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Hope to vacation in Washington DC

P

propita

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Hubby and I haven't been on a vacation since the 1991 San Diego Comic-Con. First he was in school for years, then me.

Son once I'm done with taking the Bar, we'd like to go on vacation--and we thought DC would be good--we want to see the sights and the museums. This'll be in Sept/Oct time.

I've been advised to stay in Virginia, but I've seen bed&breakfasts in the Capitol Hill area, walking distance to the Mall.

Does anyone have ideas of where to stay (we want a place that's clean, quiet, and safe--and not too expensive, we're going to be out most of the day) and where to eat? Where to go is pretty easy--tons to see.

Advice is appreciated.
 
Avoid the Capital Hilton - great location, terrible staff/ attitude. Stayed there in April and it was a train wreck.

Go to the Spy Museum.

Consider a taking a bus tour - the kind you can get off and back on at various stops. We did that and got to see a lot more in a day and a half than we would have otherwise. Went from Union Station to Georgetown, got off at Arlington Cemetery, spent some time there, got off at the Capital and walked down the Mall to the Lincoln Memorial, got back on and rode back to Union Station.
 
the 4th hanson bro said:
Avoid the Capital Hilton - great location, terrible staff/ attitude. Stayed there in April and it was a train wreck.
Click to expand...
I can actually second this.

I don't really know about eating or staying. I have a friend who lives out there, so the last time I was there I stayed in her apartment.

Obviously, you want to see the monuments, but I definitely recommend taking a walking tour at night. It's like a whole other world.
 
Use Priceline for a room, it's the way many routine DC travelers save. Rooms at 3* level can be found for around $75 depending on the season. Virginia (Capitol City) is less but you'll spend the difference on metro fees and fighting commuters. Just get something close to the mall. Before bidding, research at Betterbidding.com for what hotels are part of the process and what bid amounts are winning.

Do not drive your car - parking is very costly even at the hotels that offer it (many don't). The mony you'll save will pay for flying or a rental car (drop it at Reagan Airport and take the metro or airport shuttle)

Contact you representatives office - they will send you lots of information and make your reservations for the whitehouse and capitol tours (be aware of security restrictions on both - they are very robust).

Here is my bookmark list for DC:
http://www.godcgo.com/
http://usparks.about.com/cs/natlparkbasics/a/washingtonmon.htm
http://www.nps.gov/
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Visit/default.cfm
http://www.tickets.com/search.cgi?city=Washington&state=DC
http://www.ushmm.org/
http://www.washingtonian.com/index.html
http://www.dccirculator.com/
http://www.godcgo.com/
http://www.washington.org/
http://www.benschilibowl.com/ordereze/default.aspx
http://www.mountvernon.org/virtual/index.cfm/ss/2/
http://burton.house.gov/pages/visit-washington-d-c
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/walkingtours/Washington_DC_Walking_Tour/index.html
http://www.wmata.com/index.cfm

(if the bookmarks run afoul of hotlink restractions, pm me and I'll send them direct)
 
Posting bookmarks/ links is fine.

Hotlinking really refers to posting an inline image directly off another website that you don't own/control which leads to an increase in bandwidth being used by the source site. The increased bandwidth used costs more to the legitimate site owner.
 
Try the trolley or the double decker bus tours. Avoid the duck boats. They have failed safety inspections.

Have fun.
 
Wow!

Thanks! I know Hubby and I are a couple of geeks. I mean, most of my classmates think the idea of vacationing by going to museums everyday is kinda "HUH?"

But, we're geeks. Hubby sat in on a couple of my law school classes out of curiousity--and many classmates couldn't understand that.

I'll be checking those sites while taking study breaks.
 
Be sure you check out the American History Museum. They reopened it recently. Also, while it's a way out of down...the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum (by Dulles Int'l) has the space shuttle Enterprise as well as pretty much every other aircraft of note.
 
You could also do a Potomac River cruise on the Odyssey cruiseboat. I know one or two of the bartenders there. ;)

www.odyssey.com

The Spirit cruise line (right next door) also do day cruises down to Mt. Vernon and back as well. (Same company, just a different price point.)

Cheers,
-CM-
 
Don't forget to make a pilgrimage to see the starship Enterprise at the Air and Space museum's gift shop.

 
What I'm hoping to find out here are places to stay more than sights to see.

My friend who advised us to stay in VA, is DC still that unsafe? Are there decent places in walking distance of the Mall?
 
DC is like every other city. Some good places, some bad. Just don't get lost in Anacostia. And if you use Metro...every place is within walking distance of the National Mall.
 
I've been to DC twice and we stayed in the Crystal City area once and near DuPont Circle the other time; both areas were very touristy with a lot of police.
 
^are you from a small town? I regularly pass through DuPont Circle and they don't have "many" police cars compared to any big city. Same probably goes for Crystal City.
 
I haven't had too many problems with the Green Line (I take it to work in the morning sometimes; esp. when there are problems on the Red Line).

As for sights to see... I can recommend the Library of Congress (where I work); the Jefferson Building has amazing art and architecture... I'd be happy to give you both a personal tour.
 
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