Need tourist ideas for Wash DC

mom2collegekids · October 18, 2010, 6:08am

We’re going to Wash DC for a few days. We haven’t been in several years…Last time had the kids and had to mix things up to keep their interest.

Will really only have Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning to tour - so time is limited.

We’ll be staying in Mclean, Virginia (outside DC) for business reasons, but have the above times free. Will we have to drive to a certain point, park somewhere, and then use the Metro???

Is anything open on Sundays?

Which Smithsonian museums do you recommend and why? We’re not big modern art fans, except for Impressionism, but love art from the prior periods…Renaissance to Baroque to Neoclassicism to Romanticism.

What else do you recommend ?

What order do you recommend that we tour various sites?

Probably won’t be doing any White House, Capital, Supreme Court stuff…had a super tour last time because of relative who works for a congressman.

Where do you recommend to eat - both casual places and nicer places?

Anything else?

1moremom · October 18, 2010, 6:53am

Many old (but not too old) threads on this topic.

frazzled1 · October 18, 2010, 7:36am

Lucky you! I love to visit the DC museums. I especially recommend the National Gallery of Art, where you can choose between the West Building, where you’ll find works from the period you prefer, and the East Building, which contains the contemporary collection. I can never spend enough time here.

There’s a wonderful Norman Rockwell exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, I think). The museum is adjacent to the National Portrait Gallery, which is another of my favorites. I love the collection of presidential portraits and never miss it even though I’ve seen it many times. But it’s got a great collection of early works apart from the presidential collection.

Most enjoyable museum I’ve ever visited was the Newseum. Unlike the National Gallery and the Smithsonian museums, there’s an admission fee but it is worth every penny. It’s just an amazing collection of the history of journalism, which is pretty much the history of everything since the printed page was invented.

All the Smithsonian institutions are open on Sunday - the Portrait Gallery opens a bit later every day, I think (11:30 instead of 10 AM).

There are so many great spots to eat in DC - I’m sure more knowledgeable posters will suggest some. We like Clyde’s in the Chinatown area because it’s close to the Portrait Gallery. We stumbled into a quick food joint walking between art museums one day - Pret a Manger (I think the one on F Street). Cheap, very fresh sandwiches and salads, healthy options, and quick - wish we had one hereabouts (it’ll never happen, though).

shellfell · October 18, 2010, 10:11am

Agree with frazzled1 about the Newseum, the National Portrait Gallery & the Rockwell exhibit at the American Art Museum (it shares the same building with the National Portrait Gallery, so you can do both easily). And yes, those last 2 museums don’t open til 11:30.
Also enjoyed the Library of Congress…it was fascinating to see the books that Thomas Jefferson owned among other things.

mom111 · October 18, 2010, 10:20am

so many wonderful things to see and do in dc…hard to pick.
even if you’ve done it before, the monument walk (washington monument, lincoln memorial, vietnam memorial, etc) bears repeating, as does walk down the mall.
depending on age of kids, spy museum might be fun. last time we were there (with teenage kids), we saw the capitol steps perform. good bi-partisan political satire. quite funny when we saw them. kids enjoyed.

intparent · October 18, 2010, 10:52am

Newseum, Newseum, Newseum Our favorite, too. Okay, done with that. Some stuff is not open on Sundays (and what is open opens up later in the day). You might want to make a list of what you want to do, then look on the websites for what is open on Sunday and plan that day first. Then fit the other stuff in around it… There are a lot of good restaurants in DC, so when we are there on a Sunday we usually plan to have a really good breakfast or brunch someplace.

blueiguana · October 18, 2010, 11:18am

Anything you may plan on doing I would suggest getting tickets online ahead of time. You can show up at the spy museum first thing in the morning and not be able to get entrance tickets until well after lunch. It will throw a monkey wrench in a well laid itinerary. The Natural History Museum as well as the Air and Space Museum have IMAX theaters that have tickets that can be purchased ahead online if you are interested. While the museums don’t require tickets the movies do.

Just something to help keep you on schedule if these are things you may be interested in. When you get an idea of things you want to include you’ll want to visit their websites to see if this approach will help.

mom2collegekids · October 18, 2010, 11:44am

Thanks for the ideas so far. I will look into advance tickets online!

I had never heard of Newseum! So, never would have considered that. Thanks!

Just checked online…get a discount and get to use ticket for 2 consecutive days! :)

mathmom · October 18, 2010, 12:12pm

Virtually everything is open on Sunday. If you’d like to visit a slightly different museum (my favorite in DC), you might go to the Phillips Collection it’s in an old house and has a beautiful collection of both Impressionists (including the famous Renoir boating party <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luncheon_of_the_Boating_Party[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luncheon_of_the_Boating_Party</a>) and modern art. [The</a> Phillips Collection](<a href=“http://www.phillipscollection.org/]The”>http://www.phillipscollection.org/) They have concerts at 4pm on Sundays and it’s open 11-6 on Sundays. You may have to get tickets ahead of time. It’s a 3 minute walk from the Dupont Circle Metro stop.

