Things to do in Washington DC?

[KingGheedora]

Will be going there for a 3 day weekend in April. What are the "must do" activities?

Two things I have so far are Lincoln Memorial and Smithsonian.

What are good places to get dinner? I want one of the nights to be a pretty nice fancy dinner with the gf, so I'm looking for suggestions on good restaurants.

 

[nageov3t]

do you live in the US? contact your congressional representative's office and see if there's enough time to get tickets for a White House tour.

 

[KingGheedora]

Have you done the white house tour? is it worthwhile? What kind of stuff do you see?

 

[Jaepheth]

 

[KingGheedora]

lol. How is his right hand behind the monument in that photo?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Next to the Lincoln Memorial: The Vietnam War memorial. A walk around the tidal basin to the Jefferson memorial could be nice as well. There is of course the WWII memorial between the Lincoln and the Washington monument. Plenty of museums to visit, including the Native American History Museum, the new Capitol Visitors Center, and the Newseum. The National Portrait Gallery is a nice visit as well.

Perhaps a performance at the Kennedy Center for the Arts? Or a rock concert at the 9:30 club?

If you are Catholic, then a visit to the National Shrine should be made.

One of my favorite fancier restaurants is Zaytinya.

Other fancy places include...

Komi
Obelisk
Minibar

Since DC is home to the largest Ethiopian population outside of Ethiopia, it might be worth trying some Ethiopian food. Not bad at all.

If you are the type that likes to simply wander and explore neighborhoods and architecture, then try starting at the Capitol and walk to the Supreme Court and then walk east along East Capitol to Lincoln Park and then Eastern Market.

The National Zoo is also a nice (free) visit.

 

[ussfletcher]

Smithsonian Air and Space and American History museums are awesome, the art museum is pretty neat. I really, really enjoyed our tour of the Library of Congress though, so many awesome works of art in that place. Go for a tour of the Capitol too.

 

[vailr]

There's a 16 mile bike route path (32 miles round trip) between the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and Mount Vernon, Virginia if you have the time. Almost all of the route is dedicated to bicycle and pedestrian traffic only.
Note: Google Maps can optionally show bicycle routes.

 

[zerocool84]

I went two years ago and the Smithsonians are enough for a couple days since they are so large. There's also the Spy Museum which is really interesting. I'm not into art but the Portrait Gallery was awesome. Most of the food I had there sucked though. I was there for 5 days and only had two good meals. Like said already, a lot of Ethiopian food there but I didn't like it, was too bland for me.

 

[GTaudiophile]

If you enjoy drinking beer, then a visit to the Church Key bar or the Biergarten Haus would be recommended.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Do stupid shit? That's what everyone that gets elected to go there does anyways.

 

[KillerCharlie]

You can't find stuff to do over 3 days at DC? Are you kidding me?

Oh, and don't even bother with the white house tour - you would need to have applied for it a loooong time ago.

 

[nageov3t]

You can't find stuff to do over 3 days at DC? Are you kidding me?

Oh, and don't even bother with the white house tour - you would need to have applied for it a loooong time ago.

depending on when the OP is going... I think it's 3-weeks minimum, 6-months maximum.

 

[KingGheedora]

You can't find stuff to do over 3 days at DC? Are you kidding me?

Oh, and don't even bother with the white house tour - you would need to have applied for it a loooong time ago.

No, I am not kidding you. Nothing wrong with getting opinions from people who've been there before, on top of looking things up online. Thanks for your time.

 

[ussfletcher]

Go to the Tapas restaurant, La Tasca, in Chinatown if you like that kind of thing. They do an all you can eat Tapas for lunch too.

 

[IronWing]

Dining:
http://www.skewers-cafeluna.com/skewersdc/

 

[bolomite]

Ben's Chili Bowl:

http://www.benschilibowl.com

 

[mnewsham]

If you want fancy and steak then BLT steak in dc is very nice, they aren't open on Sunday's however

 

[WackyDan]

Head down to Old Town Alexandria and walk among the gas lamps... some nice restaurants down there too.

Teddy Roosevelt island and monument in the middle of the potomac is one of the most underrated monuments in DC and is simple beautiful.