Posted on 02/18/2017 12:25:40 PM PST by Stopthethreat
Since my fellow FReepers seem to have the sites covered I'll suggest an eatery, Founding Farmers, near the White House. It's simple food very well prepared and is delicious. Great place for families.
YES! The flag! I forgot that. Very worth seeing.
Air and Space museum. Fantastic even if you aren’t that into airplanes (ask my wife...she loved it)
Did zer0 make all the D.C. bathrooms transgender? Was hoping my daughters could share a bathroom with Lindsey Graham or some other dude wearing a dress
How much time do you have? On a short visit, the tourist standards on the Mall will keep you busy. If you have time, Mount Vernon, National Cathedral, and the Basilica at Catholic U. are good. Your girls are the right age for the zoo. Consider a dinner cruise on the Potomac. If you are here in season, consider a canoe or kayack rental; with younger kids, I’d recommend Bladensburg and the Anacostia over a Potomac rental. The Anacostia is a kid friendly river and the Bladensburg Waterfont Park is nice. Great Falls is memorable for kids as well.
Folger Shakespeare Library. And they sometimes have kids activities.
The FBI museum is pretty cool. Lots of firearms and the tour ends with a demonstration of a Thompson submachine gun.
If you haven’t been to Mt. Vernon it is a must see. Just a short drive down the scenic George Washington Parkway from Alexandria. The water taxi from the Georgetown waterfront to Old Town Alexandria is also fun with great views of the city from the Potomac river, but doesn’t start operation until March 23rd.
You can spend days in the Smithsonian on the mall. The advantage of going there is that everything should be within walking distance, even for 10 and 7 year olds. If the weather is good, the zoo is usually a good destination but will require transportation or riding the Metro. Spy Museum is good but I think the kids need to be older. The WWII and Vietnam Memorials are also close by, again more for the adults. Another advantage is that you will see both the White House and Capital. If you tour the White House, remind yourself of what Trump gave up to live there.
Is this a spring break trip? With all the moderate temperatures, I’d expect the cherry blossoms to bloom early. Hope you get a chance to enjoy them as well.
And if you take taxis in DC, ask the driver if they actually KNOW how to get to your destination before you drive off.
Unless a lot has changed in a couple of years - most cabbies barely spoke English. They nod their head when you tell them where you want to go, but you may find yourself being driven in circles. Or, use UBER. At least those drivers actually take you straight to your destination. We had a great UBER driver last month.
Oh, and the Trump International Hotel is on Pennsylvania Ave, not so very far from the White House. I think people can tour the clock tower or something. It’s on my list for our next visit. I did stand in front of it to watch the Inauguration Day parade, and I saw the President and First Lady walking!
The language barrier with cabbies isn’t as great as they’d have you believe, and they’re not taking you the scenic route accidentally, it’s to pad the fare. Know where you’re going, know the most direct route and do not let them bs you, you’ll be taken for a ride, literally.
YEP - I figured that out pretty instantly, LOL. When I saw the same building twice, I cut the ride short. Turned out we were only one block from our target. I wonder how many more times he would have gone round if I hadn’t stopped him?
This time down there we also learned to use the metro. Which is why I summoned an UBER.
smithsonian has some neat stuff for both kids and parents too
Kids that age love the Smithsonian’s natural history museum
Also the air and space museum
Allow time to just enjoy walking the up the Mall
They would like visiting the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and have lunch or a snack sitting on the steps
The paddle boats in the tidal basin are fun
Take a Potomac river cruise
Take a hike over to Roosevelt Island or along the C&O
There are lock houses along the C&O with guides in period dress
The National Portrait Gallery is also awesome
All the suggestions I’ve read so far are great.
As a bit of security advice, wearing pro-Trump gear might not be a good idea. DC is 99% Lefty and therefore dangerously nuts. Those maniacs won’t differentiate between an adult and a child.
As far as sightseeing: Air & Space and it’s Dulles Annex (all the big stuff is down there).
https://airandspace.si.edu/udvar-hazy-center
The National Archives displays the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights in its rotunda.
https://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/washington
The Jefferson Memorial is worth the walk, and all the various Smithsonian museums are wonderful.
For lunch or breakfast one day, you can eat at the Dept of Agriculture. The Smithsonian metro stop lets out at 12th and Independence blvd. Walk a few minutes to wing 3 and anyone can enter to go to the cafeteria. There are various selections of food available and the price of items isn’t the usual ripoff cost as in other places. There may also be tours as well you can look into but at least lunch there won’t break the bank. It is about 10 minutes walking distance from air and space museum.
Changing of the guard at the Tomb of The Unknown is worth your time...
The Old Guard puts on a nice summer evening show May thru Aug, free and open to the public at Fort Myer called Twilight Tattoo...http://twilight.mdw.army.mil/
Go to Nicks Riverside grill for lunch in Georgetown. The ice skating rink may still be up.
Boat rides too.
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