I knew this day would come eventually

[ncc1701]

OP we like to stay in Alexandria. There is a Hilton, Embassy Suite , Hampton Inn and a few other hotels in walking distance of the King St Metro station.Plus other hotels in Alexandria not in walking distance of a station have shuttles to one of the town's several Metro stops .
There is so much to see in DC between the Capital, Zoo, Ford's Theater, various museums .

 

[yeahdisney]

Subbing

 

[brenda1966]

My daughter and I spent 8 full days in DC and did not run out of things to do. The weather was cool (spring) so that enable us to walk and walk and walk some more! On a subsequent trip I visited the Holocaust museum and it was time well spent, but I'm glad I didn't take my daughter. Just too horrific for a 10 year old.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Chinatown -- loved the hotel (free breakfast, wifi, plus pool and hot tub). Close to a major metro hub and lots of easy eats in Chinatown. We flew into BWI (cheaper) and then took a bus into DC which dropped us at a metro station.

Our itinerary:
Sat: - Arrive, after lunch Jefferson Memorial, Freer museum, National Archives (tixs in advance)
Sun: Museum of Am History, Cherry Blossom ceremony
Mon: Library of congress, Capital Tour (tix in advance), Botanic Gardens, Postal Museum, union Station
Tues: White house tour (tix in advance), Old Postal Tower, Natural Hist Museum
Weds: Our favorite day! Mt. Vernon (took the metro and then a bus) and then Monuments at Night tour. Loved both.
Thurs: Zoo (go early to see Pandas), Arlington Cemetery, Kennedy Center (free performances daily)
Friday: White House exterior, DAR Museum (a little known gem - Daughters of the American REvolution museum near the White House), Walked by the monuments in the daylight (Lincoln, Vietnam, WWII, etc.), Air and Space Museum, Portrait Gallery
Sat: Ford Theater performance (tix in advance), National Art Gallery, both east and west, Air and Space Museum, Portrait Gallery

After a full week we were getting a bit of museum overload! Nice thing about DC is that all the Smithsonians are free. notice all the tickets obtained in advance. It really is necessary to do this. Saw many people turned away at Ford Theater because tickets are all sold out in advance. Granted, we were spring break, but still. When I went to the holocaust museum, had a similar issue with tickets and was able to grab one ticket for an undesirable time. There are some tickets held but lining up super early to try and get them is not time well spent IMO when you can secure them in advance online. J

 

[summermac]

The DC metro is great. Very safe and comfortable. You won't look out of place w/ luggage.

Some must do's IMO:
Vietnam memorial
WWII memorial (MY FAVORITE!)
Lincoln Memorial
Actually just hit every memorial near the Washington Mall and you'll be fine. You can print out a map ahead of time.

We also went to the US Treasury and the National Archives - both very awesome.

We toured the Holocaust Museum (you have to make reservations usually) but I would NOT take young children in there. Mine were 7 & 4 at the time but I think your daughter would be okay with it. Some of the stuff is VERY graphic - so graphic that they actually have it hidden and you have to look down into a walled off area to see it. I saw something there that I will never ever unsee. We split our travel party (we had 6 adults) and half the adults took the kids to one Smithsonian while we went in the morning and we switched. It is by far one of the most "amazing" things I've seen. I'm kind of a WWII buff though so....

Also, make reservations for Washington Monument as well so you can def. have a time to go up in it.

One last thing - the tour of the Capitol sucks these days. It used to be really really cool (I went w/ my parents in 1990) but now it's a huge letdown. I was (and so was everyone else with us) SO disappointed. Hmph.

 

[Fueledbycoffee]

Surprised people haven't talked about the food yet?! What great flavors! A few of my favorites are in no specific order...

Smashburger for sliders & pizza (1st meal I ever had in DC) www.matchboxchinatown.com

Thaiphoon for Thai & large yummy adult beverages Www.thaiphoon.com

Good Stuff Eatery or We the Pizza (they are next to each other). Owned by Top Chef contestant & Food Network Star Spike. Lots of great burgers, fries, milkshakes & pizzas that are done in amazing ways. Not commercialized, it's where the locals go but has the extra fun of being celebrity owned (I took my picture with him) www.goodstuffeatery.com & www.wethepizza.com

For a real local place... Eastern Market. If you can make it on Saturday morning, they serve amazing blueberry buckwheat pancakes. The line will be crazy but it is fun. After you eat there are local shops to shop at. Www.easternmarket-dc.org

Lastly I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't mention The Union Pub (close to Eastern Market, which are in The Capital Hill Neighborhood). My "BFF" is a manager there & I've had the brunch... So good! If you meet "Paige" tell her Sleepy Sarah plugged her on a Disney message board... She'll figure it out . Www.unionpubdc.com

DC is a great trip with so many things to explore for free & the Metro makes it easy to get around.

My favorite spot is taking the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument. You have to get there early for tickets but they are cheap & will reserve you a spot for later in the day (like FP?!). The views are breathtaking & whenever you see the Washington Monument you can say "I've been to the top of that"

 

[JanaDee]

Surprised people haven't talked about the food yet?! What great flavors! A few of my favorites are in no specific order...

Smashburger for sliders & pizza (1st meal I ever had in DC) www.matchboxchinatown.com

Thaiphoon for Thai & large yummy adult beverages Www.thaiphoon.com

Good Stuff Eatery or We the Pizza (they are next to each other). Owned by Top Chef contestant & Food Network Star Spike. Lots of great burgers, fries, milkshakes & pizzas that are done in amazing ways. Not commercialized, it's where the locals go but has the extra fun of being celebrity owned (I took my picture with him) www.goodstuffeatery.com & www.wethepizza.com

For a real local place... Eastern Market. If you can make it on Saturday morning, they serve amazing blueberry buckwheat pancakes. The line will be crazy but it is fun. After you eat there are local shops to shop at. Www.easternmarket-dc.org

Lastly I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't mention The Union Pub (close to Eastern Market, which are in The Capital Hill Neighborhood). My "BFF" is a manager there & I've had the brunch... So good! If you meet "Paige" tell her Sleepy Sarah plugged her on a Disney message board... She'll figure it out . Www.unionpubdc.com

DC is a great trip with so many things to explore for free & the Metro makes it easy to get around.

My favorite spot is taking the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument. You have to get there early for tickets but they are cheap & will reserve you a spot for later in the day (like FP?!). The views are breathtaking & whenever you see the Washington Monument you can say "I've been to the top of that"

The Washington Monument is still closed.

 

[TDC Nala]

1. The closest airport to the District of Columbia is Reagan National (DCA). You can fly into Dulles (IAD) or Baltimore/Washington (BWI) but they are much further away and will require more time for transportation.

2. Don't know. How much do you want to see? You will not be able to see everything so you will need to prioritize.

3. The Smithsonian is not one building. It is 17 separate affiliated museums in the DC area, plus the National Zoo. The most popular of the museums for families are the Natural History Museum, American History Museum, and the National Air and Space Museum (2 parts to this one; one is in downtown DC and the other at Dulles Airport.)

4. I live here, I have a hard time recommending hotels. Anything on the Metro line is good. The closer to the District the better. I live 12 miles from downtown DC and my Metro commute is 45 minutes. Each way. and it's not cheap.

5. DC is hostile to cars and drivers. Use Metro unless you just can't. Here is the website www.wmata.com
Remember that there is a lot of work being done on the system on weekends. Whole stations may be shut down. The Metro is not cheap. Look into prices and whether a multi-day pass works better for you. If you are traveling at the height of rush hour in downtown, you will encounter commuters stuffed into trains.

Yes = the Washington Monument is still closed - you can't go up in it yet.