Visting Washington DC....what should I do & see in our nation's capital? :)

[pg22]

Hey all,

I'm sitting here in the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, DC (My pops works for the Fed, so all hotel prices are $150 a night ), and was wondering if anyone has some suggestions as to what I should see? Obviously, there are the biggies, which I have mostly already seen:

- Jefferson/Lincoln Memorial's...awesome!
- Mt. Vernon (Washington's Crib)
- Korean War Memorial
- 80% of the Smithsonian.......man...my feet...my legs :disgust:

And I plan on seeing the Wash. monument and getting as close as possible to the White House/Capital Building (not too close though, I'm of Persian heritage ). Oh, and the one site I want to see more than anything is the Vietnam Memorial.

So anyway, anyone have some suggestions of things that aren't so obvious? Anything is appreciated! Thanks!

P.S. How on earth do people live here? The heat and humidity...oh dear :Q

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Interns are aplenty in DC

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Hey I heard about this really cool thing to do... you grab an AK and run onto the whitehouse lawn

you'll see these guys popping out of everywhere and filling you full of holes

nik (is JUST KIDDING)

 

[purbeast0]

Well I live 2 mins from DC, and I personally hate going there heh. It's too congested for me, the roads are horrible, and the drivers SUCK !!!!!!!!!!

But if I were to visit, I would check out the museums like you have. When I was younger I used to check them out here and there, but I hadn't gone for like 6 years. I went last year for a geography project I had to do for my junior college geography course, and man it was cool!

Guess you just take advantage of living next to DC when you are 2 mins away and it's always there. I don't realize people travel from all over to come there. But also, if you are into the night life, there are PLENTY of dance clubs. Check out Platinum and Dream. Those are the 2 favorites of mine. Insomnia is pretty good as well. They have good varieties. The dress code is pretty strict, with males wearing dress pants and some dress shoes, and of course a nice shirt. But these aren't usually hopping till thursday through saturday, dont know how long you gonna be in DC for.

 

[Linflas]

Some other local attractions:

You may want to walk the Mall from the capitol down to the Vietnam Memorial. There are lots of hidden sculpture gardens and the like along the way and sometimes other exhibits set up as well.

Old Town Alexandria - Lots of original colonial structures still standing and being lived in including a couple of the original cobblestone streets.

Georgetown - Lots of nightlife

If you are interested in Civil War history Manassas Battlefield Park is within a 40 minute drive during non rush hour times.

The FBI used to have an interesting tour of their facilities at the Headquarters building.

Woodley Park/National Zoo area is a very nice part of town as well.

Bureau of Printing and Engraving - See how money is made.

It is amazing how hard a list is to come up with when you live here since I try to avoid most of the tourist spots.

 

[ErmanC]

No one has mentioned it, but I found Arlington Cemetary awe inspiring.

 

[pg22]

I just got back from today's spots....saw the Library of Congress, National Postal Museum (lol), the Supreme court, and I tried to see Capital Hill...but like the White House, they've all but locked it up :\ (unless I'm missing something).

Oh, and ErmanC, I forgot to mention that I've been to Arlington....it was inspiring

 

[BlueApple]

We don't want anymore damn tourists clogging up the metro gates and crosswalks :disgust:

Other than that...

The Capitol is closed because the house and senate aren't in session. But the HOB and SOB should be open as their staffs are usually there. My friend is a producer at C-SPAN and loves the congressional recess as she gets a month off.

It sounds good that you have done the Smithsonian, as they are, IMO, much better then the monuments. The one 'off the beaten path' location I would recommend going to is National Museum of Health and Medicine. Very neat, yet a bit gross.

And don't bitch about the heat(), you should have been here a few weeks ago, humidity at 75%, temp was 101*F, sun beating down... Yuck....

 

[DoOLiE11]

g-town is always fun

and the holocaust musuem is a must see

 

[smp]

Go to the ghetto .. all major cities have very interesting ghettoes .. people never want to see them though.

 

[Bulk Beef]

and the holocaust musuem is a must see

That's a good idea. Be prepared to spend most of the day to really let it sink in. And I wouldn't take a date there.

 

[skyking]

Do they still run the bus shuttle around the mall? That was a good deal, get on and off anywhere, while touring all the different museums.
We enjoyed the Zoo there, but the best critter was a mockingbird sitting on the gate outside... he knew all the local bird calls, plus all the calls of the caged birds, LOL!

 

[BlueApple]

Originally posted by: skyking
Do they still run the bus shuttle around the mall? That was a good deal, get on and off anywhere, while touring all the different museums.

Tourmobile

 

[geoff2k]

Check out the Iwo Jima memorial while you're at ANC -- I just heard on NPR that they re-opened the gate between the two, so you can actually visit the grave of one of the flag-bearers after seeing the statue.

 

[T2T III]

You might want to check into the new Spy museum. Also, don't forget the Air and Space museum (which has an IMAX theater) and also the Museum of Natural History which also has another IMAX theater. Hitting the theaters during the middle of the afternoon will help you cool down a little.

 

[Slacker]

If you are looking for thrills try this itinerary

7:00 a.m. hop on the beltway (i495) go around once in each direction, then it is time to go for a late afternoon stroll, like you said it is hot and humid so dress appropriately, bike shorts and a sleeveless rainbow T-shirt, then take a cab to Dupont circle and just wander, after a while you might feel the need for some female company and there are lots of available ladies in D.C. borrow a car (dont take your own) and head towards 14th and K street and strike up a conversation with a gal, they are relatively tame and will come right up to your car, but just like at the wildlife safari keep your doors locked and only crack the window a little bit, if you survive that it should be just about dark, head for south east D.C. and cruise around, dont worry if you get lost the locals will tell you where to go, when you flee that area, head up Wisconsin Ave. to a bar called GoodGuys and have a few beers, after all thats happened today your visit to GoodGuys will be the only thing you will want to remember

 

[pg22]

Do they still run the bus shuttle around the mall? That was a good deal, get on and off anywhere, while touring all the different museums.

What!?!!? So that's what all those tour buses were there for :frown: I walked from each and every museum, both sides of the mall...lmao :Q

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I may just head to Georgtown tomorrow night =)