What to do In Washington DC if the Smithsonian is closed???? Help

[mousefan73]

If you do stay on and they open be prepared for limited hours and limited attendance. Here our museums opened and all moved to an online reservation system. So be prepared for extra planning.

 

[amusa]

I'm from Washington D.C. I would try and postpone it due to protest and looting. We have plenty of parks, water fronts, waterfalls, etc.

 

[nkereina]

I agree the best decision is to reschedule. If it were anywhere else, I'd say you could find things to do. But being that this was a long-planned trip for you and that people generally go to DC for the main things that are impacted, I would just postpone. I would be surprised if the Capital Building and White House tours happen this year at all even from a sanitization perspective, in addition to the political climate.

When you are able to go, I would recommend the Duck Tours for something fun for the family. We've done them in several cities. The DC one takes you around town showing the landmarks, and then goes into the Potomac River. Fun way to see some of the sights.

 

[antmaril]

I agree that it would be best to postpone your trip to Washington, D.C. I know it is very disappointing to do that, but it’s probably for the best. Sadly.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would reschedule as well honestly.

On the White House and Capitol Building tour those will always be up in the air.

Back in 2017 my husband was working in southern Maryland and I went up to visit him. For an April date at that time they were unable to get us into the White House but they did offer a state rep led tour of the Capitol Building so we did that. We got to go into the Senate and the House as well with the Senate being in session if memory serves correctly. I was going to visit again in July so we requested that (and that was their suggestion if we were coming back to put in another request) and they were able to get the White House tour for that July visit. Being in the White House is amazing but we liked the Capitol Building tour with a state rep better honestly.

While there are many things you can do in D.C. (including touring olden homes) if the museums are what you are really interested in I would say postpone because of their uncertain reopening at this point.

Probably our fav museum is the air and space one but in chantilly, va (udvar-hazy) because where else are you going to get a picture in front of a space shuttle or see a blackbird plane; that one is free but parking is not. For children and more interaction def. hit the air and space museum in D.C. itself just wouldn't pass up the other one. The american history museum we really enjoyed just so much random stuff in there. Another big highlight that you might not think of is the postal museum that was very informative. There are so many museums and so much to see that if I had the choice I would postpone til next year at this point. The only thing I would say is IF you knew you were going to go back you could focus on this upcoming trip on different things to see that would be open and then the second trip be more focused on museums and other such things.

Don't forget Annapolis, MD (with the Naval Academy) is close-ish by. Mount Vernon (George Washington's home) is close-ish by. Arlington National Cemetery is also close-ish by. But all of those things may be better to see next year as they are all closed still to the public with exception that Mount Vernon reopens this weekend and all of those I would highly recommend going to. I know how it feels to go to D.C. when so much is like this I went about a month after 9/11 and you couldn't get anywhere near close to the White House, you could go to the museums but it was def. a different vibe.

 

[NCRedding]

We did the White House tour in November. I'm glad I did it, but I don't know if I would do it again. You are kind of herded through quickly, and told a little bit about the rooms, but you don't really get to see that much. I really enjoyed the White House Visitor Center at 1450 Pennsylvania Ave., lots of information. We spent two days at the African American Museum. My husband loved the food in their food court so much he wanted to eat there a third day. That same trip, we went to Annapolis, loved the naval academy, and enjoyed going over to St Michaels, and the Maritime Museum. Much of that museum is outside, so it might open earlier. But St Michaels would be a drive from DC.

It's hard to imagine going to DC and not seeing the Smithsonian museums. It would be very tempting to postponel.

 

[rigs32]

If you do go I would suggest going to Gettysburg. The only indoor thing is the visitors center. The rest is a driving tour. It is worth the drive. Also if Fort McHenry in Baltimore is open I highly recommend it. The short film in the visitors center is a must see, IMO.

Gettysburg is 90-120 minutes away. Were they even planning to rent a car?

 

[wvjules]

Gettysburg is 90-120 minutes away. Were they even planning to rent a car?

