<p>If you’re staying for the summer, make sure you’ve got a bike. The bike paths in Northern Virginia are incredible. You can bike from DC to Falls Church and barely encounter vehicular traffic. Or from DC – Lincoln Memorial or Rock Creek Parkway – all the way to Mount Vernon! Consider biking to Mt. Vernon on a weekend and make it a memorable little adventure.</p>
<p>If you visit the National Zoo one afternoon, consider departing via the “back” entrance (or, exit, I guess) and go out Adams Mill Rd. to Columbia Rd. – the heart of Adams-Morgan – and have an early dinner (or just drinks if you prefer) at one of the restaurants there. Then you walk back on Calvert St. to the Woodley Park Metro stop by crossing over the Duke Ellington Bridge (spanning Rock Creek Park).</p>
<p>
Thank you all. This is a great thread, and I’m passing it on to my son who is interning in DC this summer. He is beyond excited with his locale.</p>
<p>In fact, I’m burning time on CC waiting for my husband’s plane from DC to arrive back in CA after he spent the last week helping my son get settled for the summer. I’ll be visiting in July with our younger son and know first hand the hot, humid weather.</p>
<p>In addition to the usual Smithsonian/Capitol/monument tours, I recommend:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Folger Shakespeare Museum (if you are interested in Shakepeare). It’s a block or two up behind the Capitol.</p></li>
<li><p>Mt. Vernon - a short day drive. The house is wonderful. The restored slave quarters are also interesting. You can gaze on the tombs of George and Martha Washington. I found it amazing to think that George Washington’s actual bones were in that stone box. It was like looking at the tomb of someone from the Bible.</p></li>
<li><p>Monticello - A rather longer day drive. The house and the mind that made it are on full display.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My favorite expensive restaurant: Palena. It’s off the Cleveland Park stop on the red line.</p>
<p>My favorite hotel: The Residence Inn on Wisconsin Ave in Bethesda. Reasonable prices and great location–right across the street from a red line Metro stop. Two movie theaters, a Barnes and Noble, and the Bethesda restaurant row are just a block away.</p>
<p>“If you’re staying for the summer, make sure you’ve got a bike. The bike paths in Northern Virginia are incredible. You can bike from DC to Falls Church and barely encounter vehicular traffic. Or from DC – Lincoln Memorial or Rock Creek Parkway – all the way to Mount Vernon! Consider biking to Mt. Vernon on a weekend and make it a memorable little adventure.”</p>
<p>Or try the Capitol Crescent trail from Key Bridge to Bethesda, then to Rock Creek Park and then back through the park. A lot of the park roads are closed to vehicular traffic on the weekends and there are bike trails along the parts that are not closed.</p>
<p>In fact the metro area has one of the best networks of bike trails in the country. In fact you can bike to Pittsburgh using the C&O Canal and and the Alleghenny Rail Trail without really hitting a road.</p>
<p>Oh and all of the buses are equipped with bike racks plus you can take bikes on the subway as long as it is not rush hour. You definitely want a bike in DC.</p>
<p>From a lifelong Washingtonian, things to gaze at:
- Sun setting behind the Capitol, viewed from the Mall
- Ceilings of the Library of Congress
- Thomas Jefferson’s words inside the Jefferson Memorial
- View from the left side of your plane, landing at National Airport (ahem, never Reagan Airport), coming in down the river</p>
<p>While you are here, take the subway to historic Eastern Market on Capitol Hill, recently gutted in a fire. Patronize the outside merchants–from veggies to flowers to jewelry to photographs, and more. They need your support while the Market is being restored.</p>
<p>In case anyone is making a quilt for their DC-bound student…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ttfabrics.com/search.php?offset=1&fabric=8681&keywords=washington%20dc[/url]”>http://www.ttfabrics.com/search.php?offset=1&fabric=8681&keywords=washington%20dc</a></p>
<p>I highly recommend that you stay in Alexandria, VA… it’s much cheaper and there is a Metro stop, so no problem (we stayed at the Hilton… very nice and made travel easy). </p>
<p>When in D.C., you have to see the Capitol (I was a House of Representatives Page and I can honestly tell you that this is the one place you HAVE to see!). Ask your congressman if he/she can arrange a tour of the Capitol dome for your family/friends. I went with Congressman Taylor and had a blast… you literally can touch the Capitol rotunda and then you get to stand outside the dome and overlook all of Washington D.C. It is absolutely necessary that you see some of the Smithsonians, I recommend Air and Space, American History, and Art. The National Archives is fun but the line is always long and people are very pushy to see those documents. </p>
