We are dropping our college student to her school in August and like last year we’ll make it as a mini-vacation. We will be flying from SoCal to DCA and will have 2 full days (3 nights) in DC before driving to her school. My college student visited DC when she was in 8th grade but for me, wife and younger D (10 years old), it will be our first time. We will have a rental car but planning to take the Metro from a hotel to the “city” on our first day. The second day, we’re planning to drive around the area. Any recommendation on what to see and where to stay? I’m looking for a hotel that is accessible to the Metro. Thanks in advance.
Not sure what your budget is but I’m a big fan of the Ritz Carlton Pentagon CIty. You can often get good rates/packages, especially on the weekend. It is literally on top of a metro station so super easy to get to all the sights in DC. It is also attached to an upscale mall so there are some casual dining options for a quick bite to eat.
I’m not usually an organized tour type but I like the night bus tours of the monuments/memorials. It’s great to visit at night when everything is lit up and its an efficient way to see a lot. The FDR Memorial is one of my favorites. I’d also recommend the National Gallery, the Holocaust Museum, and the Native American Museum. I’ve heard the restaurant in the Native American Museum is very good.
The White House lifted a ban about taking pictures inside 1-2 days ago. So, there’s that.
Lots of good advice can be found in this recent thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1744424-washington-dc-with-a-grumpy-tween-p1.html
Have fun!
We stayed at the Phoenix Park Hotel, which is located near the metro with train station, Mall, and Postal museum. There is a food court in the metro/train station, which has many fast and inexpensive meal options.
I’m a local so I’ve never actually stayed at any of the hotels but I used to work near the Friendship Heights metro station. The Embassy Suites hotel is on top of the station and will give you room for your family of 4 plus free breakfast and there is a pool - summers are miserable here! The area near the hotel is lively, with shops and restaurants within easy walking distance.
My whole family loved the Newseum. And they hold luggage, if you need that, like you’re stopping by and heading straight to the airport.
@doschicos, are you me in disguise? I agree with everything you say, except we stay in the Marriott in Crystal City VA. Very convenient, especially if it rains. It has a door which leads underground directly into the metro.
The nighttime tours are amazing. Other things: walk around the tidal basin, and enter the FDR monument from underneath the cherry trees. The FDR monument is one of the best in DC. Not to be missed.
You also should see the Vietnam War monument. No one can adequately explain the feeling you get.
And if you’ve never been to DC, I really recommend the National Archives. And by the Archives, I don’t mean a big library type place. It is, but that’s not what you go for. You enter the single main room and see the Declaration of Indepemdemce and the Constitution. Not the replicas or the photos - the real things. It puts chills up my spine.
I think I’d ditch the rental car, and use the metro and the hop-on, hop-off buses. Even in August, driving and parking in DC is a horror show.
By the way, you might check if it’s restaurant week in DC while you’re there. Best deal in the country.
What other things is the 10-yr old interested in? The Air & Space Museum is good (and their restaurant is very cool), the Spy museum is very interesting, the Native American and American History museums are terrific. And tell your 10-yr old to watch out for 3 helicopters flying over the Elipse together but spread out, because that’s usually the President flying between the WH and the airport. (3 for security’s sake).
There’s pretty much something for everyone in DC, whether you want to see 400-yr old bonsai, or 4 million year old diamonds, to rocks from the moon and letters signed by Lincoln.
http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/?forcedesktop=1
This website will help you with getting around the DC area. The metro system is not very complicated. It connects you to Maryland, DC, and Virginia. It is accessible from the airport. The different museums at the Smithsonian are very nice as well as the area of Georgetown. Lots of nice restaurants in the area.
The Marriott in Crystal City and the Ritz in Pentagon City are both great options. I’ve stayed at both, but it’s been a few years.
My friend and I liked the Newseum and the whole family enjoyed the Spy Museum. Both are private, so there are admission fees. Maybe check groupon for offers.
The Zoo and Pandas were a must. We wandered in and out of smithsonian museums at will.
We walked around the memorials at night, but always wished we’d taken a tour.
I liked the Library of Congress. We all enjoyed the National Archives - flag, constitution, Declaration of Independence. There was a lineup for that.
I never thought that WA DC would be all that great until I went there. I was awe-struck.
