Must see in DC in July

[TLHB70]

AHH something I hadn't thought about - the safety of being out at night like that - I just assumed the mall area was exempt from the violence

Our hotel was just a couple of blocks from Capitol Hill and we set out walking in that area. We made it to the Capitol and then planned to go further towards the mall area. However, it just did not feel safe. We had one guy approach us and ask for money. So, to be honest, we did not even get close to the mall area.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

I don't know how true this is, but I have known people who become a zoo member, just for the parking benefits. I think that you can park in any of the Smithsonian parking lots for free once you are a member, or that is at least how it sounded.

When we go down for the day, we always park away from the city and take the metro downtown. We get a day pass. We are usually going on a wkend, so the parking at the station is free, and usually not crowded. The workers have the time to help you plan out the route also.

I live here

I'm a FONZ member--and, yes, we park at the zoo for free...but the benefits stop there. If the Smithsonians have parking lots---that's news to me!!
There is street parking all along the mall right next to the museums...some are meters, some aren't...You aren't allowed to park until 10 am though. I take my kids and circle around and a few minutes before 10, grab a good spot... Keep in mind, these are only good for 2-3 hours though...
Have fun... I just took my kiddies to the Cherry Blossoms yesterday and was proud of what a beautiful city I live near!!

 

[DancingBear]

Our hotel was just a couple of blocks from Capitol Hill and we set out walking in that area. We made it to the Capitol and then planned to go further towards the mall area. However, it just did not feel safe. We had one guy approach us and ask for money. So, to be honest, we did not even get close to the mall area.

Not sure exactly where you were, or when (there has been some fairly recent gentrification in the Capitol Hill area), but there are areas fairly near the Capitol that might be a bit uncomfortable for those who are not used to city dwelling. But the areas around the Memorials (Jefferson, FDR, Lincoln/Korean/Vietnam, WWII) are well-patrolled, and fairly busy with people well into the night (particularly in summertime). There were a couple of fairly minor incidents on the Mall a couple of years ago but that was embarassing to the National Park Service and they stepped up patrols.

Generally you are safe well into the evening along the Mall, Pennsylvania Ave, in the Penn Quarter (near the Verizon Center, with lots of restaurants), the Dupont Circle area, Georgetown, and Connecticut Avenue from the Woodley Park to the Cleveland Park Metro stations--all the areas where there are lots of tourists and/or lots of restaurants and such.

 

[luvmyfam444]

Not sure exactly where you were, or when (there has been some fairly recent gentrification in the Capitol Hill area), but there are areas fairly near the Capitol that might be a bit uncomfortable for those who are not used to city dwelling. But the areas around the Memorials (Jefferson, FDR, Lincoln/Korean/Vietnam, WWII) are well-patrolled, and fairly busy with people well into the night (particularly in summertime). There were a couple of fairly minor incidents on the Mall a couple of years ago but that was embarassing to the National Park Service and they stepped up patrols.

Generally you are safe well into the evening along the Mall, Pennsylvania Ave, in the Penn Quarter (near the Verizon Center, with lots of restaurants), the Dupont Circle area, Georgetown, and Connecticut Avenue from the Woodley Park to the Cleveland Park Metro stations--all the areas where there are lots of tourists and/or lots of restaurants and such.

Tha't good to know!

 

[luvmyfam444]

We got our capitol ressies - but was told only 5% of people get into White House & we won't know until like 10days before the trip

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just took the kids this week to the International Spy Museum. Thumbs up all the way. There were some segments that got a bit boring to them (they liked looking at all the cool spy gadgets and activities--not so much the fact that Queen Mary spied on Queen Elizabeth).

My son loved James Bond's car.

It can take a long time though--we were there for about 3+ hours.

We ate at a yummy woodfired pizza place nearby called Ella's--but they were pricey. And they charged for adult refills on soda. Their fried mozzarella though was quite scrumptious.

As for parking--if you can metro, please please please for the love of humanity do that. However, we discovered that parking spaces were more available the further into the metro you went. At least as far as Vienna is concerned with its 4 parking garages--being the first outer stop has its disadvantages. It's the first place everyone want to stop and park. We didn't do an early day when we went into town, but had no trouble finding parking at the West Falls Church metro at around 11am or so on a busy day during a busy time of year (Cherry Blossoms!).

Had we continued to have trouble, we would have risked finding a garage or something in the city--BUT BUT BUT.....

When you want to leave at 5pm or so--it was massive gridlock. So if you luck out for in town parking--leaving wont' be fun. I'd rather fuss over finding a spot at a metro station to zip in and zip out than to be stuck with a very long commute at the end of the day due to gridlock. Just my $.02.

Evening is much easier if you are driving in--but for day visits, I don't know why anyone would suggest commuting into the city and then finding a parking spot. But perhaps there is a secret that I am not aware of.

We also stopped by the National Museum of Crime and Punishment--very near the Spy Museum. I thought someone had posted that it was free. I may have misread--but in case I didn't, just thought I would post that it is very much not free. So we didn't venture in since our priority was the spy museum.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We got our capitol ressies - but was told only 5% of people get into White House & we won't know until like 10days before the trip

Awesome!

I got to see the White House pre 9/11. So I hope that you get in. I'm glad that it is open for tours once again, even if it is on a very extremely limited basis.

 

[TLHB70]

Not sure exactly where you were, or when (there has been some fairly recent gentrification in the Capitol Hill area), but there are areas fairly near the Capitol that might be a bit uncomfortable for those who are not used to city dwelling. But the areas around the Memorials (Jefferson, FDR, Lincoln/Korean/Vietnam, WWII) are well-patrolled, and fairly busy with people well into the night (particularly in summertime). There were a couple of fairly minor incidents on the Mall a couple of years ago but that was embarassing to the National Park Service and they stepped up patrols.

