Lincoln MemorialI think we will prob do a lot of the memorials.
White House Secretarydoubtful
I went to college in DC, and lived there for 12 years back in the 90s and 00s. There are some good suggestions in the thread. My personal ones:Yeah, I lived in Montgomery County, Maryland November 1982-June 2011. I miss there, though so much has changed that if I were to go back, it wouldn't be the same....
-The Lincoln and Jefferson memorials are must sees. It is too bad you wont be there in Spring-Jefferson memorial and cherry blossoms is fantastic.
-The Smithsonian museums are all worth your time-especially Air and Space and American history.
-The White House tour is really good. The FBI building tour is also really great and interesting, if they still do it. You have to get tickets in advance, but it is really good.
-The National Zoo is great, but be careful about that if you are going in February. This could have changed since I was there, but it did not have many indoor places and there is a lot of walking. Not a great place if there is winter weather,
Have fun TC! I do not miss DC traffic, but other than that it is a pretty great place.
Yeah, I lived in Montgomery County, Maryland November 1982-June 2011. I miss there, though so much has changed that if I were to go back, it wouldn't be the same....
Huh didn't know Dubliner was that popular. That's one of the alumni bars I go to for Notre Dame sports.Lots of fun things to do in DuPont Circle.
DC is really mostly museums, bars/restaurants, the monuments, and seeing the tidal basin. So if you're not much of a foodie or nerd, you're gonna have to venture outside the downtown area. For bar stuff in DC, you can walk (from Foggy Bottom) or uber over to Georgetown which is expensive but has some cool stuff like Pinstripe where you walk in and the ground level is a bar and restaurant, and the lower level is a bowling alley....and bar. Other hipster crap in that area too like a couple of piano bars. Dupont Circle has a large LGBT population and they have drag brunches on weekends which I still want to go to at least once.
Tomb of the unknown soldier.Stay behind the chains unless you want to be yelled at by the guard.
Holocaust museum, but it might be very heart wrenching.
eat at old ebbit grill, trust me.
The Smithsonian. Amongst other things mentioned.You gotta be more specific, they have like twenty places.
You gotta be more specific, they have like twenty places.
The Natural History museum is always a good call.
I really dug the Modern Art one when I went.
eat at old ebbit grill, trust me.
I've lived in DC for 25+ years. I second pretty much any Smithsonian, especially Air and Space, American History, and African American. The best museum food (at the National Mall) is at the American Indian museum (National Gallery East Wing is second best). Since the museums are free, you can easily pop in for food.Also low flying planes landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport:
If you've already been to zoos in NYC, San Diego, or Philly, then you can miss the National Zoo. It's good, but not amazing. It requires (free) tickets for timed entry (from their website).
If you can make it out to Udvar Hazy, then definitely go, it's one of the top-3 aviation museums in the US (again, free except for parking). But unless you are staying near Dulles Airport, it will probably take a whole day.
Try to at least drive past the Pentagon and FBI buildings, so you can at least say you saw them. It's traditional to point out how ugly the FBI building is (it's a crumbling example of Brutalism). Georgetown (neighborhood, not necessarily the school) is good for people watching and has nice restaurants. Also at least drive by Comet Ping Pong (or eat there; the pizza's amazing).
Check whether there's anything free going on at The Kennedy Center.
I have not been to the Spy Museum at it's new location, but I hear it's good. The old one was lots of fun (note that it is not a free museum).
As others have said, DuPont Circle is a nice place to walk around and get something to eat. If you are there anyway, check out the statue (of Farragut) in Farragut Square, with its mortars. More up and coming areas are H Street, Shaw, and The Wharf, but an exhaustive list would be hard (there so many cool little areas). Even a place like Penn Quarter puts you by the National Portrait Gallery (not as boring as it sounds), my favorite statue (the Lichtenstein at 9th & F NW), and China Chilcano (a great restaurant).
Obviously walk past the White House to check out the fence and the protesters, even if you don't get a tour.
DC is very serious about brunch (which lasts until like 2-3pm) and drinking, so definitely take advantage of that. Pot is legal except on National Park land, if you are interested in that.
Get a book or check out a site like Atlas Obscura to learn about all the little trivia about all the places you are walking or driving past. There's a lot of historical (and pop culture) references to catch incidentally. It's a place where local news is often world news.
If you spend time along the Potomac, you'll probably see some cool low-flying helicopters.