Just arrived at my cousin's place in Maryland and trying to get tips on the best way for the wife and I to enjoy a day or two in Washington D.C. and surrounds. Last time we were here was in 2011, and we visited the Jefferson Memorial, Arlington, WW2 Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian, Lincoln Memorial, Spy Museum, and the National History Museum, but don't mind seeing them all over again. Thinking of doing the DC Trails HOHO guided tour for an updated general info on these sites. The Holocaust Museum might also be a worthwhile visit. Is Georgetown a worthwhile place to visit?
I'm a science and a bit of a history buff. I went to the Smithsonian (American History) and the National Air and Space museums. Also walked around the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, past the Reflecting pool and the memorials. This was all in 2015 and beyond racking up record number of pictures on my phone, I also recorded excess of 20,000 steps captured by my watch... a feat I've never been able to break to this moment.
^Hate to break your bubble but I also had the same thoughts about revisiting all the museums and memorials in DC, and ended up stuck in tourist traffic. At best, I only entered the Smithsonian and Natural History Museums because of long queues. Other than those, I found some great eateries and restaurants serving “United Nations” fare, and a couple of brick and mortar stores selling great art pieces, memorabilia, retro items and knick-knacks (sorry but the names escape me now). I also found out that other than Central Park in NYC, there are other equally sublime parks in the Capital that are worth loafing around on, like Rock Creek and Meridian Hill. Instead of the usual museums, visit the Teddy Roosevelt Island Park along the Potomac River where you can immerse yourself with nature and the writings of America’s 26th President. I wouldn’t dare go near Pennsylvania Avenue or the Capitol nowadays because of stringent security around Trump and the Republican horde. And also those pesky tourists from China who occupy just about every sidewalk, nook and cranny overlooking the White House. It’s like a gaggle of geese out there. And I am being too kind describing that.
^ Fair enough. I was there in July so that's probably why the queues weren't as you've described it. The Air and Space museum was practically empty. Though we did go there in the morning.
Most of the tourist onslaught at the time we were there was due to a convention of sorts. Akala namin me piyesta na sa DC. Aside from the Chinese tourists, there were bus loads of delegations from as far as Israel (so says their bus signs), the usual Japanese and Korean tourists and lots of Pinoys. Good thing we didn’t bring a car, there was practically no place to park.
^Will see how tourist traffic turns out today. Main targets will be: The Holocaust Museum Lincoln Memorial & Washington Monument Chinatown National Portrait Gallery DC Wharf And whatever else we might come across, hashtag slowtravel, lol...
^I’m sure the roads will be clear of Washingtonites watching Game 7 of the World Series. I don’t see the same with our brethren, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Koreans, and busloads of Israelis.
If you liked the Air and Space Museum trekking to to Udvar Hazy would be a good compliment. Seeing an SR-71 in person is mind blowing. Another tour I'd recomend is DC After Dark. It's the usual spots in DC but all lit up at night. Gives it a different perspective. Less people too.
True! Not too many locals, only a couple of bus/van loads of Chinese tourists but not too crowded. Enjoyed the public tour of the Library of Congress with a bunch of out-of-towners. I've been to that place on my last visit to D.C.! Planning to go to the USS Intrepid tour when we get back to NYC and it has an SR-71 on the deck along with a few other aircraft.
The SR-71 has been there for quite a while actually but we weren’t able to board it during our visit and so with the other aircraft. Apparently, it was a security concern then. But we got to try the centrifuge and the simulator inside the ship Go early, it can get hot on deck in the heat (but it’s almost 15 degrees Celsius anyway). Not when all roads will be rerouted and the Great Dimwit will be there to give out solid Twitter advice to the champs. Traffic into DC can clog up until Maryland in its worst days and we wouldn’t enjoy the views of the parade anyway. So its live TV instead
DC has been one of my favorite haunts since I first visited it in 1980, and I lived there (a train stop away in Virginia) for four months a few years ago. Visited all the places you mention below and they're all worth it. You might want to add the Library of Congress (the Gutenberg Bible and the Magna Carta are on permanent display), the National Archives (fascinating stuff there too) AND of course the Smithsonian complex. The Udvar Hazy aerospace museum that someone else mentioned is also worth a trip. Returning home on Friday after a month in the US (highlight of this visit was a trip to NYC just to enjoy the MoMA). Never enough time to see everything out there!
I hear car horns and sirens right up to Richmond from all-night partying from DC for the National’s World Series win That takes care of not going to DC today...
Thanks, Butch! We did go to Library of Congress, and saw the Guttenberg Bible -- the guide explained all details pertaining to how it was created and how the library got their hands one of the 180 published back in the day. The Jefferson Library was another highlight, too! Then the guide led us to view the private reading room and explained the art on the walls/ceiling, etc. Impressive!! Wanted to get a library card but we didn't have our passports with us. That's one thing to do next time we visit! Skipped the Holocaust Museum for now coz we spent more time in the LOC than we expected! We came out hungry so ended up have a late lunch of congee and pork buns in Chinatown.
