborhoods where tourists have to worry in DC -- unless you really go looking for them. The bad areas in Baltimore are plenty and mixed in with all the tourist locations, but that's another story / thread...