Mount Vernon is an option if you have a car.
I would highly suggest Arlington Cemetery. You can drive and park.
The tomb of the unknown soldier and its 24/7 guard and changing of the guard is one of the most moving tributes to our country. The cemetery is located on a hill above the city and gives sweeping and beautiful views. JFK is also buried there.
I went when I was around ten yrs old and that stayed with me forever. I recently went again.
I’ve lived in the DC area for over 25 years now and it still gives me a thrill when I drive by the monuments, the Capitol, the White House. You will love it (though you may not love the August weather…hopefully the weather will cooperate for you!) I agree with all of the above suggestions. We don’t usually stay overnight in town, so I can’t help much with hotel suggestions. But I would advise just parking the car (or not picking one up until you need it to drive to college) and leaving it for the whole time you are there. Driving and parking in DC is no picnic and it with only two days there, you will not run out of things to do downtown. Some of our favorites:
Newseum*
Spy Museum *
WW II Memorial
Vietnam Memorial
Lincoln Memorial (climb up the steps and then turn around and look at the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument)
Archives
Many of the Smithsonians, depending on your interests: American History, Air & Space, Museum of the American Indian, American Art.
National Zoo - You have to see the Pandas!
A night tour of the monuments is a great idea and you don’t have to be the driver.*
* = has a fee; the rest are free which is wonderful!
One of our family’s favorite restaurants in DC is Jaleo. It’s a Jose Andreas tapas restaurant near Verizon Center, not too far from Spy Museum. Casual and great for adults and kids alike. www.jaleo.com
Have a wonderful time! Every American should visit DC at some point in their lives. 
Boy, I second getting out at night. I lived there too and loved the Lincoln Memorial late at night, maybe 11pm, seeing so many others there, from everywhere. But I mean on the ground, not from a bus seat.
The thread BB linked is very good. You’ll see different folks have their favorites. It’ll be hot and crowded. Try to start as early in the morning as possible. I love the Mall when few are around or just working folks are making their way.
I believe there are commuter parking lots at train stops outside city that you could use for rental car…park at one of them and take train into city. Don’t take car into city and park on street…we did once and had our rental car with all our belongings towed and city lost it and we spent all night fetching it on wild goose chase on Metro and even in a police car.
Just to clarify, the nighttime bus tours of the monuments give you time to get out and walk around the monuments and memorials so its a great set-up - you see so many monuments without having to walk long distances between them, worry about parking, the monuments are magical at night, heat and humidity during the evening is less of an issue.
The National Museum of American History is one of my favorite places in the world. So much fun!
Also, don’t miss the Museum of the American Indian and its fascinating restaurant based on foods native to this part of the world. Visit this restaurant for lunch on the mall even if you are seeing other museums.
oh i loved our trip to DC. we were tired, walked a ton, but loved it for our family of 6. I like to research places through the forums on trip advisor dot com; we found a 2-hr DC on Foot tour that really ROCKED and took us through the mall by all the monuments and explained everything. the evening bus tour would probably be awesome as well.
my favorite building of all to visit was the library of congress. it was stunning.
we also loved loved the tour of mt. vernon; you do need a car to get there. we stayed in arlington and took the metro to everything except mt. vernon. ENJOY!
I loved the Library of Congress too. As I mentioned in the other thread, you can get to it from a tunnel from the Capitol Visitors Center. Restaurants-Zaytinya, Rasika (if you like Indian), Rasika West End, Le Diplomate, Founding Farmers for brunch. Have fun!
All the highlights of our nation’s capital have been touched on. We love spending a day or two in Washington–there’s so much to see! I encourage you to set aside some time to wander the mall between the Lincoln and the Capitol. Just wander and take in the Vietnam, WWII and the Korean memorials, all up and down the mall. Take in the history, hear the voices of those who have been there before you and those who have sacrificed so we can have the freedoms we enjoy. It’s easy to rush around and lose that perspective.
BTW, if you have a partial day (maybe your arrival day), set it aside for your after-dark tour. You get a great overview of the city that way and there’s nothing like the Lincoln Memorial at night!
All the museums were my favorite. I wish the dollar sheet I purchased worth a lot more now. Haha!