Having been to Washington, D.C., approximately a million times (give or take), I always have people ask me what they should do and see there. I've been sending this information out to people for years, and I tweak and add to it every year or so as things change. I figured this was a good place to let it land.
Attractions:
Monuments
Obviously, first and foremost is all of the Memorials. You can walk it and hit most of them in a few hours. Lincoln, Vietnam, Korea, and Einstein are very close to each other. You can walk the circle in an afternoon or morning. While you are at Lincoln (get a map for everything), go about two blocks to the right (facing Lincoln, to the right) off the beaten path a little. Really cool Einstein statue and most don't know it's there (you can climb all over it and it makes for a cool picture). The only one that is a little out of the way is Jefferson, but it is SO one of my favorites. FDR is in the vicinity as well, and it is very worthwhile. MLK is beautiful. The Washington Monument is closer to the Smithsonians.
Here is the best order for touring the monuments, in my opinion. Start at Jefferson. When you leave that memorial, go left and walk around the tidal basin. There will come a point where you have to go over the bridge and just keep bearing to the right to the Tidal Basin. You will then come upon the FDR Memorial. The first entrance you come upon is actually the end of the memorial, so if you go through that way, you are going backward. This is fine, but if you want to go through the correct chronological order, go through it to the beginning and walk backward to where you started. J Once you finish with FDR, keep walking around the tidal basin until you reach the MLK Memorial. After that one, go out and cut right (across the street), then take a left down the sidewalk. This will bring you to the Korean Memorial on your right. You can do it, Lincoln, Einstein, and Vietnam right there together, then head BACK down the opposite side of the reflecting pool and fields to get to the WWII Memorial. You can walk straight across to the Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial.
(No metro stops are close to the monuments)
Museums
All of the Smithsonians are fantastic, but if you have to be choosy, Natural History is top choice for most. American History is also a fan favorite, with Air and Space coming in next. Natural History has all of the amazing animals in it and Air and Space has TONS of cool things to do. My personal favorite is American History, but it’s really about personal interests. My kids loved Natural History the most. I have not been to American Indian but I hear it’s not the best. African-American History just opened and it’s impossible to get into. There is also an Art Museum there on the mall. American History and Natural History are beside each other and Air and Space is diagonally across, so plan to do them in a way that makes sense logistically. (Smithsonian metro stop)
If it's not terribly crowded, I'd hit the Archives but I wouldn't wait too long there. My kids said this was the part we could have left out, for them. It’s close to American History and Natural History, if you want to walk to it while you are at the Smithsonians. (Archives/Navy Memorial stop)
The National Portrait Gallery is REALLY cool if you like art. They have the American Presidents exhibit that alone is worth the trip over. It’s the official portraits of the presidents. This museum is a little off the beaten path, toward Chinatown, but the beauty of it (other than its close proximity to a metro stop) is that is stays open until 7 or 7:30, which gives you something to do at night. (Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop)
Holocaust Museum is essential, in my opinion. However, you do have to reserve tickets for certain times of year and they are probably already taken. Option 2 for that museum is to go early (8 or so) and get in line for passes. They will give you a timed pass and you can come back at your assigned time. IF it didn’t work out for you to go there or if you choose not to take the time, at the very least, you should go and go to the bottom to the temporary exhibit currently America's Response. It does not require passes to the PE and it is the most powerful exhibit they have ever had there. Obviously this museum is my #1. (Smithsonian stop is the closest metro stop)
***Closes in December 2019: So far, everything I have mentioned is free. The next one is not free, but it’s the best there…The Newseum. The Newseum should be near the top of your list. It's my second favorite museum but it does have an admission cost. It's a two day ticket, so plan it for a day you could go back the next day if you wanted to. It’s near the Navy Memorial metro stop. They also have a great cafeteria (though not cheap), if you want to eat there.
The International Spy Museum is another that costs, but some people like it. It’s pretty text-heavy and parts of it are boring, but parts of it are so cool like when you can crawl through the ductwork in the ceiling and spy on people. I wasn't nuts about this place but a lot of my tenth grade boys were when we went.
Important Sites
SKIP the Bureau of Engraving and Printing unless you just want to be bored out of your ever-lovin mind. But if you like boredom, you can take a tour of it. I do not recommend it.
