I'm planning on spending a week visiting the Smithsonian, monuments, and a tour of the White House. Are there any other must see places and would a 6-7 day visit be enough for my family to take in all the sights. Kids are teen and tween with short attention spans like them all at that age.
Any guidance is appreciated. I haven't been to our Nations capitol since I got my drivers license way back in the early 80's.
Try climbing the White House fence. Seems like the SS is letting it happen regularly.
Seriously,have a great time.
I recommend you include Arlington Cemetary, Mt. Vernon south of DC and tour busses available
Old town Alexandria is a good place to stay. Transit by the Metro is safe and easy. Shop around for best hotel deal. We also stay in Crystal city. Rates are sometimes cheaper.
My favorite place is Jefferson Memorial at night.
The Air Museum at Dulles airport is a must see. The Enola Gay is there, a Concorde, a space shuttle and hundreds more all under one roof. Absolutely fascinating, especially for the young ones. Been there 3 times, want to go again.
Go to Nick’s Riverside Grille for lunch (Georgetown) and take your kids on a boat ride! (Foggy Bottom Metro stop)
and some walking but it’s a nice area.
I went about 15 years ago so my knowledge is dated, but, we had no problem riding the Metro/Bus out to see George Washington’s home. Just don’t miss the bus connection or you’ll be sitting as a minority for a few.
We stayed near Dupont Circle and walked or metroed everywhere, took a taxi a few times.
A good current guide book before you go is your friend. I think we used Frommers.
Always take a sit down break around 2:30 or 3, preferably with snacks if you have kids, it will change your life and make it much easier to keep going.
There is a tourist bus that makes a big circle around the Mall and other nearby areas of interests. You can reboard at will. It’s worth the cost.
Get the White House tour, it’s awe inspiring!
all 19 of the Smithsonians and the National Zoo are free...expect long lines though...
The Mall has the Capitol at one end and Lincoln at the other ...that could fill almost a day to walk down and see everything...South of the Mall are the Jefferson and the MLK memorials...
The views of Washington from all 4 sides at the top of Washington monument are awesome...I think its open again...again long lines...
Lincoln’s Memorial is inspiring...
Don’t miss the Vietnam Veterans’ Wall or the WWII Memorial
If you want to go up in the gallery of the Capitol to watch the Senate or the House get tickets from your own congress critter’s office staff before you go..either locally or from the Washington office...you wont be allowed upstairs without tickets/passes..
I don’t know how theyre doing the White House tickets now...we use to have to line up at an outside box office on the Ellipse about 6AM to get them on the day we wanted to visit but Obama changed all that...he locked the people out of their own house...
King Street and Braddock Rd Metro Stations are both in Alexandria. Can just buy day tickets and ride the Blue line to Arlington (Arlington Cemetery), then Farragut West (walk to White House). From the White House, you can just walk to the Vietnam Wall, Lincoln Memorial, along the reflecting pool to the WW2 Memorial. From there to the Washington Monument, then you have all of the Smithsonian museums between the Washington Monument and the Capitol.
There are kiosks serving hot dogs, burgers and beer along the Mall east of the Washington Monument. Decent restaurants are to the North of the Mall. Each Smithsonian has some sort of cafe (the Air & Space has a McDonalds). Bathrooms at the Lincoln, Washington Mon, and halfway in between. Each Smithsonian has bathrooms.
So, you can hop on the Metro in Alexandria and be on the Mall and walking around in 30 minutes or less. Great walking. Can even picnic on the Mall if you want. Good family time.
I assume you know the procedure for booking a tour for the White House. It involves contacting your local representatives and needs to be done well in advance
Well, there is no guarantees with Metro. Considering the time you are going, there should be lots of tourists so you should be ok. Unless it is a tour, I would stay away from buses.
Most of the things you want to see are near Capitol Hill and The Mall, which are pretty safe. Once there you can pretty much walk to everything, unless you have mobility concerns.
Prior to your arrival, go to the Metro website and check for advisories on SafeTrak. It is an overhaul program currently in progress leading to some service limitations.
Mount Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery are a must. Take the time at Arlington to tour the Lee Mansion.
