Questions about Washington D.C.

[tiggerlover]

We are thinking about heading to D.C. with DS (10) in June and was wondering if there are any special things of interest for a kid that age. He is hoping to catch a baseball game at RFK, he wants to see the Lincoln Memorial and the Pentagon, but beyond that he hasn't made any special requests.

Any thoughts on hotels would be appreciated also. Since we are in VA some friends have suggested we stay outside of DC in VA, one even suggested Tyson's Corner. I haven't been to DC since DS was 2 and we were there for medical reasons so we weren't really sightseeing per se, so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[monkeyboy]

avoid Hillary

 

[Heather Smith]

Most boys his age like the spy museum. If I were to stay in VA, I would definately stay withing walking distance of a metro station (not Tysons). There are many hotels in the Crystal City area convenient to metro. There is an Embassey Suites across the street from the King Street (Old Town Alexandria) metro station.

 

[TDC Nala]

There is a new Courtyard by Marriott at Dunn Loring. I don't know if they have tourist access to the Pentagon. The Spy Museum requires paid admission and you should plan on spending the majority of a day in there. The Smithsonian Institution museums on the National Mall are free to the public and have some interesting exhibits.

 

[tiggerlover]

What is the spy museum about, that sounds like something my DS would love? And where is it in DC in relation to other points of interest?

We were also thinking of spending a day at Kings Dominion on our way back home. Does anyone know how far it is from DC?

 

[KarenAylwood]

Here is the website for the spy museum- http://www.spymuseum.org/plan/
Tickets are time and date specific so you might want to buy them ahead of time. DBF and I were planning on going one day and they had sold out for the whole day when we tried to get them there.

This is a map of where it is: http://www.spymuseum.org/index_location.asp
close to the White House and the National History Museum.

The Smithsonian museums are interesting and worth a stop. Right by the Washington Monument, WWII, Lincoln Memorial and the White House too.

I have a lot of friends who live in DC and I love walking around and shopping in Georgetown- although w/ a child it might be hard. My friend lived in Crystal City and there were a lot of restaurants and nice hotels there. Not a very long metro ride into the city either.

Old Town Alexandria is also wonderful. DBF's sister & bro in law live there. We visit there often and absolutely love it!! It's very close to Crystal City as well, if you wanted to stay in CC and drive to OT.

 

[TDC Nala]

Kings Dominion (Doswell, VA) is about an hour and a half drive from DC.

 

[tmt martins]

National ZOO is very nice and FREE.

 

[justhat]

I'd suggest the Air and Space museums (both the one in DC on the mall and the new Udvar-Hazy center which is by Dulles airport). The Spy museum is good too. I wouldn't stay in the Tysons area cause then you'll be stuck driving to the city (or at least driving to the metro) which would be a pain. Definitely stay in the city or at one of the first metro stops outside the city in VA or MD. We live in downtown DC, near many hotels (the City Center is nice and pretty cheap-it used ot be a Wyndham but I think around October they dropped the Wyndham name) and I think it's a great area to walk around in-close to Georgetown, the mall, and Dupont Circle.

 

[tiggerlover]

Thank you.

 

[MrsPete]

We just took our kids to DC last Labor Day, and we had a blast! Details:

We stayed in the Residence Inn on Vermont St. We won this on Priceline for $50/night, which was a great deal considering it included a full breakfast every morning. Downside: no pool. Upside: kitchen in every room, CVS pharmacy on bottom level of hotel sells basic groceries.

Where ever you stay, make sure you're within a few blocks of a Metro. You don't want to have a car (it was something like $27/day to park at our hotel -- we were glad we didn't have a car!).

We did the Smithsonian museums, including the National Zoo. A boy that age would LOVE the Air & Space Museum, but it is the most popular of the Smithsonian museums so plan to go at a down-time. He would also enjoy the Museum of Natural History. The National Zoo is a part of the Smithsonian. Every bit of this extensive museum system is absolutely world-class and completely FREE.

We didn't visit the Spy Museum; I've heard mixed reviews on it, and with so many other free things that we'd never seen . . . if our trip had been longer, I would've probably done it.

Another possibility: The Bureau of Engraving -- see money being made. You need a ticket, but it's free.

Don't miss Union Station. The food court on the bottom level is a good place to find an inexpensive meal. On that subject, we found the food in DC to be outrageously expensive! The meal we enjoyed most was the Hard Rock Cafe (expensive but worth it).

General info:
Take comfortable walking shoes.
Expect to be searched every time you enter a building; it's just the world in which we live.
You will see homeless people in the squares; you might want to discuss this briefly ahead of time.
Street vendors are everywhere in the Smithsonian area (America's front yard); to give you an idea of prices, a bottle of soda was 2.50.

 

[katedrew94]

Aside from all the things mentioned above...

I grew up about 4 miles from DC and I would recommend staying in the city (careful about where you pick though) because parking and traffic are a huge headache, not to mention that parking is expensive.

If you contact your local US Representative, they may have some insight into some special tours that can be arranged. I am not sure what they do now since 9/11 but it is worth the call.

Also, even though I am from there, I took the Tourmobile once and it was a blast. I loved being able to go to all the monuments without a car, and take my time at each place. Not all of them are accessible (easily, anyway) by Metro.

You can do paddle boats in the Tidal Basin, and check the Kennedy Center for any kid-themed stuff for your dates.

Happy planning!

 

[scubamouse]

we lived in No. VA for 5 yrs and moved this past april. you want to stay where you can access a metro - there's a courtyard marriot on clarendon in the arlington/rosslyn area. we stay there when we got back. it's about a 5 min walk to the metro and from there it's 2 stops to the mall.

ITA about where to go - zoo (baby panda!), air and space (both of them), spy museum. american history is fun too!

oh and i'd avoid the aquarium in DC - there's admission and it's really not all that. if you want a real aquarium, head to baltimore.

i used to work in tysons - don't stay there. while the shopping is good, i'm guessing you're not going to DC for the banana republic. tysons is 'outside the beltway' and it's a royal PITA to get from there to DC - plus there's no metro.

arlington cemetery is amazing. also, you can park near national airport and watch the planes land. bring ear plugs for this loud, fun free experience!