OT: Need comments on DC itinerary

[Lyn-CA]

Hello all,

I hope I posted this in the right board. When I did a search of Washington DC, the posts were mainly under this budget board. (If not, moderators pls. move my post to appropriate board).

Calling all DC experts and locals, please look over my DH & I's planned itinerary. I am running out of time as we're leaving next week so I don't have the luxury of going through previous posts, etc.

Thanks so much in advance.

Day One: Arrival
Metrobus 5A to Rosslyn metro
Walk to Key Bridge Marriott
Walk into Georgetown
Dinner at Hook

Day Two:
Washington monument reserved tickets
White House visitors center
White House tour confirmed
Lunch at Old Ebbitt
DC by foot
Tidal Basin
Dinner @ Central Michel Richard
Metro to Reagan airport - pick up car rental (1 day free voucher)

Day Three:
Drive to Mt. Vernon
Old Town Alexandria
Lunch at Gadsby Tavern
Arlington Cemetery
Iwo Jima memorial
Shula's Tysons Corner
Return car Reagan airport
Metro to hotel

Day Four:
Sculpture garden Hirshhorn
Air & Space
Lunch at Mitsitam (Am. Indian Museum)
Botanic Gardens
Dinner at Georgia Browns

Day Five:
Library of Congress tour
Supreme Court
Dupont Circle
Lunch at CF Folks
Kennedy Center tour
Dinner at Circle Bistro

Day Six:
Capitol Tour
Botanic gardens
Lunch at Oceanaire
Natl Building Museum
Dinner at Jaleo

Day Seven:
Bureau of Engraving tour
Holocaust museum
Lunch at DC Coast
Archives
Natl Portrait Gallery
Dinner ???

Day Eight:
Natural History Museum
Lunch ???
Old Post Office Pavilion
Peterson House
Postal Museum
Union Station
Dinner???

Day Nine:
Catch all day -
Lunch ???
National Gallery
Dinner ???

Day Ten:
Zoo - pandas
Lunch at 2 Amys
Natl Cathedral

My brain has hit overload but we'd like to fit in these restaurants where I have ??? for meals: Tabard Inn, Five Guys, Teaism, Cashions, Petit Plats.

Also, I'm not 100% sold on Circle Bistro after the Kennedy Center tour. Any other suggestions (besides Marcel).

Thanks so much in advance.

Lyn-CA

 

[shortbun]

Way to much going on as far as I'm concerned. It's going to be hot. I'd cut about a third out, maybe half on some days. You don't have time to enjoy any of your restaurants either. If I were on your pace, I'd be carrying pbj and an apple so I could keep moving. These things are not rides at WDW, some of them deserve at least half a day where you have three stops planned. Have you been to D.C. before?

 

[cndij]

Wow very ambitious itinerary. Hope you are in really good shape as that is a lot of walking. Planning on doing the Bureau of Engraving AND the Holocaust museum before lunch is really pushing it. You can get tickets ahead of time at I believe tickets.com for the Holocaust museum, which can save you some time, else you may not even be able to get in on the day you planned. We were there before it opened in the morning and couldn't get tickets until that afternoon.

We found we spent a lot of time in and around Union Station (we were there in April) Duck Tours, changing trains etc., and there were several restaurants we enjoyed right there in Union Station, America, something Australian, though the name eludes me at the moment. There is also a famous Gourmet Southern style restaurant there, though we didn't get a chance to try it.

I think you will be spending a LOT of time waiting in lines, and walking between places, more than you realize. You might want to scale back and then if you are running ahead of schedule add some things back in. The weather is iffy this time of year (as it was in the spring). Could be a scorcher one day, and then be cool, cloudy and rainy the next day. We burned up the first day we were there, and then it was drizzling the next day and even though we all had windbreakers, we about froze on the Ducks tour. So come prepared for a variety of weather. There are also many Ethiopian restaurants in the area you might want to check out. Try egullet dot org for more restaurant reviews and recommendations.

You didn't say but are you doing one of those multi day/multi stop tours? It might be a lot easier than the metro in getting to some of these places. You get on and off at your own speed to about 20 different destinations.

Cindi

 

[ncbyrne]

We have kids who live in northern VA and we visit DC often. I agree that you have a very ambitious itinerary. What are your dates? I hope this is being planned for the off season. If not, you will spend a lot of time in lines waiting for tickets or entry. If you don't want crowds, go in cold weather. As an example, we have seen the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives midweek in February -there was NO one there. We walked right in, saw it, moved on to the next exhibit and saw everything in under an hour......in July we stood in line for more than two hours as we moved slowly along the walls of the rotunda to see it, and then another two hours to see the rest of the displays.
How will you be getting around the city? Walking is doable around the mall, but it's a LOT of walking. The Tourmobile is a good way to get around with hop on/off at all the popular destinations.
Depending on your interest, you can spend hours and hours in each of the Smithsonian museums. You don't have it on your itinerary, but I particularly like the American History museum(esp. the display of First Ladies Inaugural gowns) there are some very neat things in here! Also, Air & Space - we spend most of one day in each of these museums.
The Postal Museum has an interesting look at the history of mail. It also has a nice gift shop and if you are interested in stamps, a great place to purchase new ones too. The postal museum is directly next door to Union Station.....shopping, shopping, shopping!
You will find that you won't be able to do everything on your list. Research online to see which of your destinations is of the most interest and make sure to do those first. You WILL be tired....that's a lot of ground to cover in 10 days.

