<p>The International Spy Museum is amazing. I wouldn’t take younger children, though.</p>
<p>For the White House, you need advance reservations through your congressional or senate office. There are no walk-up visits. There’s a White House museum near the WH that “sets the stage” for the tour; you don’t need a reservation for that, but given the short amount of time you have, I’d skip it. A nighttime monuments tour will take you past the White House so you can say you’ve seen it :)</p>
<p>Of course, it’s been 5 years since we visited DC colleges, but we stayed at the Washington Suites Georgetown, 2500 Pennsylvania Avenue. Basically, an apartment, with a full kitchen, living room, bedroom, bath. Good prices in the summer (high prices rest of year). Underground parking for a fee. Foggy Bottom area, with Metro nearby. On busline to Georgetown.</p>
<p>When planning a trip to DC in the summer, remember, it is hot, hot, hot!</p>
<p>I agree that, with your time frame, I would skip venues that require long waits in line. So much doesn’t require this. Since 9/11 (I lived in DC long before this), things have changed and you can only see the Capitol Building on a guided tour, which is not available on Sunday.</p>
<p>So you could schedule something like that for Monday if it interests you.</p>
<p>Like I said, so much is available to do and see that you can pick and choose what interests you the most.</p>
<p>If you do go to the Spy Museum (which I agree is lots of fun), there is a wonderful tapas restaurant practically across the street from it (
701 Ninth St. NW) called Zaytinya. Go for lunch when service is faster. It’s one of the best meals I’ve ever had.</p>
<p>NASA Goddard is not at all convenient to downtown DC; it’s in the Maryland suburbs and not near the Metro. </p>
<p>Someone mentioned the Einstein Memorial; it’s at 22nd and Constitution, on the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences. It’s convenient to the west end of the Mall – Vietnam War Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial. </p>
<p>If you are down at the east end of the Mall (Capitol Building, Library of Congress, Botanical Gardens, East and West buildings of the National Gallery of Art, you might want to cross Constitution and check out the little rotunda outside the Canadian Embassy. It’s got interesting acoustics, and if you have kids with you, they will have fun with that. </p>
<p>The Duck tours are not very long, an hour or hour and a half; they start at Union Station (which is a great example of Beaux Arts architecture; other notable examples are the Pan-American Building, Federal Reserve, and Folger Shakespeare Library).</p>
<p>You might appreciate having a pass for the Tourmobile; though tons of stuff is walkable, you may still be walking pretty far, and in our summer heat and humidity, so being able to jump on the Tourmobile to ride a bit might be worthwhile.</p>
<p>With limited time, I would skip the White House and the Capitol–too much waiting. I would suggest the National Archives, but check the line to get in. The Library of Congress is something worth visiting that gets fewer crowds. Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, FDR Memorial, are all worth visiting.
In terms of museums:
Air and Space is good, but very crowded. But you might want to touch the moon rock. It has a second location (the Udvar-Hazy Center) located near Dulles Airport–it is excellent, but you pretty much have to drive there. It has some very large vehicles, including a Space Shuttle and the Enola Gay.
The National Gallery is very good.
American History is currently closed for renovations.
The Sackler and Freer Galleries are very nice, if you are interested in Asian and African Art.
The Hirschhorn has modern art.
The National Portrait Gallery and the Gallery of American Art are good–they are north of the Mall near Chinatown.
The American Indian museum, in my opinion, is not that great. Interesting structure, though, and it is supposed to have the best museum food.
Natural History is fun, especially for kids–it has the Hope Diamond, dinosaur bones, live insects, etc. If you remember seeing mummies there, though, you will be disappointed.
The Spy Museum is fun for kids, but unlike those mentioned abouve, charges admission.