Something else a little unusual to do is the National Cathedral up on Wisconsin Avenue. [Washington</a> National Cathedral : Guided Tours](<a href=“http://www.nationalcathedral.org/visit/guidedTours.shtml]Washington”>http://www.nationalcathedral.org/visit/guidedTours.shtml) They offer various sorts of tours and even a tour on Sunday if you don’t want to attend (Episcopalian services). Architecturally it’s an interesting place and it has some interesting art work including a huge altar painting by N.C. Wyeth (father of Andrew) who was well known for his childrens book illustrations. One of the things I like to do is listen to them ring changes on their bells. [Washington</a> National Cathedral : Carillon & Peal Bells](<a href=“http://www.nationalcathedral.org/arts/carillon.shtml]Washington”>http://www.nationalcathedral.org/arts/carillon.shtml)

Another neat place is Dumbarton Oaks. Beautiful garden as well as a nice small collection. [Welcome</a> | Dumbarton Oaks](<a href=“http://www.doaks.org/]Welcome”>http://www.doaks.org/) The music room is beautiful and they have concerts there as well as lectures. [Friends</a> of Music | Events | Dumbarton Oaks](<a href=“http://www.doaks.org/public_events/concerts.html]Friends”>http://www.doaks.org/public_events/concerts.html)

megpmom · October 18, 2010, 12:19pm

I think it’s hard NOT to find fun things to do in DC. I echo the recommendation for the National Portrait Gallery. And I hear that the Newseum is great - plan to see it the next time we visit D. If you are on the Mall at lunch time, go to the cafeteria at the Native American Museum (can’t remember the name of it). It is set up like a food court with “gourmet” type foods representing all of the Native American regional cooking. It was delicious! Much better than typical fast food.

Montegut · October 18, 2010, 1:25pm

If you’re able to get to a metro stop, I would recommend taking the Metro to Union Station. A lovely place to walk around, eat, if you have limited time. The postal museum is right across the street, too. My husband is a stamp collector and really enjoyed this short visit and bought some wonderful stamps. We ate at two restaurants in Union Station, both good. One was America and the other was a bar and grill type place. There is a great food court, though, too. And of course, you can take the Metro many places in DC and have a short walk to your destination.

My son and I spent some time on the Washington Harbor and there were some restaurants there. The food was not that great, but the view was spectacular.

The Baltimore Inner Harbor, however, has great restaurants, if you’re willing to head that way.

My husband goes to Bethesda often for work, and he loves the different crab places in the Maryland area. There’s a place with something called a Crab Bomb, just gobs of crab meat, that he visits every time he goes, but he can’t remember the name of it. Maybe someone else on the board can help us out with this one.

nj2011mom · October 18, 2010, 2:50pm

I’m a DC-native and my favorite museums are Air & Space and Natural History (both 10-5:30 daily). American History can also be fun, but depending on the age of the kids, they may be bored.

I have never been to the “large” Air & Space museum by Dulles, but have always wanted to go: [National</a> Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center](<a href=“http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/]National”>http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/)

The National Zoo is also fun and has pandas.

Best thing about DC sightseeing is all the public places are FREE!!

mom2collegekids · October 18, 2010, 3:08pm

Won’t have any kids with us, so don’t have to worry about their interests! :)

*Best thing about DC sightseeing is all the public places are FREE!! *

Yep! Awesome!

Montegut · October 18, 2010, 3:41pm

Dying to go to the Dulles museum as well, but would definitely go when the kids are along. Same with air and space and natural history.

I’m not much into art, but I loved the art museums in DC. I especially loved the ones that had the Christian art. Can anyone help me out with the name of that one or them?

There was one that had a huge Daniel in the Lions Den that was amazing! But I also loved the gilded Middle Ages crucifixion and Madonna artwork at one of the museums as well.

Enjoy!

Hunt · October 18, 2010, 3:50pm

I think the National Archives is good to visit, if you haven’t been there. In terms of museums, one that I like that’s not often mentioned is the Freer Gallery, which has Asian art, but also has the amazing Peacock Room designed by Whistler, as well as paintings by Whistler and his contemporaries.

wharfrat2 · October 18, 2010, 5:27pm

I have only 3 words for anyone planning a visit to DC.

Ben’s Chili Bowl.

That is all.

bulletandpima · October 18, 2010, 5:35pm

The one thing that most people forget is DC is a walking city, so try to plot out the things by rotating walking/sitting. People get amazed at how long of a walk it is from one end of the mall to the other end. They just think well, it’s great we can walk from the Lincoln monument, then the War monuments, than the Washington Monument up to the Smithsonian.

