So this spring/summer the family and I are going to the Smithsonian and the Met. I hear DC is terrible for traffic. Would you recommend getting a place to stay in DC? How's parking?
Would it be smarter to stay in one of the 'burbs and drive in? Or maybe take a train in?
Besides setting aside a few days to see what we want to see, are there any tips you can share?
Weekday or weekend? Weekend will ease the traffic, but museums will be more crowded.
If you can find lodging close for a fair price, just do that. Otherwise, I'd say stay near one of the stops on the orange line just into NOVA. You can take that straight into the Smithsonian pretty easily, and parking there is a whole lot easier (and hotels likely have their own parking).
Parking downtown is possible, but its a huge pain in the ass. Easier on weekends for sure.
If you are thinking 'burbs' like falls church or further... no.
I went last year on a Thursday and literally had front row parking. Traffic did suck, but otherwise a pretty simple, last minute visit.
In reply to DrBoost :
Depending on were you live, take the train to DC and stay downtown.
I would not stay in burbs and drive in. Burbs and public trans in or stay downtown and bite the parking bullet to stow your car.
I was just listening to a news show about the Lincoln Memorial... it brought back memories... cool stuff to see.
I'm pretty sure you like airplanes. Make sure not to forget the Hazy Center at Dulles.
+1. Plan a whole day for the Air & Space Museum on the Mall, and another one for the one at Dulles. If you're into photography, bring a WIIIIIIIDE lens. Definitely take the metro in.
We went a few years ago, stayed with friends in Arlington & drove in. Traffic wasn't bad(we weren't on the expressway though), found parking in an underground garage south of the mall. We hit most of the museums there in a single day, but that was a pretty brisk pace.
A couple notes about D.C. for people who've never been:
1.) It's a way longer walk from the capitol to the Lincoln memorial that it looks on TV or in the movies.
2.) Once you finally get to the Lincoln memorial do not think "Oh it's just a short walk across the bridge to Arlington National Cemetary."
I'm going in May for work. Hotel prices are pretty ridiculous near downtown, but there were a ton of Air BnB available for way less. I've had great luck with those while traveling.
On the weekends hotels in DC get stupid cheap. Be aware that there's not a great way to get to Udvar-Hazy from downtown DC on public transit, but it is worth the effort to get out there. On past weekend trips, I've had good luck with hotels in the Crystal City area (right by Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon). My BIL lives in the Northern Virginia 'burbs, so when we go to visit them we stay in some of the hotels near Dulles Airport.
I would also say that the traffic everyone talks about is not nearly so bad on the weekends, so if your days in DC are going to be on the weekend I wouldn't be as afraid of getting a hotel in the 'burbs.
something to add, that maybe hasn't been yet...
Katie's Coffee up in Great Falls has a pretty good Cars and Coffee event, that starts at 6am (as it gets into summer, best to be there by 6 to get a spot) on Saturdays
That'd be one way to see some cars, then trip down Rt28 to hit Udvar-Hazy... if you wanted a day "out of the city"
We are open as far as weekday or weekend.
We will definitely be using air bnb or homeaway.
Thanks for the suggestions and advice!
I love visiting DC, although I haven't been there in 11 years. Take the Metro and have good walking shoes.
It depends on what you mean by "the Smithsonian". Each museum can easily take half a day or more. We spent 7 days (summer 2015) and didn't see nearly everything, even though we were pushing pretty hard. We stayed in Crystal City, VA and took the Metro each day. Worked great, dropped off close to anywhere we wanted to go. I wouldn't drive in. We did use a taxi once in awhile rather than walk another mile or two between sites. Get in line early for things like the Archives, Treasury or Washington Monument (closed now maybe?) or the Capital. Food became our biggest issue, as it is hard to come by on the Mall after 4. There is a huge MickieD's in the A&S, though. But everything indoors closes at 5. We also did day trips to Mt Vernon and Baltimore Harbor after DC, both definitely worth it.