Walk by both sides of the White House. This can be done when you are finishing the memorials or when you leave the Newseum.
The Capitol tour is cool if you have lots of time, has to be booked in advance. There is also a Capitol Visitor’s Center you can go to if you don’t do the tour.
The Library of Congress is really incredible, even if you aren’t into books. It’s just a gorgeous building and you can just walk in and take the public tour if one is happening. If not, you can just walk around. It’s worth a stop. (Capitol South metro stop)
When you leave the Library of Congress, you can go right and walk past (and even INTO, we found out this last trip!) the Supreme Court.
Union Station is very cool, but it could be skipped. They do have a great Pizzeria Uno there. It’s a metro stop but is a little out of the way to walk to if you don’t metro to it.
For sure try to catch the Ranger talk at Ford's Theater. You need to check a schedule beforehand to see when those are offered. It's out of this world amazing. You need to book in advance. (Metro Center metro stop)
A really cool nighttime activity if you like music or performance at all, take the metro to Foggy Bottom/GWU stop and then catch the free shuttle to Kennedy Center and watch a free performance on Millenium Stage at 6. They have one every night and you can see the schedule online. We make sure to do this on every trip and it’s been some of the highlights of our visit.
Personally, I don't think a trip to DC is complete without going to Arlington. However, Arlington is a little out of the way. You have to either drive or take the metro over. Even still... wow. And my very favorite monument (have I said that at least three of them so far were my favorites?) is over by Arlington. It is the Iwo Jima Memorial, the guys lifting up the flag? If you do decide to go to Arlington, be sure to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Challenger memorial that is near it, and the Kennedy gravesites. For some reason, Arlington is one of my favorite places on earth. Last time we were there we were able to see a funeral. Wow. Honestly, especially if time is limited or if it’s bad weather or if you have whiny walkers with you, taking the tram is your best bet. It’s $9 or so and totally worthwhile because they stop at all of the major sites and they offer an explanation the whole time.
If you love animals, hit the zoo. I’ve been twice and absolutely love it. You can take the Cleveland Park metro stop and walk a flat mile to the zoo or the Woodley Park stop and walk an uphill mile OR you can do what we did and cab over (we got a van for our family of 7 and the drive was $20). It’s a great zoo.
I would at least drive or cab down Embassy Row, the flags are cool to see. And while you are over that way (the zoo is in this area too) the National Cathedral... wow. Amazing and beautiful.
I have only been to Mt. Vernon once but I would highly recommend it IF you have enough time. You can take a metro bus or a cab there but it’s pretty far out. (Or drive if you have your own car.)
Food:
I can tell you that if you are in the mall area (right down from the USHMM), the Ag Department, has the best cafeteria you have ever been to. The public can get in and it is cheap and amazing.
The cafeteria at the Newseum is REALLY good, though a little costly.
The greatest place for food is at the Reagan Building, which is a few blocks past the Washington Monument. It’s a food court with TONS of options. It’s pretty close to the American History Museum.
Union Station has lots of food options as well.
If you do the Kennedy Center performance, there is a little burger place just down the street from the shuttle stop that was really good.
There is a Shake Shack near the International Spy Museum.
The USHMM has a great (kosher) cafeteria that isn’t crowded at all.
Extras:
Something I discovered a few years ago that I didn't know about before is DC by Foot. It's free walking tours. I now try to find them every time I visit a city (free tours by foot). I've done four in DC (Arlington, Lincoln’s Assassination Tour (4 times), Memorials, Library of Congress and Capitol), one in New Orelans, and two in NYC. WOW! Imagine the best history teacher you have ever had who is also a professional storyteller. That's what these are. We did the Arlington one and the Lincoln Assassination tour (which, for all of us, was the highlight of our trip). You NEEEEED to do the Lincoln Assassination tour. It's at night and only on certain nights. Check that schedule online too.They are free except you just tip your guide. Best thing you can do.
Lodging:
Well, when we go with our students, we have gone to the George Washington University area and stayed about a block from a metro. It is so safe, you can be out at any hour of the night, and you are right beside the metro. We have also stayed in the Woodley Park area with students.
