Washington DC Trip... where to start?

[DoraBA]

Adding a few thoughts -- but first, DC is A.Mazing. I hope you have the best time ever!

Stay close to a metro station. Driving and parking in DC is a nightmare and expensive.

There a zillion museums, all great and impressive. Dont even attempt doing them all,choose 2-3 based on your preferance. The Air & Space, Natural History and American History are classic for kids. I heard great thing about the African-American (?) Art one.

I LOVE the Library of Congress. Love it. Theres a tour and also lots of fascinating displays. Also the Supreme Court. I know the WH and Congress get all the fame, but these two just move me.

The Holocaust Museum is very impressive and touching. Not easy but important.

The FBI used to have a tour, not sure if its still available? I did it some 20 years ago LOL

The Ford Theater is a must for history buffs, small but fascinating.

With younger kids- the Zoo is fun as well.

Have fun

 

[NYCgrrl]

@mrsap -Just a heads up since it sounds like you are going soon. Amtrak has a sale on Acela rides to DC right now...think it's a 25% discount so you might want to check it out. Really comfy ride with free reliable WIFI and easy to access USB portals near each seat. Great when school age children are traveling to extend the time on vacation w/o missing school time. DGD knocks off most of her homework on the ride back and forth. Washington is public transport friendly so little need to pay the parking fees that are close in cost to midtown NYC. Not much cost effective pricing between business class and first class so we almost always choose business since don't think there is regular coach on the Acela trains to this destination.

 

[mjkacmom]

I brought my 9 and 11 year olds to the Holocaust museum, they were fine.

 

[mrsap]

If you google The White House, The Capitol, and Washington Monument, you can find how to get tickets. The White House has to be planned in advance so security clearance is obtained.

You have to decide what you want to see. Museums? Memorials? There is so much. Find a map and familiarize yourself with the layout of the mall area. We metro in for day trips so can't help with hotels.

Many of the memorials are close to each other so that you can walk between them. A lot of the Smithsonian Museums are on the National Mall.

You can go to your local library and get a tour book of the area. What time of year are you planning to go?

OMG I’m sorry I didn’t see your post!! We are thinking Spring. Our priorities would be WH, Capitol, monuments and Arlington. We have to look into everything else.

 

[CynBeth]

They might enjoy the Spy Museum. It is not too far from to The Mall but there is a cost. I agree with the poster who said National Zoo. I would say for the Smithsonian Museums our favorites are American History, Air and Space, and American Indian. We also really like National History. I can’t remember when you said the trip is but if it is during baseball season Nats Park is great.

 

[whatname]

I'm tentatively planning for 2021 to see the cherry blossoms. It is so overwhelming, so I had everyone in my group pick one thing they want to do the most. We are not trying for the WH, so that helps.

I've been 2 times, but not in MANY years. I'm thinking of booking a package through Southwest for the hotel and flights.

I agree with the guide book idea.

Cherry blossom time is great, although sometimes the trees are in bloom and sometimes not, depends on the weather. We have gone to the parade every year for the last 3 years. We usually get there early enough, like 9am since my daughters are in the parade, and we have no problem finding a place to sit on the steps of building. It's a pretty nice parade. We then usually walk around, although that will be a much more crowded day for sightseeing.

 

[whatname]

We usually stay the the Marriott in Dunn Loring. It is relatively inexpensive, about $120 per night. It's in a nice area with restaurants and the metro within walking distance. like maybe 2 - 3 blocks. And parking is free. They have always allowed us to keep our car there for the day, even after check out. The staff has always been very nice. The metro ride isn't that long to get into the city.

You will need to get Holocaust Museum tickets ahead of time and it has always been very crowded when I have been there. If you happen to have a law enforcement officer in the family, I believe that you can get entry same day.

The changing of the guard at Arlington is an awesome experience. I found it very moving. You can take the metro there.

Be prepared for a lot of walking. As others have said, there is so much to do. I think I would make sure to see the monuments and then pick a museum or two. Many of the sites are free, so you have some flexibility. Seeing the monuments both during the day and at night gives two different experiences.

Be aware, there are very few restaurants in DC near the sites and they tend to be somewhat expensive. We like Blackfinn Ameripub, which is not too far of a walk from the White House.

Have fun!

 

[starry_solo]

I went in October for 8 nights (so 6 days of sightseeing) and it wasn't enough!

White House visit and Capital Tours are arranged through your US Representative (for the district in which you reside). They can also arrange tours of US Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Bureau of Engraving & Printing, FBI and more!

There are public Capital tours too, but that's on a first come-first serve basis. With the tour by a staff member of the Congress-person, you get to go through the underground tunnels between their business building and the Capitol building

Our group stayed at two different hotels. JW Marriott (off Pennsylvania Avenue) and the Hyatt Park Place National Mall. Both were convenient to walk to various locations within DC (including all the Smithsonians) but the JW Marriott has double beds, whereas the Hyatt has queen size beds.

 

[rwdavis2]

The last time we spent a night in DC we stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda. It’s right on top of. A Red Line Metro station. You can get most any place you want to go using the Red Line.
less expensive than most DC hotels.

just an fyi, the distance from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol is two miles.

 

[mrsap]

Thank you all. We’d like to be within walking distance from the WH or Capitol Bldg., so I’m trying to find hotels right around there. Found a couple we like so far, but will keep looking!!

 

[aprilchem]

I wouldn't recommend the Holocaust museum at your kid's ages. (Personally, I even skipped it with a teen.) My niece went when she was about your DD's age, and was really negatively affected.

I think it really depends on the child. We live local to DC and my kids have all been there at 10 years old, on their 5th grade field trip (with DH as chaperone). All of them found it educational and I think they all "got" it, but they all have an interest in history and had been to Pearl Harbor prior to the Holocaust Museum.

 

[nkereina]

We've done DC a few times. We relied on the metro and found it pretty easy and safe to use. We also went during the cherry blossom festival once, and traffic was way worse than normal, as expected. We were actually on a bus tour with a schedule of things we were supposed to do, and several of those had to be cancelled because traffic was worse than even the tour company anticipated. We spent hours in traffic.

We did the White House tour by contacting our congress person. We did this in 2014, so not sure how much has changed, but at the time I wasn't able to bring my purse in so I had to strategically plan the tour to allow me to leave my purse at the hotel and then return to the hotel for it when we were done. It was a little challenging logistically. Also, I'm glad we did it, but we didn't see as much of the White House as I'd hoped. We saw the main room where the President does a few press conferences and a parlour type room, and that was it. We also were able to stand on a porch/balcony. It was still cool, relatively easy to set up, and it was free - but I wouldn't stress if you can't get it or it logistically doesn't work out.

 

[DopeyDame]

If you have money to spare, the Mayflower Hotel is in a perfect location, and it's the hotel where people would hang around the lobby and try to talk to politicians - hence the term "lobbyist"

I think everyone else has covered most things, but your kids are definitely ideal ages for the Spy Museum.
Also, you can money being printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing: https://www.moneyfactory.gov/washingtondctours.html

 

[mrsap]

If you have money to spare, the Mayflower Hotel is in a perfect location, and it's the hotel where people would hang around the lobby and try to talk to politicians - hence the term "lobbyist"

I think everyone else has covered most things, but your kids are definitely ideal ages for the Spy Museum.
Also, you can money being printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing: https://www.moneyfactory.gov/washingtondctours.html

That would be awesome!!!!!! I’d definitely be one who’d want to talk to them!!!