A short drive from Tyson's Corner is Great Falls National Park on the Potomac River. You'll also be a short drive from Fort Marcy Park where Vince Foster's body was found.
You will also be able to drive to the NRA museum in Fairfax.
There are also the Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima) and Air Force Memorials adjacent to Arlington.
In D.C., Chinatown/ Gallery Place is targeted by groups of Black teen criminals so be careful there. Nice area otherwise with a museums (National Portrait Gallery, Spy Museum) and plenty of restaurants.
Ford's Theater and the Peterson House on 10th St, NW between E and F Streets.
Being that you have the time and the weather will be nicer I suggest touring the Mall twice--once during the day and the other at twilight/night.
On or near the Mall is the Botanic Garden, the D.C. WWI Memorial and the FDR Memorial.
You might be able to catch a Supreme Court hearing or at least take the tour.
Something a little different is the park just north of Reagan Airport of the GW Parkway where you can park and watch the planes flying quite low overhead.
Parking in DC can be in parking garages in downtown or at Union Station, or metered tourist street parking along the Mall.
The Georgetown Waterfront has seen a lot of development.
There are also the Newseum, Navy Memorial and Trump Hotel along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Your kids are the same ages as mine so being inside the district will be a huge benefit. I would look at the Hilton Garden Inn on 14th St. NW. It is located perfectly for walking to the monuments, but it has reasonably priced suites with a sleeper sofa that also easily accommodates a roll away. That way, each kid has their own bed and you have your own room. It's tight but will deliver a good nights sleep for all in an unbeatable location. Plus, the restaurant in the hotel is first rate and reasonable.
There are some must sees and do's:
1. Ford Theater
2. Lincoln Memorial at night
3. Reserve your ride (now) to top of Washington Monument if open.
4. Bureau of Printing and Engraving (kids will love seeing all the money)
5. Smithsonian, of course.
6. Senate and House tour. Hopefully they are in session. We were able to watch from the gallery as Charlie Rangel voted, by mistake, with republicans on a bill. Other dems came rushing to his seat just before vote closed to have him change it. Pretty funny.
7. Duck Tour - This is still our favorite. You ride around town in a World War II DUKW amphibious boat/truck hybrid seeing the sites, and then it plunges into the Potomac river and you get to see DC by water. They'll even let the kids drive the boat. Best $40 you'll spend in DC.
Hope that helps. Good luck!
Also, as someone else mentioned, the Air and Space Museum at Dulles would be good as you’ll be starting out from Tyson’s Corner.
Using the metro is a great way to get around D.C. Driving through the city is often a nightmare. The metro is fast, relatively cheap, fairly nice, and a lot of government workers use it (although you should still watch out for any suspicious behavior of course). I’ve always come into D.C. from VA (and occasionally from MD). There’s no need to stay in the city itself unless you’re trying to save time, provided you can get a room near a public transportation stop. So this is just a saving time vs. saving money issue.
This may not be of interest to you, but when I’m in D.C. I often try to take in an opera, play, or concert at the Kennedy Center. There’s a shuttle bus that picks people up from the nearest metro stop and takes them back again after their performance is over. Of the Smithsonian Museums, I liked the Air & Space one the best, followed by the National Art Gallery and the History Museum. There are a lot of Smithsonian Museums so you should probably decide which ones you most want to see beforehand.
If you do want to do a day-trip outside of D.C., I agree with the other posters that a trip to Mt. Vernon is a good idea (you can drink a mint julep at the tavern there and feel like you’re properly in the South). If you go to Arlington Nat. Cemetery, make sure to visit Robert E. Lee’s House on the hilltop for the history and the view. Everyone goes to see the changing of the guard and the Kennedy’s eternal flame, but it can be worthwhile to ask at the info desk where some less famous graves are and go a little off the beaten path. I did that before for Gen. Omar Bradley, President Taft, and some others.
The nicest and safest area of Alexandria is near to the King Street exit on the Metro. Crystal City is good but closer to the airport and less pleasant, IMHO. The rest of the stops are fine in the day but sketchy after sundown. Lot's of hotels, restaurants and shops off King St.
In DC I like the L'Enfant hotel at the L'Enfant metro stop for it's closeness to the sights. http://www.lenfantplazahotel.com/