That was my preference for when our family went. HOWEVER... It was soooo expensive. Therefore, we have stayed in Alexandria on both October trips and, while a bit more work, it was fine. If you don't mind a little bit of extra effort, I can give you two plans that will save you TONS of money...Pick which one depending on family size, maybe. When we were a family of four, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Old Town Alexandria. There is a free shuttle that they run to the airport. It is only about a five minute ride to the airport. At the airport, you can get on the metro and ride it right into the city and go anywhere you want. The only thing is, you have to make sure you aren't coming back to the hotel any later than the shuttle runs (I think 10 is the latest). We got metro passes and it worked out beautifully. Our hotel was only about $129/night as compared to nearly $350 at my preferred location. The other nice thing about that particular hotel is that across the parking lot was a giant grocery store with a little breakfast buffet. We went over there every morning and got breakfast for around $2-$3 each and ate it on the bench while waiting on the shuttle. One night we even ate supper there when we got back late (Ritz crackers and cheese and pepperoni, haha!). There is also a shuttle that takes you into Old Town Alexandria.
As a family of 7, it was going to be costly everywhere I looked for two rooms (at cheaper hotels). Then I found the Embassy Suites Old Town Alexandria and it was PERFECTION (with one exception). Our room was $213 per night and it slept 7 of us comfortably (with one on a recliner chair or on a cot). The BEST things about this hotel were the food that came with our room and the proximity to a metro and shuttle. The morning breakfast was MASSIVE. That is how we were able to take picnic lunches into the city every day, even with big eaters. They ate a HUGE breakfast that filled them up. Also, if you get back in time, they had food out at night as well and our crowd loved it the night we got back early enough for them to have cheese and crackers and cokes after dinner, haha! The proximity to the metro from this hotel was incredible. Literally across the street and through the parking lot was the King Street/Old Town Alexandria metro stop. And the King Street trolley stop is also directly across from the hotel, which provides you with outside of the city dining options that are a little cheaper, a beautiful waterfront to explore, historical walking tours you can book in advance, and also the water taxi departure point (we didn’t ever do this because it’s pretty costly for a family of 7, but it would have been a fun thing to do—it will take you all the way to National Harbor or just to the monuments). The ONLY downside of this hotel is the parking cost ($32 PER DAY) and the size of the garage. {I did learn from Trip Advisor of some parking options, but we didn’t try any of them so I can’t be sure of their success. One was that there is street parking that’s free on the weekends, but you have to be around to move your car a lot. Another option is that apparently the Alexandria Visitor’s Center (on King Street) offers free parking passes, and you can get a new one each day. However, you would have to be able to get there every day to get one AND find a spot. There is apparently a parking garage a few blocks away that is cheaper than the hotel one ($7/day, I think?). And then some people used the overnight parking at a metro stop a few stops away (only $4 a day, I think) and just metro’d to the hotel. You can search this on the metro website (stations with overnight parking).}
Transportation:
Metro in DC is the way to go. It’s incredibly easy, relatively cheap, and WAY beats trying to get around in your own car. Just use the maps and pay attention to the directions you are going. If you are going to be there a week, a metro pass is the cheapest because your fares depend on where you are going and on the times of day you are traveling. It’s very very safe, even late at night. We loaded $10 the first full day on each card, $10 the second day, and $10 the third day, then on the fourth day we used what was left. We each got off with 50 cents left on each card, so it worked out beautifully.
We did realize on this past trip as a family of 7 that metro is not as cost-effective with a big family as it is with smaller ones. We drove into the city the first afternoon (on our arrival day) and had an easy time finding a parking garage where we paid $10 to park while we explored the monuments. That’s $10 total as opposed to approximately $10 per person per day for our metro riding. However, we weren’t sure if it would be hard to find spots in a garage on the other days, how much time it would take to drive in and out on weekdays, and if garages were close to the places we were going, so we only used a garage one day.