As for eating, I would generally avoid museum food, as well as the food trucks around the Mall. Rather, go a block or two north of the Mall and find a restaurant. There are also chain places like Cosi, etc., if that’s what you prefer.</p>
<p>We just got back from a trip to DC and stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn Capitol, 333 E Street SW. Around the corner about 2 blocks down on 3rd St. is a Metro stop, Federal Center SW. The orange and blue lines go thru there and you can change if you need to one stop down at L’Enfant Plaza. Easy as pie to get anywhere on the Metro. This hotel has a huge breakfast buffet included, all rooms have a small kitchen, and Mon to Wed night there is a dinner buffet included. </p>
<p>If you walk further down 3d St a couple blocks you are right at the American Indian Museum, which we thoroughly enjoyed. It’s beautiful. Next door is Air and Space, and across the Mall is the National Gallery of Art. Located underground between the east and west wings of NGA is a terrific restaurant with tons of great food and the best gelato ever. There are mini glass pyramids between the wings that form skylights for the restaurant and fountains that make a waterfall for the restaurant. A really fun experience.</p>
<p>If you hop on the Metro at your stop and take either train 2 stops to the Smithsonian stop, it cuts out a lot of walking in the heat and makes it easy to walk the monument end of the mall to Lincoln and the war memorials. It is easy and well worth it. There is an exhibit at NGA right now of treasures from the Afghanistan national museum that the museum curators hid in underground vaults to keep the Taliban from destroying that is interesting.</p>
<p>One day while my H was in meetings, my S and I bought tickets for Old Town Trolleys (cheaper if you buy them online and print them out, which we did at the hotel), that was totally worth it. There are 3 routes, and with our online tickets we got to board the trolley at Air and Space, which we walked to. One route does the Mall and the memorials, then at Lincoln you can transfer to a route for Arlington Cemetery, then at their main office (across from Hard Rock Cafe) you can transfer to the route that goes thru Dupont Circle to the National Cathedral and down thru Georgetown and back. It’s unlimited on and off at designated stops and runs continuously from 9 am to 5:30 pm. Completely worth the $$ imo if you only have one day and want to see everything.</p>
<p>At night after your free dinner at the hotel, you can take either the orange or blue train at your Metro stop and get off at the Metro Center stop and you are in the theater district. We saw Mama Mia at the National Theater. Around the corner is the Warner Theater and something was going on there that same night. Easy, fun, convenient. The hotel was $100 a night cheaper than where H’s meeting was in Pentagon City. It’s also easy to take the Metro out to King St. if you want to check out old town Alexandria.</p>
<p>It’s neat to visit George Washington’s estate in Mt. Vernon – don’t know about public transportation there. Old Town Alexandria is fun to walk around.</p>
<p>"Thanks for all your replies. My wife, my son and I will be travelling thru DC on way to Atlanta for business/pleasure, and stop in at our capitol for 2 day visit. It will be sunday - monday. </p>
<p>Wouldnt most buildings shut down for visiting on weekend? ( Capitol, White House ) ? Also how does one visit the White House - advance reservation or just show up and show up and wait-in-line ?"</p>
<p>Unfortunately, most of D.C. closes on the weekend (take it from a student who perpetually finds himself with barely anything to do when not engaged with work). It can be advantageous though, as you can see attractions that don’t close to the public (i.e. the monuments) in relative tranquility. I would recommend staying at the State Plaza. A room costs roughly $100 a night and offers a plethora of amenities. First, it’s on F street, only a few blocks from the monuments, IMF, etc. Second, it’s close to the GW metro. Finally, it includes a kitchen, a living room, and a large bedroom (one bed or two).</p>
<p>Note: The museums are all open on the weekends.</p>
<p>I do want to add that, for me, my first visit to the Vietnam Veterans memorial (with DS in a stroller so it was a LONG time ago), was a very moving experience. It is our era. And though I don’t have any personal friends or relatives memorialized there, it still touched me as a part of my life.</p>
<p>I grew up with the Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson Memorials… they don’t have the same effect on me. But they are a real touch with history and beautifully set along the mall, so worthwhile for different reasons. So, I hope you will go. And as others have said, you can see these at any time on any day. Don’t know how the Vietnam Memorial is at night, but the others are beautifully lit, as I recall.</p>
