Washington DC (trip this summer)

[Koronin]

We are going to be in DC in June for my husband's brother-in-law's father's burial at Arlington Cemetery. The hotel I am planning on booking a room at has a free shuttle that takes guests to and from the metro, which we are planning on using. Our plans are get their Thursday night, burial Friday, sightseeing Saturday and Sunday, leave to come home on Monday. Plan for Saturday and Sunday is to go downtown. Spend most of one day at the Smithsonian and the other day seeing the memorials. Check out on Monday morning to go Dulles to the new Air and Space museum and then come home. Does anyone have anything we need to definitely see. I have no intention of driving the car once get to the hotel until we leave and plan to use their public transportation for the entire weekend.

[indysteel]

If you like art, the Phillips Collection and the Corcoran Museum are wonderful, as is the National Gallery. As depressing as it undoubtedly is, the Holocaust Museum is well worth visiting IMO. I realize it may not be something you'd want to see on a vacation though.

I took a nighttime tour of the monuments once that was quite nice. I think it leaves from Union Station (which itself is quite fun).

I like walking around some of the neighborhoods, e.g. the area around DuPont Circle and Georgetown.

[ny biker]

There are lots of Smithsonians. What interests you? American History, Natural Science, Air and Space, American Indian, various art museums...?

www.si.edu

Make sure you have comfortable shoes for walking.

There is a hop on/hop off tourist bus that starts at Arlington Cemetary and goes around the mall/monument area. It might go to Union Station, too.

But you'll want comfortable shoes, anyway.

[Possegal]

I did the hop on/off bus with cousins that came to visit me a couple years ago, first time I'd done that with company and it was a great idea. Should have done it earlier. I'd recommend that to get more sites in less time. :) I always take the visitors to the mall at night to see the wall/Lincoln/Korea at night. Totally a must do as far as I'm concerned. :)

[tulip]

Rent a bike and ride down the Mount Vernon Trail (but not at rush hour) or just see the monuments by bike.

Explore neighborhoods. Visit the monuments at night.

Enjoy your trip! I enjoyed living in DC for as long as I did. Even though I'm only 100 miles away, I hardly ever get there any more. I miss it.

[ny biker]

http://www.bikethesites.com/

Bike the Sites rentals and tours.

[Koronin]

We're definitely going to visit the Air and Space museum. (I've been to that one a couple of times, but my husband has never been in DC before). Have been debating which other of the Smithsonian museums to go to. I love the National History one. One I want to see is the Post Office one.

The tourist bus sounds like a great idea. Thank you.

Renting bikes to see the monuments might not be a bad idea at all. We can't take our bikes because we're driving my car and do not have a bike rack for it. We have a bike rack for our pick up. The car (Monte Carlo) gets better gas milage.

I indent on wearing my best pair of walking shoes the entire time we're there.

Thank you all for the ideas.

[TsPoet]

air and space museum
spy museum (not part of the Smithsonian, but neat anyway)
Washington nat'l cathedral (I love gargoyles, there is even a Darth Vader one)
i love the bike tour idea.

[Koronin]

spy museum? That sounds pretty neat.

[TsPoet]

spy museum? That sounds pretty neat.

http://www.spymuseum.org/about
(warning, it is rather directed at kids, but I loved it)

[Koronin]

Thank you.

Apparently I made a mistake telling my mom that we are planning on using the metro while we're in DC instead of driving. She is sure we'll get attacked, beaten up, robbed and possibly killed just because we are going to take public transportation. UGH!! I know I cannot in anyway tell her we'll be alright. My plan is use to the metro for a couple of reasons, the main one being we do NOT know DC at all. The last time I was there was about 15 years ago when I was in high school. My husband has never been in DC. So it will be a lot simpler to use the metro to get where we're going. Then there's the whole saving money thing. Between not knowing where we're going, the cost of gas and the cost of parking I would think taking the metro would be cheaper. (It may not be, but it will definitely be easier.)

[Possegal]

Oh most definitely metro it!! And honestly, as public transportation goes, it is really quite safe compared to most other cities.

