Washington D.C.

[Deleted]

DH has a business trip there and I'm going to fly out for a few days to spend time with him. We have never been there. I will only be there for 3 days, 4 max. What should we make it a point to see/do? Food recommendations?

[winnied]

What kind of things do you like to do? What's your food budget?

One of my favorite restaurants is Rasika which is high end Indian food. I highly recommend it. I also had a great meal recently at The Caucus Room. 1789 is very expensive but 100% worth it.

If you're looking for something a bit more casual, Ben's Chili Bowl is a local attraction that everyone *has* to go to, at least once. The chili dogs and shakes are delicious. I also like Lauriol Plaza for mexican and fantasic margaritas. They don't take reservations but the wait isn't awful if you get a drink or 3 while you wait.

Will you be here for a weekend? I <3 brunch and I really enjoyed my recent experience at Level One. The ricotta/blueberry stuffed pancakes were wonderful.

If you like museums I enjoy all of the ones on the Mall like American History, Natural History, the National Art Gallery, etc. They are all free.

It could also be fun to walk around Georgetown for an afternoon and then go kayaking from Jack's Boathouse in Georgetown.

[stephm0188]

A toasted marshmallow milkshake from Good Stuff is always on my list.

DC was somewhere where I was just content to wander without really having a plan. My husband would go to work and I'd stick the little person in the stroller, walk to the metro, and then just go. The Smithsonians were my favorite spots, but I enjoyed just being there. Old Town Alexandria was another place I enjoyed... lots of cute shops and places to grab a bite to eat.

[abeaverhausen]

My sister lives in D.C. so we go there to visit her quite a bit. It is a great city! Definitely check out some of the museums. My favorites are American History, Natural History, & Air and Space. I also like the National Archives and Ford's Theatre. Then there are all of the monuments such as Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. Oh, and walk by the White House.

As for food, I was just there two weekends ago and we had pizza at Pi near Chinatown, which was really good.

[osumelissa]

To Do:

*Smithsonian museums
*Visit the monuments (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, WWII, etc)
*Newseum
*National Crime and Punishment museum
*National Portrait Gallery
*Capitol Visitors Center
*Kayaking on the Potomac

Eat:

*Jaleo
*Level One for brunch
*Perry's for brunch
*Barcode
*Lauriol Plaza
*Estadio
*Ben's Next Door
*Cava Mezze

[Deleted]

Thanks! Our food budget is pretty good...we can afford something nice. I don't think I'll be there on a weekend...the toasted marshmallow milkshake sounds amazing! Thanks so much, everyone

[wanderlustfoodie]

I lived in DC briefly several years ago and still visit there often:

Museums:
Freer and Sackler, American Museum of Natural History, Newseum, Spy Museum, Museum of Air and Space

Monuments:
Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol, White House, Arlington Cemetery, Library of Congress

Take paddle boats around Thomas Jefferson Memorial, take a tour of sights at night

Food:
Rasika, minibar, Eve (in Arlington), Komi, Cityzen, Citronelle, Marcel’s, Obelisk, Ben’s Chili Bowl, Pizzeria Paradiso, Pasta Mia, Palena, Birch and Barley, Founding Farmers, Jaleo, Lebanese Taverna, Proof, PS7, Prime Rib, Zaytinya, the Source

[sunshinedaydreams]

My favorite, favorite, favorite museum here is the Holocaust Museum. It's pretty somber, but it's really interesting.

If you're up for walking, you can walk the Mall and cover the Capital Building, Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln monuments, WWII, Vietnam and Korean memorials all in one long shot. And the White House is only a few blocks up from the Mall.

I love Arlington, too. Watching the changing of the guard is a really cool experience. They have hop-on hop-off buses that go through the cemetery so you can get off at points of interest (Robert E. Lee House with JFK and Jackie O's graves with beautiful views of the area, Tomb of the Unknown) and learn a lot about the cemetery and history with the narration on the bus.

Old Town Alexandria and/or Georgetown have a lot of shops and restaurants and are good for just wandering for a while. Public transport goes to Alexandria, but not to Georgetown. For G-town, you'll have to do Foggy Bottom and walk or Rosslyn and walk or take a circulator bus. I usually do Foggy Bottom - it's not that bad if it's a nice day.

For food, you've gotten some good recs. I'll second Zaytinya and Jaleo and add Zengo and Rosa Mexicano.

[notatree]

Monuments/Memorials
Capitol Building
Washington Monument - need tickets in advance to see view at the top
WWII Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Sites/Attractions
White House
Arlington Cemetery
Basilica
National Cathedral
Old Post Office Pavilion (turned into a food court mostly, but there is an elevator to a great view)
Ford's Theatre
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
National Zoo

Museums
National Air & Space
National Museum of Natural History (Hope diamond)
National Museum of American History
National Gallery of Art
National Archives (Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence)
U.S. National Arboretum
Holocaust Museum - need tickets in advance
Library of Congress
International Spy Museum ($)
Newseum ($)
Madame Tussauds Washington D.C. - Wax Museum ($)

Eats
Old Ebbitt Grill (DC)
J Pauls (Georgetown)
Baked & Wired (Georgetown)

[osumelissa]

The Washington Monument is actually closed and won't reopen until 2014 I think. It suffered damage during the earthquake last year.