Trust me, your feet, even in sneakers will be hurting. It’s best if you are here for a couple of days to split it up some.

McLean does not have a Metro, so probably your closest will be Dunn Loring. Most if not all good hotels here have shuttle buses to the metro that go non-stop.

If you do have a car, to me there is nothing more magical than to see the monuments at night…plus parking is easier to get.

Union Station is great not only for access to all of the metro lines, but also the fact that is where you can get tickets for the Duck tour or the bus tour at Arlington. Arlington is also one of those walks that people just don’t realize when they get there how long of a trekk it is to walk from the Arlington Metro to JFKs tomb. It is not bad if you do it at the beginning of the day, but if you do it after walking the mall at the end of the day you will be in pain.

I have seen spouses screaming at each other because inevitably they thought it would be an easy walk from the Lincoln to Arlington…it’s amazing how tired you can get.

If you go to the Spy Museum, Chinatown is right down the road, so it is a great place to sop and have lunch. If you go to Ford’s theatre, Hard Rock is around the corner (worth it to just get a cool t-shirt to bring back home for the kids.

If you an amazing, but expensive dinner make reservations at L’auberge in Great Falls (down the road from McLean). They only have 2 seatings, it is def. worth the price…it is price fix for a 6 course meal. [L’Auberge</a> Chez Francois](<a href=“http://www.laubergechezfrancois.com/page/dinner-menu.html]L’Auberge”>Dinner Menu - L'Auberge Chez François)

Bull Feathers in either Old Town or DC (near the hill) is a casual dining place and great for lunch or dinner.

Ben’s Chili Bowl is reknown here and off of the Metro [::</a> Bens Chili Bowl :: Home](<a href=“http://www.benschilibowl.com/ordereze/default.aspx]::”>http://www.benschilibowl.com/ordereze/default.aspx)

The Willard hotel is great for drinks, right around the corner from the WH, and you always see someone famous there, be it a politician or a movie star (it is THE HOTEL in DC). If you go there make sure you stop at the WH visitor center and pick up the WH Xmas ornament, they are about 17 bucks a pop, but they are stunning, and make great hostess gifts.

The other stop for food is Pentagon city. This is basically all chain restaurants like Champs and Sine, but it is a great pit stop since you can relax and then walk over to the Pentagon to see the Pentagon Memorial. It is truly breath taking at dusk. The one thing about the Memorial is there are no tour guides, so a lot of people miss the fact of how it was designed. The direction of the bench annotates if they were in the plane that was going into the Pentagon, or in the Pentagon trying to get out. Also it is done by age, so that is why it appears to be in clusters.

You will be by the Dulles Air and Space Museum so I suggest going to there too.

Hope that helped you out some regarding different ideas.

My last suggestion is to visit the Washingtonian website because it tells you what’s going on in the City, plus, has restaurant reviews. [Arts</a> & Events (washingtonian.com)](<a href=“http://www.washingtonian.com/sections/artsfun/index.html]Arts”>http://www.washingtonian.com/sections/artsfun/index.html) Their reviews are for everything from cheap food <a href=“http://www.washingtonian.com/packages/cheapeats[/url]”>http://www.washingtonian.com/packages/cheapeats</a> to wine bars <a href=“Raising the Bar: Best Wine Bars in Washington, DC - Washingtonian”>Raising the Bar: Best Wine Bars in Washington, DC - Washingtonian;

12rmh18 · October 18, 2010, 5:37pm

One of the best-kept secrets in DC is [Hillwood</a> Museum](<a href=“http://www.hillwoodmuseum.org%5DHillwood”>http://www.hillwoodmuseum.org). It is well off the beaten track.

[quote=Hillwood Museum website]
Founded by American collector and heiress to the Post cereal empire Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens is one of the premier art collector’s museums in the United States. The museum features the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia and a world-renowned collection of eighteenth-century French decorative art and furnishings. The collection includes Faberg

SlitheyTove · October 18, 2010, 5:42pm

Agreed. If you don’t have a car, you can also do this via guided private tour.

No one’s yet mentioned Mount Vernon. The visitor’s center was extensively renovated four years ago, and it’s spectacular. Do-able even if you don’t have a car using the metro + taxi.

bulletandpima · October 18, 2010, 5:44pm

I have gone to Zaytinya’s and the problem I felt with that restaurant was it really gets packed with the young business crowd at night. It is a very cool hip looking place, but I thought it was over priced for the very small portions. You’d be amazed that when you start ordering how quickly the tab runs up. The portions are really tiny so if I went there I would go for lunch, not dinner. I also have issue when on their menu they tell you eating raw or undercooked food may increase your risk to food born illnesses :eek:

Actually, I know you can buy tickets for an Arlington Tour/Mount Vernon combined. They sell them at Arlington. So that actually makes it easier since I believe they bus you over to Mt Vernon.

Need tourist ideas for Wash DC

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