How is DC to visit at this time of year?

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Blanky

Blanky

Platinum Member
Oct 18, 2014
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First, I know DC is an uninhibited nightmare of traffic at all times. However, I'm thinking of visiting this weekend and spending Saturday and Sunday there. Is this a particularly bad time to do so?

This http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-guides/page.php?id=104713 says tourism surges late March/Early April.

My plan for what it's worth is to show up early Saturday, do something saturday and sunday and take off sunday late afternoon. i can do something in another city if necessary, though, and don't want to spend 12 hours standing in lines.
 
Blanky

Blanky

Platinum Member
Oct 18, 2014
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It has to be this weekend. Is driving around and looking at some of the sights a naive notion?
 
GTaudiophile

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
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Lots of schools are visiting ATM. Spring hasn't quite sprung. It should be more ideal in a week or two, weather wise. Always plenty to do here. Recommend finding a hotel IN the city. Don't go out to Arlington or Crystal City, etc.
 
GTaudiophile

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
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Blanky said:
It has to be this weekend. Is driving around and looking at some of the sights a naive notion?
Click to expand...

Traffic is usually not too bad on a weekend esp. if the weather is poor. Be sure to check if there are any festivals/parades/marathons, etc. If not, the city traffic should flow okay. I395/495 is pretty much ALWAYS a bitch but the city itself can empty out a bit during the weekend and can be okay to get around.
 
Linflas

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
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Blanky said:
It has to be this weekend. Is driving around and looking at some of the sights a naive notion?
Click to expand...

Park your car at a Metro stop in either Virginia or Maryland and hop on a train. Get off at the Smithsonian station and just start walking. You have the Capital at one end and can walk all the way down to the Vietnam Memorial at the other end. All around you are various museums and historical sites that you can peruse at your leisure. Having lived in this area my entire life I can tell you there is something special about the Mall in springtime that even the tourists don't detract from and given the delay on Spring this year you won't even have them to contend with yet.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,681
6,564
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GTaudiophile said:
Traffic is usually not too bad on a weekend esp. if the weather is poor. Be sure to check if there are any festivals/parades/marathons, etc. If not, the city traffic should flow okay. I395/495 is pretty much ALWAYS a bitch but the city itself can empty out a bit during the weekend and can be okay to get around.
Click to expand...

don't believe this guy. traffic is ALWAYS garbage in DC. it's just even worse at particular times. hell even driving out of dc when its 3am takes fucking forever because of the idiots that programmed the lights down there.

don't even get me started with the road conditions. huge pot holes everywhere and construction going on everywhere.
 
GTaudiophile

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
33
81
purbeast0 said:
don't believe this guy. traffic is ALWAYS garbage in DC. it's just even worse at particular times. hell even driving out of dc when its 3am takes fucking forever because of the idiots that programmed the lights down there.

don't even get me started with the road conditions. huge pot holes everywhere and construction going on everywhere.
Click to expand...

I live in NW DC. On the weekends without too many events in town and especially on federal holiday weekends, traffic is very manageable in the city. It can be downright quiet here. I395/495 is a completely different story.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,681
6,564
126
GTaudiophile said:
I live in NW DC. On the weekends without too many events in town and especially on federal holiday weekends, traffic is very manageable in the city. It can be downright quiet here. I395/495 is a completely different story.
Click to expand...

i know what you mean, but driving into dc always sucks regardless what time it is simply because the traffic in general is just awfully routed. and NW is big, with a lot of neighborhoods so those areas aren't always too bad. the parts of NW where people go and party/site see are always a pain to get to, and then you have the absolutely nightmare of trying to find parking. hell it usually takes longer to find parking in some areas than it does to drive there from MD. especially if you are going at night when most of the garages are closed.

"manageable" traffic in DC is different than "manageable" traffic elsewhere imo.

my wife works in georgetown and i can't stand when i have to drive down there for anything. usually i'll just take the metro and have her pick me up from either dupont or faragut north. thankfully though when i do have to drive, i can hop on 495 to canal road and take that all the way which goes around dc. but once i get near the key bridge and M street - yep, takes me about 15 minutes to go a mile. like clockwork.
 
M

Mursilis

Diamond Member
Mar 11, 2001
7,756
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Linflas said:
Park your car at a Metro stop in either Virginia or Maryland and hop on a train. Get off at the Smithsonian station and just start walking. You have the Capital at one end and can walk all the way down to the Vietnam Memorial at the other end. All around you are various museums and historical sites that you can peruse at your leisure. Having lived in this area my entire life I can tell you there is something special about the Mall in springtime that even the tourists don't detract from and given the delay on Spring this year you won't even have them to contend with yet.
Click to expand...

Another DC-area lifer here. Above is the truth. Just hop the Metro to the Smithsonian stop and walk the Mall at your leisure. There's more than enough museums, monuments, and other historical sites to fill several days (weeks, even). Yes, this is the beginning of the spring break/cherry blossom tourist crunch, it's really not that bad. You should be able to see as much as you want, and it's really not that crowded, because the people are spread out over huge distances.
 
Fingolfin269

Fingolfin269

Lifer
Feb 28, 2003
17,948
34
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We will be there for a long weekend starting Saturday and heading back Tuesday. Looking forward to the trip.

Anyone have some good food suggestions? Not a foodie by any stretch, just like good food in a casual environment.
 
Blanky

Blanky

Platinum Member
Oct 18, 2014
2,457
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Thanks for the feedback. Decided to spend the day there on Sunday. I'll see how it works out. Going to stay in a hotel significantly outside of the city limits on Sunday night to ensure I don't get caught up in the rush hour traffic on Monday morning.
 
Linflas

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
78
91
Blanky said:
Thanks for the feedback. Decided to spend the day there on Sunday. I'll see how it works out. Going to stay in a hotel significantly outside of the city limits on Sunday night to ensure I don't get caught up in the rush hour traffic on Monday morning.
Click to expand...

Lol unless by significantly you mean Richmond or Baltimore you will experience DC traffic in all its wonderfulness.
 
Triumph

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
weekend traffic usually isn';t too bad except for the major arteries, which can jam solid for hours inexplicably. it's the weekday rush though when things really cram up, pretty much everywhere. dc on a sunday is a good day though, parking is free and sunday morning it's mostly a ghost town.
 
GTaudiophile

GTaudiophile

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
29,767
33
81
Linflas said:
Lol unless by significantly you mean Richmond or Baltimore you will experience DC traffic in all its wonderfulness.
Click to expand...

QFT. Richmond-DC is pretty much always a nightmare.

The weather this weekend won't be that nice, sadly...
 
Blanky

Blanky

Platinum Member
Oct 18, 2014
2,457
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46
Linflas said:
Lol unless by significantly you mean Richmond or Baltimore you will experience DC traffic in all its wonderfulness.
Click to expand...
Yep, I do, going to stay in a hotel on the southern side of Richmond that Sunday to avoid all the bullshit traffic! I seem to remember traffic being okay south from Fredericksburg the other times I've driven by DC, but this way I can be safe.

Smithsonian metro station, per above, looks exactly what I want to look around.
 
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