My wife and I love DC. We drive in, stow the car at the train station (cheapest parking in the city from what I've found), hop on the metro towards our hotel. Hotel - we always went w/Groupon in the past, but I'd be willing to try AirBnB next trip.
The museums have been mentioned. The museum @ Dulles is great. Check out the zoo too.
In reply to Pete Gossett :
I think that was out 8 mile walking day. It’s a long walk.
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
Arlington is so weird in a great way. No laughing going on, you feel obligated to whisper, a real special place.
You can go on Ebay and look for hotel packages at one of those hotels that have sweets. Last time we went, we got one for 3 nights across the river in National Harbor and it was around $500. We got two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, and a full kitchen. Place was spectacular. It had a pool, a game room and the area is great to walk around. We would buy food on the way home each day and prepare the meals in the fully stocked kitchen, and then pack a nice lunch to take with us. We took the train in one day just for the experience, but honestly, there is plenty of parking around the national mall. Four days and three nights, and i only spent around $1000. Be prepared to do a lot of walking. Carry a back pack, but remember that they search your backpack going into every exhibit. Some don't allow food. None allow knives as we found out. We brought a small kitchen knife to slice up fruit in our lunch. We ended up burying it in the mulch out in front of one of the museums and picked it back up at the end of the day. That knife is now affectionately called the DC knife in our household. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wyndham-Vac-Resorts-at-National-Harbor-Mar-18-21-March-MD-Wash-DC-3-bdrm/382390214962?hash=item59083ba132:g:3oUAAOxyeZNTUC0B Here is the place we stayed at.
Just moved back to Tn after living in Alexandria VA and working in DC for 23 + years.
I always had friends stay at the Embassy Suites on Diagonal Rd in Old Town Alexandria. The metro (King Street Station) is right across the street for a 20 min ride into the Mall. Just behind the hotel is Old Town (walkable) for places to eat and drink at night and they have a free trolley that goes all the way down King Street to the Potomac River.
Weekday driving is a $#@$. My commute was 7 miles and doing it in 30 min was a good day. I would always tell my guests to wait until about 9:30 to hop on the Metro to avoid crowds on weekdays.
Tip: If you drive on weekends, the lots right next to the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol (mall side) have signs with state SAA Parking only (SAA = Sergeant at Arms). They are open to anyone and FREE on the weekends if there are no parades or protests. During the spring they can fill up, but most people are reluctant to park there because of the signs.
From Old Town Alexandria you can take a water taxi to National Harbor (MGM casino if that's your thing), Georgetown or to the National's Stadium for a baseball game.
Finally, call your Representative to arrange a Capitol tour. You can also ask for a White House tour, but they are given out by the White House like a lottery (not everyone gets it, and it's not really worth it in my opinion - you don't see much).
Have fun and let me know if you have any questions.
I was there 50 years ago this coming fall. I have intended to go back since shortly after that. It must be good, because it kept an 8 year old me interested for a day.
Last time we went, we stayed about two blocks from the Whitehouse and 4-5 from the Mall. We would walk out in the morning, and catch a cab back to the hotel in the afternoon. It worked perfectly. It wasn't cheap, but it beat trying to find parking or the right train.
Thanks folks. I knew I'd get some good info from you all.
We surprised the kids today. I made up fake tickets to "The Smithsonian", "The Metropolitan Museum of Arts", and "Cedar Point" and had a scavenger hunt to find them. They are stoked!! We are going to spend 3 days in DC I suspect. We'll hit one museum a day. We know we'll never see a 1/10th of what we want to see.
The great thing about the Smithsonian is it's free and they are all next to one another. If its not holding your interest or you have some extra time to killer, just go next door to the next one. Scheduling is certainly a lot easier. You can even just hit the highlights of each museum.
It is way harder to do that kind of thing in other cities.
You'll need to log in to post.