Generally you are safe well into the evening along the Mall, Pennsylvania Ave, in the Penn Quarter (near the Verizon Center, with lots of restaurants), the Dupont Circle area, Georgetown, and Connecticut Avenue from the Woodley Park to the Cleveland Park Metro stations--all the areas where there are lots of tourists and/or lots of restaurants and such.

We were at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.

 

[elgerber]

We were at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.

Jumping in here, can you tell me how you liked the Hyatt and its location for the rest of your trip??

 

[luvmyfam444]

What is in the vicinity of the holocaust museum? Something I could do with little kids while oldest goes to museum? I was just thinking of heading to the zoo even if it's not close by-BUT the heat may kill us- lol

 

[Christine]

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[DancingBear]

We were at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.

Then you were in a pretty safe area. Panhandlers are not generally dangerous. I'm sitting right now in a Starbucks in Bethesda where this is a regular pandhandler that parks right out front. I worked one summer just a few blocks from the Hyatt and back then there were lots of homeless folks wandering around during the daytime, because Mitch Snyder's homeless shelter was nearby and they were closed during the day.

 

[DancingBear]

What is in the vicinity of the holocaust museum? Something I could do with little kids while oldest goes to museum? I was just thinking of heading to the zoo even if it's not close by-BUT the heat may kill us- lol

The Zoo is definitely not close to the Holocaust Museum. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is next door. The Washington Monument is nearby if you could get timed tickets to go up the Monument corresponding with the Holocaust Museum visit.

Across the Mall is the American History museum. On the same side of the Mall but a few blocks toward the Capitol is the Smithsonian "Castle" building. Behind that is a lovely garden, and below the garden are two underground connected museums, one of African Art and one of Asian art. Not sure of your kids ages, but the African art in particular is accessible for kids, includes a lot of masks and animal figures. In front of the Castle is a carousel. (The castle itself is a visitor's center, has bathrooms and a place to sit down and have a drink in the A/C).

 

[TLHB70]

Jumping in here, can you tell me how you liked the Hyatt and its location for the rest of your trip??

I really liked the Hyatt and the location in relation to sites we wanted to see. I will admit that the price of parking blew me away, but that was the case everywhere! We drove so we had no choice but to pay for the parking. Now, one warning, there was a fire station across the street and one night we heard the sirens pretty loudly. If you book a room there, and are a light sleeper, you might want to bring ear plugs. The sirens did not wake my daughters, but they did wake DH and me.

 

[TLHB70]

Then you were in a pretty safe area. Panhandlers are not generally dangerous. I'm sitting right now in a Starbucks in Bethesda where this is a regular pandhandler that parks right out front. I worked one summer just a few blocks from the Hyatt and back then there were lots of homeless folks wandering around during the daytime, because Mitch Snyder's homeless shelter was nearby and they were closed during the day.

We did see many homeless people during the day throughout the city, but that is something that most cities deal with I know. It is heartbreaking to see, too.

 

[luvmyfam444]

The Zoo is definitely not close to the Holocaust Museum. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is next door. The Washington Monument is nearby if you could get timed tickets to go up the Monument corresponding with the Holocaust Museum visit.

Across the Mall is the American History museum. On the same side of the Mall but a few blocks toward the Capitol is the Smithsonian "Castle" building. Behind that is a lovely garden, and below the garden are two underground connected museums, one of African Art and one of Asian art. Not sure of your kids ages, but the African art in particular is accessible for kids, includes a lot of masks and animal figures. In front of the Castle is a carousel. (The castle itself is a visitor's center, has bathrooms and a place to sit down and have a drink in the A/C).

Thanks for the info - yes, that may just be a good stop - if it doesn't take too long for them at the H museum then the carousel may be okay - I don't want to do any major museum (or monument) or anything 'cause the oldes will miss out.
I was just thinkiing zoo 'cause she wouldn't mind missing the animals & they could meet up with us there & not feel like they missed anything. We'd just go our seperate ways from the hotel in Alexandria

 

[DancingBear]

Thanks for the info - yes, that may just be a good stop - if it doesn't take too long for them at the H museum then the carousel may be okay - I don't want to do any major museum (or monument) or anything 'cause the oldes will miss out.
I was just thinkiing zoo 'cause she wouldn't mind missing the animals & they could meet up with us there & not feel like they missed anything. We'd just go our seperate ways from the hotel in Alexandria

Another option, out of the heat, would be to buy tickets online in advance for an IMAX movie at the Natural History Museum or at Air and Space, and the family could meet you at that museum afterwards; the older kids would miss the movie but not the museum.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We did see many homeless people during the day throughout the city, but that is something that most cities deal with I know. It is heartbreaking to see, too.

Yep, we were just in Charlottesville, VA and there were homeless people in the park, sleeping on a bench, near the historic downtown area. And that's not even a big city. It's sad.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well, it's not necessarily because it's the first outer stop and everyone wants to park there--it's because all of the far-flung Metro stops (Vienna, Springfield, etc) get major use by commuters in the far-flung suburbs. On any given day, not just tourist season, you probably cannot get a parking spot past 8:00 AM. This is an ongoing complaint by locals that there is just not enough parking at these stops. Way too many people use them M-F.

That's what I meant--it's the outer commuter part.

When we lived in West Falls Church for the summer--we never had a problem finding a spot then as well. It is on the inside of the beltway. Wasn't trying to imply that it was the tourists causing the problem.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yep, we were just in Charlottesville, VA and there were homeless people in the park, sleeping on a bench, near the historic downtown area. And that's not even a big city. It's sad.

I live in Melbourne, FL---we are not anything like a big city--and we have spots where the homeless hang out. There are a few that 'cruise' up and down 192 from morning until night.