Getting there (may not apply):
As for flying/driving, tickets out of Chattanooga are usually around $200-300 each. That's actually a pretty good deal (we used to fly with our students until we discovered Megabus). The thing with DC is that the drive isn't too bad (we had to drive back HOME on our family trip after I MESSED UP HORRIBLY and we MISSED the Megabus) BUT parking is usually very costly. So it all depends on how much you want to spend. I am a CHEAPO and would prefer to drive over fly (due to cost) but we elected for the CHEAPEST, which is Megabus. Tickets on Megabus from our area range and can be $40ish round trip. You can't beat that. It's comfortable, has decent wi-fi, and takes you directly to Union Station where there is a metro stop. Our first family DC trip (eliminating the RENTAL CAR HOME) would have been around $750 (not counting food) total except that we had to spend a little bit more on activities since the free stuff was all part of the government shut down.
For our second full (large) family DC trip, we drove up and did have to pay for parking (Megabus wasn’t as cost-effective for 7 people as using our own van).
Big Family Edits:
I’ve worked a lot of commentary into the above points, but I’ll break down a few of the ways we did this trip this year with our larger family and still managed to be cost-effective.
We wrestled a lot with lodging decisions. I looked at some AirBnb properties, HomeAway, and the various options like those. My concern with booking one of those was simply that I don’t know much about the residential areas of DC and some parts are, I’m certain, pretty sketchy. In addition, it was essential that our property be near a metro stop and very few of them were. We also looked at hotels that were “cheaper” hotels, but booking two rooms at a cheap hotel ended up costing more than this nicer hotel with a suite. Again, being close to a metro stop limits you somewhat. I would recommend the Embassy Suites Old Town Alexandria ALL DAY, EVERY DAY to anyone, especially those with large families who are trying to save money. The proximity to the metro was PERFECT for us and the GIANT breakfast meant that we could save by doing picnic lunches.
One of the biggest expenses for our family is always food, partly because we are large in number and partly because three of our five kids are HUGE eaters. I went to the grocery store before we left and got foods that were easy to pack: granola bars, dried fruit, apples, bananas, Little Debbies, Pringles, packs of peanut butter crackers and cheese crackers, loaves of bread, and peanut butter. We filled a backpack with these foods every day and did a picnic lunch. We DID buy drinks for lunch every day (at $2-$3 per drink!), but you could also pack waters, I suppose. Most museums will let you in with water bottles if you drink out of them first. By eating the massive cooked to order breakfast before we left the hotel, they could make it with a lighter lunch. Then every night, we ate dinner at a restaurant. We did try to find decently priced restaurants (Saturday night at Theisman’s next door to our hotel, Sunday night at a burger place just down from the Kennedy Center Shuttle Stop at the GWU-Foggy Bottom metro stop, Monday night at a pub on King Street (took the King Street trolly down and just found something that looked good), Tuesday night at a pizza place called Lena’s that was recommended to us by a friend at the Braddock Rd metro stop (the stop before Old Town Alexandria/King Street). On Wednesday, we went to the Newseum in the afternoon and I knew how great the food there was, plus I knew that we had our night walking tour and cheap food would be hard to come by, so on Wednesday we ate our dinner out as lunch at the Newseum and then had our picnic dinner on benches beside the White House near Layfayette Park.)
I already mentioned the metro costs for a larger family. I do think that for a large family, driving in and parking is much cheaper. However, it’s also a crapshoot, because you may not find a spot or a garage and it takes a lot of time. We spent $210 on metro passes for a family of 7. I would probably do the same next time we go, just because it’s so easy to get everywhere (and saves so much time) doing it that way, even though it’s a little costly. If you are going somewhere a distance away (the zoo is really the best example of this), especially somewhere that doesn’t have a close metro stop, taking a cab (we used a minivan cab) is cheaper than using the metro. We cabbed to the zoo and back.
The only attractions listed here that cost money would be the Newseum, the Arlington trolley (or you can walk for free), the Spy Museum, and Mount Vernon. We didn’t have time for Mt. Vernon on this trip and I don’t like the Spy Museum at all, so that left the Newseum and Arlington. We just visited the American military cemetary in Manila when we picked our kids up in June, so this trip we just did the Newseum.