 

[JandJ]

It's ambitous but you have 10 days so I think, if you're willing to go-go-go and walk a lot you should be able to fit most of it into your trip. We went in April for 5 days and yes, we walked A LOT and really got to know the Metro (they should have that in every city!). We stayed in MD but just a few blocks from the Metro station. We spent part of one day walking around the town we stayed in. What we fit in - sorry, I don't remember exact days or order of what we did:

- Capital tour
- Botanical Gardens
- House where Lincoln died (the Theatre was closed for remodel)
- The Mall (Lincoln Memorial, WWII Monument, etc.)
- Washington Monument tour (lucked into tickets at 4:00 pm!)
- Saw the White House but did not do the tour
- National Archives (probably my favorite!)
- Newseum
- Smithsonian: Air & Space, Natural History, Gardens (American History Museum was closed for remodel)
- Arlington National Cemetery (all the major highlights there - here's a tip - pay for the trolly! We didn't and it was way too much walking and very hot that day)
- Walked all over Alexandria (the waterfront, shops, restaurants)
- Watergate Hotel & shops
- Georgetown (historic house, shopping, and C&O Locke was cool. We ate at a fantastic Indian restaurant there, can't remember the name but I'll see if I have it at home.)
- Chinatown (not one good Chinese restaurant - disappointing)
- Pentagon City Mall (typical mall, nice to walk around in a/c though!)
- Crystal City Mall (dead - we ate at a cute hamburger restaurant, Hamlet or something, but I wouldn't recommend the mall)

 

[Green Tea]

I am exhausted, sweaty, and cranky just reading the planning. The Smithsonian doesn't open until 10, does it? And you have 2 before lunch? Wow.

I spent 5 hours in the Museum of News. Could have spent longer. The entire visit was unplanned, unexpected and worth every second.

I think you are way underestimating the time for Mt. Vernon. Can't see how you will get a rental car, see that property, and tour Old Town all before lunch.

I am more likely to go into DC with the intent of having a list of things I really hope to see and do. And as the day comes, working those into a schedule. Keep in mind I am a planner. Big Planner. But I've never seen anything quite like that for DC.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Day Two:
Washington monument reserved tickets
White House visitors center
White House tour confirmed
Lunch at Old Ebbitt - Not sure you are going to get all of that done before lunch. DC by foot
Tidal Basin
Dinner @ Central Michel Richard
Metro to Reagan airport - pick up car rental (1 day free voucher)

Day Three:
Drive to Mt. Vernon
Old Town Alexandria
Lunch at Gadsby Tavern - Again, you won't be able to tour Mt. Vernon and Old Town before lunch. Mt. Vernon is a good 15 drive from Old Town.Arlington Cemetery
Iwo Jima memorial
Shula's Tysons Corner
Return car Reagan airport - Keep in mind that Tyson's is about 40 minutes from Reagan, WITHOUT traffic. Traffic on the beltway can be pretty hairy this time of day.Metro to hotel

Day Four:
Sculpture garden Hirshhorn
Air & Space
Lunch at Mitsitam (Am. Indian Museum) - We do not enjoy the food (or this museum) Botanic Gardens
Dinner at Georgia Browns

Day Five:
Library of Congress tour
Supreme Court
Dupont Circle
Lunch at CF Folks - Again, very aggressive before lunch
Kennedy Center tour
Dinner at Circle Bistro

Day Six:
Capitol Tour
Botanic gardens
Lunch at Oceanaire
Natl Building Museum
Dinner at Jaleo

Day Seven:
Bureau of Engraving tour
Holocaust museum
Lunch at DC Coast - You will want a ton more time for the Holocaust museum. Plan on staying through lunch, especially with the Engraving tour first.Archives
Natl Portrait Gallery
Dinner ???

Day Eight:
Natural History Museum
Lunch ???
Old Post Office Pavilion
Peterson House
Postal Museum
Union Station
Dinner???

Day Nine:
Catch all day -
Lunch ???
National Gallery
Dinner ???

Day Ten:
Zoo - pandas
Lunch at 2 Amys
Natl Cathedral

My brain has hit overload but we'd like to fit in these restaurants where I have ??? for meals: Tabard Inn, Five Guys, Teaism, Cashions, Petit Plats.

Also, I'm not 100% sold on Circle Bistro after the Kennedy Center tour. Any other suggestions (besides Marcel).

Thanks so much in advance.

Lyn-CA

Have fun.

 

[minniejack]

Don't forget to get on the metro to go between some of the attractions--will save you a lot of foot time and its cheap.

1st time we stayed in DC we walked from our hotel (the one where Reagan was shot--I think its the Hilton) down to DuPont Circle. We could see the Washington Monument in the distance. We asked for the quickest route there and was told ride the M. Well, every bus had an M so we didn't take any and decided to WALK to the monument with an 8 and a 10 year old.

We made it--greattttt work out and walked back, too!

Later in the week after visiting Senator Robert Byrds office and taking a tour--they tuned us into the subway.........

Live and learn and part of our vacation memories.......including our hotel catching on fire about 3 a.m.......

 

[minniejack]

Oh and although the spy museum was fun. There are plenty of things to do in DC for free w/o getting suckered into it.

 

[minniejack]

Oh if you get to go into the original congressional hall, look for the cat paw prints in the floor from where it was originally built.

Rumor has it that a black cat has been seen before every National Disaster in that area. The last one was seen a week before 9/11 seven years ago. check this out
http://ghosts-hauntings.suite101.com/article.cfm/black_cat_haunts_capitol_building

 

[mikehn]

Nice choices in hotel and restaurants. While you have the credit card out, a few more high profile restaurants to consider:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/16/AR2008091600662.html

 

[Lyn-CA]

We will adjust our itinerary based on the various comments. We'll see what we can see and move plans around as time allows.