[Koronin]

Thank you for comfirming what I was thinking.

[Selkie]

Agree that the Metro is relatively safe.

If you get a chance, check out Eastern Market.

When you are down by the cemetery, visit the USMC memorial, too. The 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon is another good place to visit. One of my favorite things to do is walk the Tidal Basin in the early morning---check out the FDR memorial, which is along the path.

[Xrayted]

The Air and Space Museum is popular and one of my favorites. Someone mentioned the Holocaust Museum. Very riveting. You will walk out changed in some ways. You will need to make reservations for a time though, if you do that one. People like to take their time and really read most of it, take it all in. It's incredible. For that reason, they limit how many per hour are allowed entrance. It's still pretty many, but if you don't get a time ahead of time, you will be SOL. They won't let you in because there just aren't any tix left. I loved the natural history and the art museum, but the two I mentioned, there are things in those you can only see in DC. That makes them top of my list if I only were going to take one day to go to the mall. You do have the Kennedy Center not too far away and could do an evening show, if you have time.

The Washington Monument is cool and people bring their kites to fly around it, down on the mound at the base. The Lincoln Memorial is definitely a favorite of mine, but is a bit away from the rest I mentioned. You can stroll the long reflecting pool, made so famous in many movies over the years. If you don't do the Art Museum, at least go down to the food court. The waterfall is really cool. :)

Also, even if you wanted to drive, there is only one parking space for a million people there. Take the Metro. It pops up all over the mall area and is faster, safe and kinda fun to ride. Traffic and how things are named will drive you nuts if you drive. I tried it not once, but twice. Never again. Also, if any of you are staying outside of DC, on weekends, the park and ride parking fee is free. You just have to pay for the Metro. Well worth it, IMO. I used to be able to ride pretty much wherever, all day, for about $5 each person. I'm sure it's gone up a bit in the last 5 years but still, so much better than driving.

[indysteel]

Someone mentioned the Holocaust Museum. Very riveting. You will walk out changed in some ways. You will need to make reservations for a time though, if you do that one. People like to take their time and really read most of it, take it all in. It's incredible. For that reason, they limit how many per hour are allowed entrance. It's still pretty many, but if you don't get a time ahead of time, you will be SOL.

It is riveting and definitely provides an extremely profound experience. It's the most memorable museum I've ever been to--and I've been to a lot. If nothing else, it is a beautifully designed public space. Like I said, it may not be someone's cup of tea on a vacation, but I'm so glad I've been there (multiple times, actually). Admittedly, the first time I went there, I spent an hour crying at the Mall afterwards, but it was a life-altering experience.

[Koronin]

Thank you all for your comments and help. I drove in DC once and got lost and it took me 3 hours to find a way out of DC and to one of the freeways. I swore then never to do that again. I thought the metro would be best. I think my mom is just afraid of all public transportation. The city I grew up in (and where she still lives) does not have any public transportation.

[ny biker]

Metro is a cross between a subway and a commuter train. Unless your hotel is in a really bad part of town, you'll be fine. I take my parents on Metro whenever they visit. Rush hour crowds are the biggest problem.

And yes, driving in DC is a nightmare. Just when you think you've got it figured out, they throw a traffic circle or a diagonal street in your way, and the next thing you know you're lost in Virginia. And we won't even talk about the road work they're about to start on Constitution Ave...

[Koronin]

Road work? UGH! We'll definitely use the Metro. The one and only time I drove in DC I got horribly lost and swore to never do that again. The hotel I'm planning on staying at is in Alexandria. Just need the govt to pass a frelling budget first. Hubby is civil service and if/when the govt shuts down we get no paycheck. I don't want to book a room and then have th govt shut down for any length of time which would make it difficult if not impossible to go.
On the road work, I have a story about road work and Atlanta, GA. That was not fun. We had gone to the aquarium and were headed south to meet my family at Disney World for a couple of days. There was a ton of road construction and trying to get back on the freeway headed south was nearly impossible.