<p>If you are able to see all the monuments/memorials, do it! I suggest seeing them at night because the lighting in D.C. is just amazing. Go to the FDR memorial when the sun is about to set because there are not a lot people there and it creates a very peaceful environment. Lincoln, Vietnam, Korea, etc. should be seen when it is completely dark outside because it is much more dramatic. </p>
<p>One of my favorite restaurants in D.C. is called Tuscana West, an Italian restaurant. To get to the restaurant, get off at McPhereson Square on the Metro red line. Once you exit the Metro station, turn right and continue to walk straight for about 2 blocks and the restaurant is on your right. I also recommend the Hawk and Dove, a restaurant/bar close to the Capitol, as well as a Pakastani restaurant called Aatish on the Hill (very nice family owned restaurant and the food is amazing!).</p>
<p>June 30 weekend is the annual Smithsonian Folk Life Festival…it is superb and on the mall. We saw the Silk Road one a few years back. This year Virginia history is one of the focal points due to Jamestown.</p>
<p>SPY MUSEUM was amazing</p>
<p>very well done. but tickets sell fast</p>
<p>Make sure you get out to the Air and Space annex out by Dulles Airport. Some wonderful air frames out there. The space shuttle Enterprise and the Concorde are inside, it is that big!</p>
<p>Could someone suggest a hotel one could stay in without breaking the bank. Please keep in mind that we have a car and I know that in DC the hotels add substantial nightly parking charges to the bill. We have stayed in Tysons Corner in the past. I would prefer something different, depending upon cost. We are willing to drive, or take the metro. I am thinking about staying near a metro stop outside of DC to save money, and not drive into DC. There won’t be any kids on this trip :), and I have oodles of time to plan. We can stay for 2-4 nights.</p>
<p>I use tripadvisordotcom for my decisions. We had reasons to visit DC six times this summer. For a convenient option, try Pentagon City’s Residence Inn on the Army Navy drive. Parking did cost but there is a metro station there that is really close to downtown. Two roomettes plus kitchen and very big included breakfast means saving money bigtime. No need to drive. Parking very secure. Great mall in one block with metro station in the basement level. Very safe and as I said close in but across the Potomac.</p>
<p>My favorite hotels are the Kimptons. ■■■■■ their websites hard for bargains…I used the PNGO…park and go for free valet parking…normally adds 18 bucks a day to the costs…I have stayed at the George and the Topaz lately but also saw the Madera and liked it in Dupont Circle. Call Kimpton and chat them up on special rates.</p>
<p>Speaking of Dupont Circle…the family cheap stay is at Jury’s…and Irish chain. Jury’s Normandy is good for couples, Jury’s main hotel has larger standard rooms at decent rates.
Quikbookdotcom also has some good leads. If you only need one bed, you are going to have more choices. Secret new crush for good rates is the Tabard Inn…but each room greatly varies in amenities…however, the stellar restaurant and big breakfasts make up for the quirks.</p>
<p>Faline, thank you. I did look up Kimptons based on your prior post. I used the wrong approach. I have lots of time to shop around.</p>
<p>I have not read the thread, but want to add (if it’s not there already) The Corcoran Gallery of Art. It is a private museum with the world’s greatest collection of American art. Located 2 blocks from the White House or the Watergate. Permanent collection and special exhibits. Unlike the Smithsonian (an all-day adventure), the Corcoran makes a nice 90 minute experience, so fits into other activities that day. Sculptures by Remington from the wild west; Hudson River valley painters, the Washington school of painters from the 1950’s and 60’s such Morris Louis, Sam Francis, to name a few.</p>
<p>I worked there from 1972-73, and later got goosebumps to learn that some Watergate-related conversations with John Dean and others happened on those gallery steps. </p>
<p>Maybe I walked right by them? I should have followed the money.</p>
<p>i lived in Washington for 30 years…</p>
<p>Take the tour of the Library of Congress.</p>
<p>See the Jefferson and Linclon monuments at night time…</p>
<p>Have a late afternoon drink on the top floor of the Hotel Wasington</p>
<p>if you have the money have lunch in the Willard Room at the Willard Hotel…ask for Francisco he will be more that happy to see that your lunch is special</p>
<p>Thanks paying3 and tommybill. Any hotel bargain suggestions? I am willing to stay a few metro stops away from the downtown, and willing to drive upto half an hour if necessary.</p>
<p>The Crystal City area in Arlington (Route 1, aka Jeff Davis Highway), although lacking in “personality” has a ton of hotels, restaurants, and easy access to Metro. Use tripadvisor and sidestep for deals. Its also close to National Airport and a short drive to Old Town Alexandria, a much nicer alternative to Georgetown IMHO.</p>
<p>Days Inn
Silver Spring
$80/night
Walk to Metro</p>
<p>It’s been mentioned once, but the Holiday Inn next to Air and Space was REALLY cheap when we stayed there. It’s even better if you have kids, but it would have been a bargain anyway. Puts you right next to everything.</p>