We have been planning a trip to Washington DC with extended family for the past two years. The trip is scheduled to take place the last few days of July and into the first week of August. As the time gets closer, we are closely watching to see if the city is even open, or safe for that matter. We have until July 13th to make the decision on if we should cancel or not (without losing the money we put down on an AirBNB and changing our plane tickets without large charges). What we know thus far is:

• The Smithsonian is closed the remainder of June, and they have not set an open date.
• We have had requests into our Congress Woman for months to set up tours of the Capital Building, Treasury and White House. They gave us a general contact that they are working on our request, but have not heard back since. Not sure they will be open to give tours.
• Request has been passed onto White House, but no response from them. I expect that there will be no touring the White House when we are there in this political environment.
• The Memorials are open as they are outside in parks.
• The riots do have me worried, and if they do not calm down enough, that will be a major factor in our decision.

So where I need help is to determine if there is anything worth doing other then the monuments in the DC area (or driving within an hour or two) that is open. We have a group of nine, five adults, a 17 yr old, 13 yr old, 11 yr old and 10 yr old. So if you are familiar with the area, do you have any suggestions on other things to do that will be interesting for the kids? We just want to explore all possibilities before we make the decision to fly across country in six weeks. If the worse case happens, we will post pone until next summer, but will lose the great price we found for our lodging.

TIA,
Heidi

It appears they had some plan for a vehicle which is why I suggested it.

 

[CynBeth]

If you do go I would suggest going to Gettysburg. The only indoor thing is the visitors center. The rest is a driving tour. It is worth the drive. Also if Fort McHenry in Baltimore is open I highly recommend it. The short film in the visitors center is a must see, IMO.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is wonderful and as someone else said OPACY is a great baseball stadium. The Inner Harbor has all kinds of restaurants plus the ship the Constellation and paddle boats.

 

[wvjules]

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is wonderful and as someone else said OPACY is a great baseball stadium. The Inner Harbor has all kinds of restaurants plus the ship the Constellation and paddle boats.

OPACY is the best ballpark in the MLB. Such character. I love that place. I miss baseball.

 

[JimMIA]

OPACY is the best ballpark in the MLB. Such character. I love that place. I miss baseball.

I don't know about the "best" but I liked it...a lot. Loved Boog Powell's BBQ and the picnic area in right field. I also liked the train right to the ballpark.

To me, PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the most beautiful setting in baseball. Just looking out to the skyline and the Roberto Clemente bridge is amazing.

ATT Park in SFO is also an iconic setting, and I personally really like Dodger stadium even though it's an older park.

I wasn't impressed with the ballparks in Phoenix, Seattle, Detroit, Chicago White Sox park whatever it's called, St Pete (especially St Pete -- yuk!).

Miami's Marlins Park is a nice park, but the product on the field is poor and the ownership has been a problem since Wayne Huizenga sold the team way back when. They've never really captured the special sense of Miami, except for the Clevelander nightclub in left field...and that's really not representative on anything but one small aspect of Miami.

 

[gotomu212]

I’ll also chime in that DC was a lesser known hotspot and I know you still have time for a decision, but a lot of the restaurants and retail in the city have yet to reopen or have reopened with very limited capacity (some is virus, some is unrest, a lot of it is because fed workers aren’t coming in to work and conferences are way down so the demand isn’t there either).

You’re also likely to run into pockets of protests (can’t say that will still be the case in a month but might be) and while most are peaceful the atmosphere is tense and things escape very quickly so even walking around can get dicey.

If this was a quick weekend getaway and a regular trip I’d say do it, but if this is a larger, once in a long time trip hold off.

 

[KristinU]

We love DC and I'll just add my vote to postpone. Another reason to love a visit to DC is the ease of travel around on the Metro. Public transportation anywhere just isn't appealing to me right now.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Go to the Holocaust Museum

 

[CynBeth]

I don't know about the "best" but I liked it...a lot. Loved Boog Powell's BBQ and the picnic area in right field. I also liked the train right to the ballpark.

To me, PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the most beautiful setting in baseball. Just looking out to the skyline and the Roberto Clemente bridge is amazing.

ATT Park in SFO is also an iconic setting, and I personally really like Dodger stadium even though it's an older park.

