Must Dos in Washington DC

[WillSa6]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Can't remember but quite a bit. Have you been on the website? It was fascinating to me.
You go inside the dome, inside the old halls where the presidents sat , past the speaker's office etc.

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Looks like it can be booked up to 3 months in advance, so I can book mid April. Think I will plan for the first tour on our first morning, as no doubt we will be awake from 5am.

My DH is very interested in American history and politics, so the Washington bit of the trip is more for him, whereas the NY bit is more for me.

[WillSa6]

Originally Posted by Beth_Disney

A Dibber recently shared the contact details of a Congresswoman to contact about White House tours. I saved the details as that would be on my bucket list! norton.house.gov

Are you planning to go to Arlington Cemetery? We did the tour and it was really interesting. Very moving. We also enjoyed the Pentagon tour and did both of those on the same morning as they're the same direction. We also went to the shopping centre close to the Pentagon - great shops and some bargains!

If you are planning to see the US Marine Corps Memorial by the cemetery you might want to check if the work on it has finished - we walked over (and got loads of bites from the grass) and it was all boarded up.

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Thanks Beth, both the White House and Arlington are on the list. Thanks also for the info re the White House tour. I didn't realise that you can do a Pentagon tour as well, so that will now be added to the list. This is the reason why I love the Dibb, you learn something new everyday from it.

[sparklegirl]

The Holocaust Museum is excellent and a must do in my opinion. Dont forget the Zoo as well which is free. Georgetown is fa to walk around as is Alexandria or Old Town its sometimes called. National Harbor was relatively new the last time I was there and during the summer they have open air movies and concerts. its so lovely down there.

Its my absolute favourite city and you will have a ball.

[Beth_Disney]

Originally Posted by WillSa6

Thanks Beth, both the White House and Arlington are on the list. Thanks also for the info re the White House tour. I didn't realise that you can do a Pentagon tour as well, so that will now be added to the list. This is the reason why I love the Dibb, you learn something new everyday from it.

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With the Pentagon tour, you register your details in advance and find out whether the tour has been confirmed 2 weeks before. We saw the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon whilst we waited for our time slot and it was really moving.

The subway system in Washington was great for getting around quickly. Our hotel was close to Rosslyn subway station which was a great location for sightseeing.

On our first visit (1 night) we did a Segway tour which was fun and a good way to see the main sights quickly. During that trip we realised there was so much to do that we wanted to see properly and we decided that we needed to go back for longer! We went back for 4 nights and still didn't spend long enough in the museums.

[macdonald88]

All of the things you've mentioned are worth a trip, definately a tour round the Capitol it's free and very informative. The botanical gardens just next to Capitol Hill (free) We loved the smithsonian zoo just a short ride on the metro and it's also free. Our fave places for eating were founding farmers, corner bakery cafe, hill country bbq, Astro doughnuts, Chinatown garden, west wing cafe, Georgia Browns. Have a fab time!

[neilhd]

So much to do in Washington. We had 3 days there and only scratched the surface.

The Spy Museum hasn't been mentioned yet and was great - definitely recommend that.

We also did a Duck Tour that was good fun.

Would love to go back there for longer one day.

[WillSa6]

Thanks folks for all your help. There are so many things to do in DC, that I might have to reduce the amount of things that we do in the middle part of our holiday on the roadtrip.

[minimacka]

We are going back to the east coast in Sept/Oct and Washington is the last part of our holiday, we did 3 nights last time and it wasn't enough, so this time we are going for 6 nights. There is so much to do for free. We cannot wait.
mm

[Bobw25]

Having been many times with work, my one recommendation would be the Vietnam Memorial. A truly moving piece of remembrance, if you get the chance, politely ask one of the veterans about the shape of the monument and why the names are set out the way they are, it left me with a huge lump in my throat. The Korean War memorial is very close by and once again is very moving.

[theCMG]

Another mention for the Spy museum and liked the science museum too