<p>We stayed at the Courtyard Embassy Row. It was within walking distance of public transportationl. The hotel is clean & updated, and the staff was very friendly. We got a terrific AAA rate. Check travelzoo for hotel deals in DC. Sometimes they have some outstanding deals! There are plenty of good hotels … check tripadvisor for info, too.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the Vietnam memorial both day and night; it’s very moving at both times. Last time I was there, two Vietnamese tourists tagged along with our (nighttime) tour, asking questions. </p>
<p>If you had more time, I’d recommend Mt. Vernon in a second, especially with the redone visitor’s center with some pretty astounding multimedia presentations. But not for a two-day trip, since Mt. V eats up at least half a day, if not more. You can get there by public transportation by taking the Metro and then a taxi.</p>
<p>You can sometimes get good weekend rates at downtown hotels but it’s usually even cheaper to stay in the Crystal City section of Arlington, immediately adjacent to DCA (Reagan National Airport) where there are lots of business hotels fairly empty on the weekends. From there it’s an easy Metro ride into the District, or a short hop by cab or car.</p>
<p>For my family the top attractions would include:
- National Gallery
- Phillips Collection
- Washington Monument
- Lincoln Memorial
- Jefferson Memorial
- National Archives (original copies of Constitution and Declaration of Independence)
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Mt. Vernon (just south of Alexandria)
- Arlington National Cemetary/Custis-Lee Mansion</p>
<p>Calif Dad, like many here have said, there is sooo much to do, two days will never be enough to take it all in. You really have to decide what you want to see the most.</p>
<p>Most of the museums suggested would take 2-3 hours to walk through, some even longer. I totally concur with visiting themonuments at night, simply spectacular! Walking around the Mall is an all day event in itself, and you’ll be exhausted afterwards. And no one even mentioned Arlington Cemetary, which is minutes away, and as moving as anything you’ll see. </p>
<p>Here’s a suggested itinerary for a Sunday - Monday visit. </p>
<p>Sunday AM: Go to the Jefferson and the Roosevelt monuments. Walk around the Tidal basin as well, especially if the weather is nice.
Sunday Afternoon: Arlington Cemetary. Walk around and soak in the history. Go to the Tomb of the Unknown and see the changing of the gaurd
Sunday After Dinner: Take a tour of the monuments. The Korean, Lincoln and Vietnam are a few hundred feet away from each other, and you can see them all in a little over an hour. Take transportation to the WWII (its a short walk (10 minutes?) but through the park at night), then walk across the street to the Washington. From there go to the White House (two blocks away) then take a cab to the Capitol. All this can be done in a few hours.</p>
<p>Mon AM: First, go to the spy Museum and reserve a slot / buy tickets for the afternoon. Then, choose one of the museums mentioned (most kids LOVE the Air and Space, it’s the most crowded, hence go on a Monday morning). If you have time (most likely not), go to another museum. Then hit lunch at a restaraunt near the Mall / Capitol Bldg.<br>
Monday Afternoon: Go back to the Spy Museum for your tour. Then hit another museum (National Archives are great!). Then go to dinner.</p>
<p>Do some more Night Sight Seeing after dinner.</p>
<p>Again, any itinerary you choose, I would avoid the Museums on Sunday. Those places are PACKED on weekends! BTW, stay at a hotel in Crystal City (in Virginia, across the Potomac, and only 10 minutes away from the mall by Metro). Little pricier, but it has some nice restaurants and stuff.</p>
<p>can’t recommend enough bike the sites [Guided</a> Bike Tours and Rentals - Bike the Sites - Bike and Roll Washington, DC](<a href=“http://www.bikethesites.com/]Guided”>http://www.bikethesites.com/)
especially if you are short on time.</p>
<p>We also stayed at Washington Suites Georgetown during a spring break trip about 9 years ago, and found it to be well located, and as the other poster indicated a bit pricey.</p>
<p>My family will also be visiting DC for 3 days next month. We made online reservations to the Washington Monument. Worth the $11 (for the 6 of us) to not have to wait as long in line.</p>
<p>One thing about the White House tours. Not only do you have to do them through your Congressman or Senator, but you usually need to start setting it up about 6 months in advance and now I think they only do it for groups of 10 or more.</p>
<p>^your representative or senator will sometimes handle bundling smaller groups together to make a bigger group.</p>
<p>Another PITA thing about the white house tour: not only can you not take in backpacks or IIRC purses, there is nowhere nearby to stow them. I think the general tourist modus operandi is to leave everything at your hotel, go on the tour, then go back to the hotel to pick up your stuff.</p>