I wasn't impressed with the ballparks in Phoenix, Seattle, Detroit, Chicago White Sox park whatever it's called, St Pete (especially St Pete -- yuk!).

Miami's Marlins Park is a nice park, but the product on the field is poor and the ownership has been a problem since Wayne Huizenga sold the team way back when. They've never really captured the special sense of Miami, except for the Clevelander nightclub in left field...and that's really not representative on anything but one small aspect of Miami.

We are huge baseball fans who get to go to see the O’s usually for 6 games a year and once for the Nats but really like visiting other ballparks. At the O’s agree about Boog’s and if you can get a table Dempsey’s is wonderful. We have been to Toronto, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, Philly, Pittsburgh, Boston, Tampa Bay, Miami, Houston, San Diego, Anaheim, and Seattle plus a visit to Cooperstown. I loved every one for different reasons. People will think I am crazy but The Trop was one of our favorites. Not sure if it is still there It has been a number of years but before the game we had dinner in a restaurant overlooking the field that had some of the best food and also like the Rays tank and design. I am used to an open stadium so when I can see a game in a ballpark that is in a dome or has a retractable roof I enjoy it so much. When getting to see other teams I also am interested in what is done between innings or for the 7th inning stretch.

 

[AlohaNow]

Go to the Holocaust Museum

And bring tissues. It is powerful.

Whenever you do go, Great Falls, VA is gorgeous, maybe take a picnic out there. My favorite thing to recommend to visitors during the summer is Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks at 8th & I Streets. It is free, but online reservations are necessary so for next year I would plan on reserving about two months out from your dates. It features the Marine Band, the Drum & Bugle Corps, the Silent Drill Platoon, and even Chesty the bulldog. It is outstanding entertainment and only happens in DC!

One of the best perks of a Smithsonian membership is receiving Smithsonian Magazine, either hard copy or electronically. The food discounts are nice too.

Now, it’s been about a decade since I left the DC area. When did we start calling it OPACY?

 

[amusa]

It's funny I live in DC for over 40 plus years and never heard of OPACY. Oh wait I had to google it. It's the Baltimore Oriole Park at Camden Yards. We just call it Oriole Park.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Probably our fav museum is the air and space one but in chantilly, va (udvar-hazy) because where else are you going to get a picture in front of a space shuttle or see a blackbird plane; that one is free but parking is not. For children and more interaction def. hit the air and space museum in D.C. itself just wouldn't pass up the other one. The american history museum we really enjoyed just so much random stuff in there. Another big highlight that you might not think of is the postal museum that was very informative. There are so many museums and so much to see that if I had the choice I would postpone til next year at this point. The only thing I would say is IF you knew you were going to go back you could focus on this upcoming trip on different things to see that would be open and then the second trip be more focused on museums and other such things.

We got to sleep under space shuttle Atlantis, for my son's Cub Scout pack, at the Kennedy Space Center.






We also got to sleep on the USS Yorktown, in Charleston, SC.

 

[wvjules]

It's funny I live in DC for over 40 plus years and never heard of OPACY. Oh wait I had to google it. It's the Baltimore Oriole Park at Camden Yards. We just call it Oriole Park.

I actually, when talking, just call it Camden Yards.

OP, the National Zoo and the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum open on Friday.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Let me suggest one other place. My cousin lived in Fairfax for a number of years and we would visit once or twice a year. My daughter was obsessed with airplanes so we would visit the Udvar-Hazy every time. She would sit in the fake air traffic controller tower and watch the planes land at Dulles. It would take major bribing to get her to leave. We were told about Lady Bird Park which is right next to National Airport. It was great because she could sit there with the planes landing right above her head and her siblings could run around. We also visited Mount Vernon every time. Again the kids could run around outside and I got my history fix. The Smithson Museums are great but the kids would get bored and they can be very crowded (probably not an issue now). The zoo was a top place with them as well but the zoo is wicked hot like Animal Kingdom hot. Also Washington D.C, is very hot and humid in the summer. Be prepared with lots of water when you do decide to go.