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Looking for help from FReepers knowledgeable of the transit system from Alexandria, VA to all areas DC. Is it safe to ride the train/bus from that region? Would I be smarter to pay for hotel accommodations closer to the monuments and museums? Places not to visit?

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.

I just spent a long weekend there. Got there last Thursday and drove home today, walked in the door about 2 hours ago. Just the wife and I went, no kids although there were literally 1000's of 8th graders there. They were every where you went. Went hoping to see the cherry blossoms in bloom but it wasn't to be. Heard the the White CB's won't this year because of the weather they had earlier in the week. (Bus tour guide did say the 'GW' phrase. We were front and center and I gave him the eye roll - he smiled. No tip for him.)

We did the (Thur PM) National Archives and Natural History. (Fri) Space museum, walked up to the Capitol building, walked to the Washington Monument. Did a 3 hour bus tour that took us to or past all the monuments (Lincoln and Iwo Jima memorials). Went past the White House. Learned a lot of about the city as a whole. On Saturday, spent most of the day at Arlington National Cemetery. Changing of the guard (Noon changing) at the tomb of the Unknown Solider. We had a friend who passed last year who is Interment'd there and we found his spot. Finished it off with the Vietnam War Memorial and Korean War Memorial.

We stayed in VA, about a half hour drive into town. Parking is tricky but can be had cheaply if you work at it.

Cabs and Uber vehicles are everywhere. You can walk to all of the stuff on the mall, which can take 2 days or more to see it all. IMO, a week might be a bit much but to each his own. This was enough for these two mid to late 50's geezers.

Most of the museums open at 10-10:30 and close at 5:30 but the monuments stay open 24/7 so plan your day around that. You sound a bit more trusting being in a city you don't know but I wouldn't put myself in that spot so I cannot help you on the public transportation. They have the hop on hop off buses going around, you could do that.

PM me if you have specific questions.

Here is a link to a website I am building in case a big Washington DC pro-Trump rally is ever on the horizon.

I included a page with info about getting around DC.

I’ll link you to that page - just down past the getting there section - it should help.

http://www.rebuildingmiddleamericarally.com/getting-there-getting-around/

Six to seven days should be plenty. You should include the Old Town area of Alexandria, and Washington’s Mount Vernon as well. The only places that were a bit of a disappointment for us were the American Indian Museum, and The Spy Museum. Now, if you HAD to do one of them, the Spy Museum is the better of the two, but has a entry fee.

If you want more suggestions than you already have, I would be happy to help. From a tourists viewpoint.