https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/washington/wassm/hoteldetail

It is near 6th and C (near number 5 of the attractions) below:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1GiRejbyRa2PgwsYStRonAF0L9Hg&hl=en&ll=3 8.892351903679355%2C-77.02423566600646&z=15

I often walk past it when visiting some of the govt offices nearby (Whitehouse, Capital, DHS, DOE or FEMA) or the McDonalds at the end of the block. The Dept of Education is just across the street.

Ooo-wee!

Right across from the Dept of Ed?

And FEMA!?

(Thanks, again fint. You da man no matter what everybody else thinks. This sounds perfect!).

Just a bunch of old, nondescript buildings...with a bunch of old, tired dudes working in them. At least the Dept of Ed seems to have a constant flow of young women in and out (teachers?).

I'm often in town...and sorta know my way around. If you need to get bailed out of jail or need a second in a duel, send me a PM. If you don't do it at home, you might consider downloading the uber app to supplement the metro. It seems to be the DC thing, is easy and will save a good deal over cabs (there is a cab line right outside the hotel on C Street).

Some folks take a tour line to save the legs and see everything from the outside and then walk to the things they want to see closer.

That's a good idea, because things tend to be further apart than they first appear, especially along the Mall.

Sure can't do it all in a day without walking darned fast all day...and then you still probably don't get to Arlington (which you really don't want to miss). The Holocaust Museum was exceptional but takes a long time to get to and get through. Most of the Smithsonian is close but also is a lot of time on your feet. The last walking tour I gave ended up with the 40-somethings and their 3 teens exhausted as even the kids don't walk much these days.

On a positive note, entrance is free...but, food and water...not so much (I take folks to the McDonalds near the Holiday Inn or the food court at L'enfant plaza).

Go to the U.S. dept of Treasury engraving/printing. I went 20 years ago when I was still operating a local newspaper press...just awseome to see the nation debt rising before your eyes....printing pallets of money.

https://www.moneyfactory.gov/washingtondctours.html

https://www.mountvernon.org/ is much like Greenfield Village,
It will take up most of a day, and is a bit of a walk to see the entire thing built on a hillside.

An appreciation for the wisdom and genius those people put into our new government, while literally starting from scratch.

I second this hotel recommendation. We (Wife and two daughters) stayed there for a week for our 4th of July trip. It's within walking distance to the National Mall, the Capital as well as the White House. The food is very pricy so we door dashed. I would also recommend the the Mt. Vernon Cruise as well as the Hop on hop off bus tours, which also takes you to Arlington. There is so much to see on the Mall. You can spend a week at the museums and still not see everything. So we each selected a must go to then we winged it from there.

Surprisingly I was not that impressed by the air and space museum on the Mall. It was OK but not a wow factor for me even though I'm into that stuff. What I didn't know was that there is another air and space museum at Dulles airport that has all the stuff I wanted to see (SR 71, space shuttle, Concord etc). Sadly we didn't learn about that until our last day and just couldn't fit it in our schedule. It's called the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center and it is a companion site to the National Mall Site. I'll have to see that the next time we pass through that way.

Thank you addict.

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...