We are going to Washington DC in May. We are trying to get a tour of the Capital or White House. Most likely we will tour the Capital.
We have some family things to do but will have a day to tour on our own. What should we see? Can’t get ticket for the African American Museum as I didn’t know you had to get tickets so far in advance and missed that.
After we leave DC, we are going to Baltimore to go to the aquarium. Any other ideas of what to see or advice about the aquarium is appreciated. I think I’ll get a hotel in the Inner Harbor area, any suggestions for restaurants?
In DC: the Lincoln, Jefferson, and MLK, Jr. memorials, the National Zoo, the Natural History, Air and Space, Holocaust, and the American History museums, among others. The Museum of the Bible just opened a few months ago, but I believe you need to obtain tickets in advance. In Baltimore, the Inner Harbor, including the aquarium are good. One of most popular restaurants is Phillips (seafood). Babe Ruth’s home is not too far from the Inner Harbor.
In Baltimore we like a restaurant called Amiccis in Little Italy. vacarros is a well know dessert place in Little Italy. If you like to walk, you can walk from the Inner Harbor area all the way around Fells Point to Canton on the water. There’s also a restaurant called McCormick and Schmidt, or something like that, that’s right on the water that’s nice. Sometimes they have weddings being performed near there, and that’s fun to watch.
In DC the Smithsonian museums are all free. If you’re interested in seeing the Obama Pics that might be interesting. The Newseum is also popular, but it’s not free. Walking around and seeing the monuments is quite nice.
A day is not much! It really depends on what you like. My favorite art museum is the Philips Gallery which is a bit off the beaten path. But you might prefer to see Julia Child’s kitchen at the American History Museum. As the parent of two boys - I had to take them to the Air and Space Museum every single time we visited the grandparents! I gave tours of the Washington Cathedral when I was in college - it’s an interesting way to spend some time and if you are there on a Sunday listening to them ring the changes is cool. https://cathedral.org/music/bells-carillon/ I’d tell you when they are, but they have the world’s worst website!
If it is a weekday, often the African American museum has tickets after lunch (around 1:30) for walk ups. D2 and I did it a few weeks ago. They let a lot of people in (well over 100, I think). And we didn’t get there early, either. It was a very powerful experience. If you go, the best part is the section where you take the elevator down and work your way up through the museum (much more interesting than the other half of the museum, IMHO). I highly recommend it.
We also love the Newseum. Not free, but we think it is worth every penny.
Since you only have a day, I would stick to the area in the vicinity of the Mall. I love the Newseum; plus, for a great photo op, go to the upper level balcony and you can get a picture with the Capitol building in the background.
The WWII Memorial is worth a visit too, as is the Vietnam Wall and the Lincoln Memorial.
Walk The Mall and stop in at one or two museums that interest your group. I like the National History Museum, but depends on the group you are with; Air and Space and Natural History are also very popular. The good thing is that all the Smithsonian museums will be free, so you don’t feel like you need to spend a ton of time in any one (alternately - pick just one and really do it). The National Archives is a good stop - you can see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
If you are doing the Capitol tour, make sure that you get passes in advance; check their website for details.
The restaurants at both the African American Museum and the Museum of the American Indian are your best bets for museum dining.
I rarely get to Baltimore, so I’m sure others will chime in on that one, but staying near Inner Harbor is a good idea.
Enjoy your time in DC! It’s a wonderful city to visit.
We were just at the Portrait Gallery a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Some nice contemporary art as well. The zoo is a nice visit - we’ve found arriving early guarantees seeing the animals and fewer crowds.
In DC - American History museum and the National Archives. In Baltimore - we walked around the Inner Harbor, had crabcakes for lunch at Phillip’s, and then went to Fort McHenry.
In DC - favorite sties - newseum, phillips collection (they have the luncheon of the boating party by renoir), the library of congress, and the national postal museum (near the library of congress), favorite place to eat casual - Nandos (they have a couple - the best one is near chinatown).
In Baltimore - the aquarium, the science museum, and if they are home catch a baseball game at camden yards (the stadium is lots of fun).
We were able to get same-day tix to the African-American Museum. Online window opens promptly at 6:30. Believe the system allows only 3 tix per person…There were 6 of us, two of us logged on at the same time to get the tix and only one was successful. Half went to the A-AMuseum (which is wonderful!) and the other half went to the Spy Museum. A fun day… Don’t miss the Portrait Museum!
Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Museum of American Art) has some gems in addition to the Obama portraits – have lived here since 1990 and never got there until I went a couple weeks ago with another CC-er. Was very glad I went!
If you are interested in the Holocaust Museum, that has timed admission, and at this time of year, it’s a good idea to book in advance. Lots of school and tour groups come here in the spring.
You need to see the Obama portraits and report back on the Obama Portrait thread.
Unless you’ve been to DC before and seen all them monuments, I highly recommend taking one of the nighttime bus tours. I’m typically not a bus tour person but it’s a very efficient way of squeezing in the major monuments and seeing them at night is magical.
Old Ebbit Grill is a classic establishment worth a visit for lunch. Several of the hotels do nice tea services if you enjoy that. Food & Wine just came out with their list of the 10 Best Restaurants in the USA last week and on the list is Maydan. I haven’t tried it but its on the top of my list for my next DC visit. It looks great. http://www.maydandc.com/
In the Baltimore area, if you like crab try to visit one of the casual spots where they dump the seasoned crabs on your butcher paper covered table. I don’t have a particular spot to recommend but maybe others will. It’s a really delicious and true MD experience.
Two thumbs up for the botanical gardens! We got stuck there for a good chunk of a whole day. We are both plant nerds. Our second day in DC was spent at the space museum. So. Much. Interesting. Stuff!
We tried for 6:30 am tix for the AA History museum and struck out two days in a row in March (and had tried on a previous visit, too). Hence tried the walkup at 1:30 and easily got them. We saw the Obama portraits, too. There were quite a few people, but not an actual wait. I like the national portrait gallery in general.
Crabs? Obricki’s, Crab Shack, Phillips, but almost anyplace will do. There is a special language to ordering the. “We have $14s, $18s but no $20s.” That’s per dozen, by size. ( and I might be way off on the price, I haven’t been in years.)
We really enjoyed the water taxi in Baltimore. We were there to see the Royals play the Orioles at Camden Yards and it it was astonishing how many people from Kansas City were there. Fort McHenry was interesting but wow it was hot. Loved the aquarium. We thought the 4D movie at the aquarium was ha-larious. Would go back any time.
We are both plant nerds. Our second day in DC was spent at the space museum. So. Much. Interesting. Stuff!