Going to Washington DC next June

[Claire L]

We decided on a city break for next summer and decided DC had so much to see and do that a week would be nice.

So anyone got any tips for the best tours and restaurants?

Claire

 

[Belle68]

Im sorry I cant help you out on that, but Im sure you will have a fabulour time. How long are you going for?

 

[Claire L]

Im sorry I cant help you out on that, but Im sure you will have a fabulour time. How long are you going for?

Going for a week, last time I was there was 1992 for 2 nights and DH has never been.

Claire

 

[emily1982]

Someone was telling us about a huge mall there which apparently is one of the biggest in America...if that's any help

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Same here no help afraid,but sounds fab.

 

[Dimplenose]

I've only visited for a day and that was years ago - we were staying with friends in Philadelphia.
We managed to get up the Washington Monument (no charge as this is a national monument), see the Lincoln Memorial and the Whitehouse (from the outside - there were tours if we'd been there on the right day). We spent a lot of our time in Arlington Cemetery which was very interesting and moving, while there we saw the eternal flame on Kennedy's grave and the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The rest is a bit of a blur as we also managed a day trip to New York and I'm afraid the memories have merged over time.

 

[Snowy-girls]

Sorry,never been but just wanted to say wohooo+happy planning.x.

 

[florida sun]

Sounds lovely Claire, Ive never been, but would love to one day

 

[pixiepower04]

We stopped off in DC on the way back from Florida in January 2005 for 3 days and I loved it so much, I really really want to go back.

I loved the feeling of history, the presidents, the monuments and buildings, the FBI, the police cars all around making us feel safe, the beautiful train station, the White House, Arlington etc.

We walked for miles and were never bored.

We actually stayed in a Best Western in Roslyn which is over the water in Virginia but as it's on the Metro Line it had a direct line into the centre area of DC and took only a few minutes. Everything is so easily accessible by foot, a bit like walking round London, go down one street and you end up in another part of London.

I can't recommend any eateries or tours because we much prefered walking.

I'm so jealous, have a great time though

 

[UKDEB]

We began a 25 day road trip in DC back in 2005 to celebrate a friend's 50th (dh and me; her and her husband). The only reason we started there was because Virgin fly there, we'd already visited NYC 3 times previously, and we felt Boston was too far north. Our expectations were fairly low, but we were blown away and Matt and I are always saying how much we'd love to go back.

It's all low-rise and, because it's a manufactured city, so cleverly laid out. We stayed at the Hay-Adams which overlooks Lafayette Square and the White House and we really couldn't have picked a better spot (whenever you see news reporters with the White House in the background, they're standing on the roof terrace of the Hay-Adams). After checking in, we went for a walk "around the block" and it's amazing how close you can get to the White House.

We stayed 3 nights and everything was a joy. Of the Mall museums, we started with the Smithsonian Castle (which is effectively the visitor centre for all of them) and then went on to the Air and Space Museum and the Museum of American History. I wish we'd had time to do them all. We didn't want to queue to climb the Washington Memorial, but we got very close to it and also got numerous photos of it from all around the capitol.

Naturally we did the Lincoln Memorial, walking via the World War II Memorial and taking in the Vietnam Memorial. We walked the entire Tidal Basin which includes the Roosevelt Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. We were lucky enough to visit whilst the cherry blossom was in bloom and, thanks to the jet-lag, we were out early and had the entire place almost to ourselves. We even saw Dubb-Yahs motorcade passing by.

We took a trip out to George Town which reminded me of England (Clifton in Bristol to be precise). We ended up in a great little bar. I can't remember what it was called, but I think it may have been part of a chain.

The surprise highlight for me was Arlington Cemetery. If it had been my choice, we wouldn't have bothered. We'd walked around 12 miles already that day and were pretty shattered, but the friend we were with is a big Civil War buff, so he was keen to go. Words can't describe the effect it had on me. Well, on all four of us. Tears are pricking the backs of my eyes just thinking about it and for so many reasons, not just the obvious. It's a truly awe-inspiring place.

Much of DC is walkable, although that did mean we ended up doing a lot of walking. We took the metro to Arlington Cemetery and got a cab to George Town, but walked everywhere else.

Surprisingly, given that we're big foodies, we didn't eat anywhere particularly memorable. It was the first three nights of our trip and we pretty much wore ourselves out with sight-seeing, so we stuck mainly with the options at the hotel. For breakfast we ate in the main dining room which overlooks the White House (well, it would be churlish not to) and, in the evenings, we hot-footed it to the basement "Off The Record" bar which is where White House staff hang out (hence the name). The award-winning bartender entertained us with tales of visits by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown (amongst others) and both the burgers and the cocktails were top-notch. I liked it because it was patronised by people "of an age" (my age ), rather than the hip, young, beautiful crowd.

 

[UKDEB]

I've just remembered that we also visited Union Station. Whilst it's similar in many ways to Grand Central Station and is well worth visiting, unlike GSC, it's not an essential sight-seeing destination in my view.

 

[Claire L]

Thanks for all the replies, planning is full steam ahead

Claire

 

[KayleeUK]

That sounds lovely I would love to go there.

 

[Strommie]

I am so jealous Claire. I went for my 30th birthday, and we had a fantastic time. Many of my recommendations have already been mentioned by Deb. The museums are fantastic, and DBF loved the Air and Space Museum in particular.

 

[PoppyAnna]

DH and I would love to go and it's on our list for our first holiday without our girls in a few years time.
Sounds really sad but I'm a huge West Wing fan (not in a scary way just love the show) and I would love to visit all the places mentioned by Deb.
Most don't see it as a "must-see" destination - but it is for me
Enjoy your planning - seems like you're getting some great tips on this thread

 

[pixiepower04]

DH and I would love to go and it's on our list for our first holiday without our girls in a few years time.
Sounds really sad but I'm a huge West Wing fan (not in a scary way just love the show) and I would love to visit all the places mentioned by Deb.
Most don't see it as a "must-see" destination - but it is for me
Enjoy your planning - seems like you're getting some great tips on this thread

This is exactly why I loved it so much too, I am a massive massive fan of The West Wing, NCIS and Bones so seeing all the places from these programmes in real life was just amazing.

I wish we could have gone via DC instead of New York as we would have stopped off for a few days.

I can't wait to go back

 

[Tanzanite]

Hi the largest mall in Washington area is Tysons corner it is in Mclean Virginia but a short drive from Washington there are 2 malls.Tyson corner around 290 stores, across the streetTysons Galleria around 100 stores maybe a few more they have been adding some recently.There is an area called George town in Washington has over 100 stores.

 

[UKDEB]

I'm a huge West Wing fan and I would love to visit all the places mentioned by Deb.

West Wing is possibly my favourite TV show of all time (we're currently watching it for about the third time) and we're always shouting at the screen, "We've been there!"

 

[jjpenguin]

It's a place we've planned to go twice - had tickets booked and everything -and then it fell through at the last moment. So frustrating, but somehow I haven't dared try it again...

Still maybe 3rd time's the charm.

Have a great time planning.

 

[Ware Bears]

Sounds wonderful