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| *Travel Tips>>>Washington, D.C. Travel Tips |
OK, I've got 24 Hours in Washington DC this April. What are a few "Must-Sees"? |
Travel Info OK, I've got 24 Hours in Washington DC this April. What are a few "Must-Sees"? Travel Tips I鈥檓 a Washingtonian and love to host out-of-towners. This is my idea for two perfect days in Washington, DC. (April is a good choice! The cherry trees are in bloom around the Tidal Basin and it鈥檚 not so hot and humid that you are gasping ) DAY ONE: The walking tour of the mall. Arrive very early via Metro at the Smithsonian stop (blue line). Parking is limited to two hours and nearly impossible to find. Walk over to the Washington Monument and get a free ticket to enter at 0830 (opens at 0900), or reserve one in advance for $2.00 by calling 1-800-967-2283. Afterwards, walk down the hill towards the Lincoln memorial, and admire the cherry blossoms and the reflecting pool, then cross Constitution Ave and make a loop through the Ellipse to see the White House. Try to get back over to the Mall by 1000, when the museums open for business. Limit yourself to only 2 hours per museum, so that you can see more (they close at 1730). The top museums on the Mall are the Air and Space (Soyuz-Apollo, mock ups of the space station), the National Gallery of Art (Botticelli, Degas, Monet, and Rembrandt), and the Museum of Natural History (dinosaurs and the Hope Diamond). Have lunch in the National Gallery of Art鈥檚 atrium in the basement of the museum, or walk a block over to the old Post Office Pavilion and eat in the food court. At 1730, when the museums close, walk immediately up 8th or 9th street to F (on the Constitution side of the Mall from the museums), (or get on the metro for Gallery Place), where you鈥檒l find the International Spy Museum, my very favorite museum in Washington. This is a private museum (not like the Smithsonian), so it will cost a bit. Hint: buy your tickets in advance online and avoid the lines and the possibility that you won鈥檛 get in. The last tour groups are allowed in at 1800, so don鈥檛 be late!! http://www.spymuseum.org/ At 2000, when the museum closes (believe me, you鈥檒l be there until the end!), walk two blocks east (descending street numbers) to China Town and go to Charley Chang鈥檚 for an inexpensive light dinner. Or take a taxi 10 blocks to Old Ebbitt Grill (a bit pricey) and you鈥檒l be sure to see local celebrities and politicians. If you go to Old Ebbitt, make sure to stroll around the Treasury Building afterwards and see the White House lit up for the night. DAY TWO: Again, very early, metro into Washington and get off at the Union Station stop, one block from the Capitol. Enjoy the architecture of the station, buy a cup of coffee and a Washington Post to go, and walk four blocks over to the Capitol to get tickets for a tour (again, free, but first-come/first-served, and tickets are given out starting at 0900). If you鈥檙e lucky (and early enough to get in line for the kiosk before the hordes descend), you鈥檒l get in one of the first tours. Afterwards, you can visit your congressman (but make an appointment, first). Walk past the Library of Congress (great old building) and around and down Capitol Hill to the Botanical Gardens for a 15-minute walk through, then down the length of the mall along Independence Avenue (past the FBI and Dept of Agriculture buildings) to the Holocaust Museum. (You鈥檒l need to have a ticket for this, which is nearly impossible to get on the same day. I recommend getting one at tickets.com well in advance as soon as you know what day you鈥檒l be in Washington.) For an interesting lunch, walk down to the fish market on Maine/Water street (cross 14th and head down toward the water), or grab a hotdog outside the museum and hop a Grey鈥檚 Line trolley to the nearby memorials around the tidal pool. Not to be missed: Vietnam, Roosevelt, World War II, and Jefferson. By the way, these are all open at night, long after everything else is locked up, and are quite beautiful 鈥?especially the Roosevelt memorial. Keep that in mind if you鈥檙e pressed for time and have other things you鈥檇 like to do during the day, instead. Eat dinner in trendy Adams Morgan (Columbia Heights or Zoo metro stops) in one of the many local Ethiopian restaurants. (Washington has the largest population of expat Ethiopians!) I recommend Fasikas. You鈥檒l be sharing community plate with your friends and eating with your hands. Order the Tej, a honey wine that is very sweet, but very interesting. Then walk down the hill into the lively Dupont Circle and have a late dessert before getting on the metro and heading back to your hotel. Others drive bys are DC's most seen attraction. The Holocaust museum is a must see. Take a walk around the monument. And there is this awesome Mexican restaurant by the Verizon center...I forget what it's called but their guacamole is the best! of course you can look at the white house but they don't give tours anymore. Depending on your intrests there are many museums. i like the air and space museum Smithsonian. I like the Museum of Natural History and the Air and Space Museum. There's that big phallic looking thing... Definatly go down by the washington memorial as well as the white house and the capital building.. New Native American Museum is very cool. World War II memorial is impressive. Love the Spy musuem. it's a downer, but Holocaust museum is fascinating. View from Jefferson memorial. Take a bus tour or taxi ride at night to see the lights on memorials. |
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