Anyone visit Mt. Vernon?

[kristilew]

We're planning the all-American spring break trip, touring the Washington DC area. I'm trying to decide what day to do Mt. Vernon, a Sunday or Monday.

Some guide books say only come on a weekday, some say only on a Sunday. All say to expect long lines if you show up first thing, but that if you come later, there are shorter lines for entry but not enough time to see everything. A little confusing!

So, do any VA folks or recent tourists have advice? TIA

 

[2Kds2K9]

Don't know which days would be best. I have not visited Mt. Vernon in about 3 years, but understand that there is a new Visitors Center that is awsome. I'm sure that has significanly increased the number of visitors. Even before that, it was a great place to see and tour. The grounds are beautiful and the house itself is well maintained. It's really a step back in time.

Enjoy!

 

[Kimmumum]

We went last year for spring break. There were long lines but that wasn't the problem. We were staying in Downtown DC and decided to take a tour bus to Mt. Vernon. The "tour" along the way was great. We learned many things, saw the Watergate hotel, saw historic churches, learned about the smallest homes etc along the way. When we got to Mr. Vernon (which was very interesting) we only had two hours to stay there (the tour total time was 4 hours). We stood in line for 45 minutes, it took about 45 minutes to speedily get through the house and then we had 1/2 hour to go to the bathroom, see everything else outside the house and get back to the bus. We wished we had more time.

The wait wasn't really a big deal but I tell people that if they can avoid going on a tour then they should. Try to get there on your own and you'll have more fun and won't be rushed.

 

[EMom]

We went on a weekday and it wasn't crowded, but that was in September. My best piece of advice is to get there early because there is so much to see. We stayed for hours and could have happily stayed much longer. I will definitely return to see more. Allow a lot of time. The cafe there is nice.

 

[shortbun]

We went with our son when he was 6. The lines were so long we opted to hang out and see the grounds. We spent several hours walking, playing and seeing the grounds. I LOVED it!! Someday, maybe, we'll go back and walk around inside but I felt connected to Washington outside. I have a feeling he spent more of his time there than in.

 

[DancingBear]

Buy your tickets online in advance and you'll skip the first line, at the ticket window. The other big line is to tour the house itself. As locals we go in the "offseason" so I can't vouch for what the books say about the line getting shorter later--but if that is true I'd still go early and visit the grounds (including the farm area) and the visitor's center first and then try the line for the house.

 

[kristilew]

Buy your tickets online in advance and you'll skip the first line, at the ticket window. The other big line is to tour the house itself. As locals we go in the "offseason" so I can't vouch for what the books say about the line getting shorter later--but if that is true I'd still go early and visit the grounds (including the farm area) and the visitor's center first and then try the line for the house.

Ah, helpful, thank you!

 

[Amy&Dan]

We went in August of 2007 and spent most of a day there. We had to wait around a half hour to get into the house (it was worth it even in that heat and humidity) and the food court was a zoo so we ate in the main restaurant. We really enjoyed this, we went all over the grounds, saw a couple of short films inside the museum and thought it was a trip highlight.

The house is really well done, my kids still talk about it. When we go back to DC we'll see it again, normally we don't do repeats on our DC trips but we enjoyed it so much we are making an exception!

If you eat at the restaurant, get the peanut soup!

 

[slpmom]

We went to Mt. Vernon on a Monday in June. We went on the subway and took the city bus, got there just as it opened, and there were no ticket lines. We were the second group in the mansion and got a private tour. Then, there was plenty of time to explore everything else. By 9:30, the line was about 45-60 minutes long. It was one of my favorite places!