Sample Itinerary:
This will obviously be dependent on what you choose to do, the age of your kids, how hard your family can go, and a million other factors. Our family tends to go hard on vacations (leave the room early, take no breaks, walk a ton, come in late). We did take it a little easier on this one just because it was our first one with our three new kids and we weren’t sure of their stamina. The other thing about DC is that most of the things you would want to do shut down pretty early, so you do get quiet and calm evenings to rest if you want them. We also avoid malls and things like that on vacations. Below is the itinerary for our family for our last trip. A few things changed last minute, so I included in brackets what we MIGHT have done at that time. I am happy to help you work out an itinerary based on what you want to do.
Saturday-
Left at 5:30 in the morning, stopped for gas/breakfast, rest stop bathroom, gas station for bathroom and drinks (ate packed lunches). Arrived around 2 and decided, based on weather, to go straight into the city and park in parking garage instead of going to the hotel.
Parked in a garage near the Orange Mandarin hotel (very near the Jefferson Memorial) for $10.
Walked the monument loop described above.
Walked back to the car, drove to the hotel, checked in, walked next door to Theisman’s for dinner.
{We had a DCbyFoot tour of the Monuments and Tidal Basin scheduled for Sunday. However, Sunday was predicted for 100% rain and Saturday was beautiful, plus we got in so early on Saturday that we decided to cancel our Sunday tour and just do the monuments by ourselves on Saturday. It was a good choice, although it didn’t even rain at all on Sunday.}
Sunday-
Metro to Smithsonian stop
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Picnic lunch on the National Mall
Smithsonian Museum of American History
Archives
Metro to Foggy Bottom/GWU stop
Dinner at pizza place down the street
Kennedy Center shuttle to Kennedy Center
6:00 Performance
Shuttle back to metro
Metro to Alexandria
Monday-
Metro to Smithsonian stop
Air and Space Museum
Picnic on the National Mall
Natural History Museum
{We could have done this day faster and possibly gone to the zoo or Arlington. However, this was a day where some people were having some times and some moods and we felt like we needed to take it easy. Also, they really enjoyed the Natural History Museum and took a long time in it.}
Metro’d back to our hotel, changed clothes, and hopped on the trolley to Old Town Alexandria.
We rode it all the way to the waterfront, got off and walked around, walked a few blocks back, looking for somewhere to eat. We ate at a little pub, then walked to the closest trolley stop where we caught the trolley and were back to our hotel by 8.
Watched movies and rested.
Tuesday-
Metro to Metro Center
10- Ford’s Theater Ranger Talk (booked)
Taxi to Zoo
Zoo
Taxi back, asked him to drive us by National Cathedral and down Embassy Row
Dropped us off at the Portrait Gallery
Gallery Place/Chinatown metro to Braddock Rd stop, walked a few blocks to Lena’s (Italian place) for dinner
Metro to Alexandria
Got back to the hotel in time to catch the evening reception and the kids loaded up on cheese and crackers
Movie and packing in the hotel
{We were supposed to have a DCbyFoot tour of the Capitol and Library of Congress on this afternoon. I found out Monday that it was canceled and so I moved the zoo to Tuesday. Otherwise, we would have gone to the zoo Monday and done both museums in the morning on Monday.}
Wednesday-
Left a little later from the hotel that day
Metro to Capitol South
Library of Congress (caught a public tour that happened to be starting as we walked in)
Walked next door to the Supreme Court where we found that you CAN go in!
Walked by an around the Capitol, did not elect to go in the Visitor’s Center or on the tour
Walked a pretty long walk to the Newseum
Ate lunch in their cafeteria and spent the entire afternoon there. (There is a virtual reality thing on the 2nd or 3rd floor. We started at the top and worked our way down, which meant we got to the virtual reality part too late to do it since they stop it early. I would start there. Also, don’t miss the terrace of the Newseum (top floor), it’s a great photo op with the Capitol in the background.)
Left there when they closed at 5 and walked to one side of the White House (Washington Monument side), then walked around it to the other side.
Got drinks at a McDonald’s close by ($1 any size!!!!!) and went to the bathroom there.
Ate a picnic supper on benches under trees (it was raining) in front of the OEOB
Our DCbyFoot Lincoln Assassination Tour met in Layfayette Park at 7, ending at 9 at Ford’s Theater
Took the metro from Metro Center to Alexandria
I am sure there are things I am leaving out, but this is a pretty comprehensive list of must-sees. Dang I love that city.
Enjoy my favorite city!!!
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