rosslang

We (my husband and I, 23 yr old son, 20 yr old daughter, and 12 yr old daughter) will be spending a week in DC area May 280-June 4. We are staying in a vacation rental (a house) in Old Town Alexandria. We will have a car.

I've made a rough itinerary of our must-sees. We don't want to over-schedule, so the days are not filled up. I have a list of other things we are interested in the end of the itinerary. I

Sunday, May 29 - attend church in Alexandria, get settled/buy groceries. There would be time in the afternoon for some kind of scenic drive in the area if anyone can suggest a route!
Monday, May 30 - visit friends in Winchester, VA
Tuesday, May 31 - Spy Museum in the morning, Capitol Tour scheduled for 2:00 pm
Wed, June 1 - American History Museum, walk by White House
Thurs, June 2 - Mount Vernon, in the evening drive into DC to see memorials at night (Can anyone suggest a good place to park?)
Friday, June 3 - Arlington Cemetery

Below are other things we are interested in. I wouldn't expect to add all of them since we want to keep the schedule loose so we can relax some...

A fun shopping experience (esp for my daughters)
National Archives
Holocaust Museum (maybe only husband and son)
Newseum
Union Station (would that be the shopping place?)
Should we spend time at the White House Visitor's Center? (We don't have tickets to the White House itself. We were just going to walk by.)

Thanks for any help from those who know DC!

bardo1

On Sunday afternoon, I suggest you stay in Old Town Alexandria. There are lots a very nice shops there especially on along King St. - Really all the way from West St. to the river. Union Station is NOT the place to shop.

On Tuesday, have lunch somewhere on Capitol Hill before the Capitol Tour. 8th St. SE south of Penn Ave. and Penn Ave. SE between 2nd and 7th both have LOTS of options. I particularly like Seventh Hill Pizza http://www.montmartredc.com/seventhhill/
Walk back through the neighborhood (not along commercial Penn. ave.) on the way to your tour.

On Wednesday, a walk by of the WH is just fine - you can read about the WH on your own right now on the internet. You'll want to see it from the Penn. Ave. side. A good stop very close by is Breadline - http://www.breadline.com/ (breakfast & lunch only
)

On Thursday night self-tour of the monuments is VERY easy. There is ample, easy, free, parking everywhere that time of night. I would park first at the Jefferson - see that and the FDR. Then drive to Constitution Ave and park anywhere between 21st and 18th. From there it's an easy walk to the Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans, WWII, and the Washington monument.

If you plan to drive into DC on Tue. & Wed., be aware that you'll need to park in a downtown garage (about $20). Use the Metro and/or taxis to get you around once in town.

rosslang

Great suggestions! I'm glad to hear about shopping in Alexandria.

We plan to take the Metro into DC each day and only use our car when we stay out of central DC. Is buying a day pass for the Metro the way to go?

fourfortravel

I second bardo--Union Station is not for shopping. I'll add Georgetown, or if you're into malls, The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City has all the usual stores. There is parking at the Georgetown Park, and of course at the mall. Since you have a car, further afield there is Tysons Corner and Tysons Galleria for the shopping experience--not too hard to get to from Old Town.

It may be worthwhile to do a comparison of the one-day pass versus individual Metro trips. For the itinerary you have posted it may not be economical. You can do the calculations on the Metro website. www.wmata.com. Personally I wouldn't drive--you may save money over the cost of Metro fares, but that could be easily lost in time spent in traffic and finding a garage.

rosslang

Fashion Center is really close to where we will be in Alexandria -- perfect.

Since we won't be riding the Metro multiple times a day, the single trip tickets might be much less. I hadn't thought through that. We definitely won't take the car into central DC except for the one night to see the monuments.

If Union Station is not for shopping, would it be worth a visit? I've been to Grand Central Station in NYC -- is it similarly impressive just for the architecture, maybe a place to have lunch? I can't remember why it is on my list!

tomfuller

I have had many hours of layovers in Union Station. Many travelers walk through the rotunda and never notice the statues up on the balcony. There are many plaques scattered between the shops. Upstairs you can get a meal or buy a suit.
Union Station is on top of a major subway station. Buy your METRO tickets by computing the fares to where you are going and the return fare. The ticket comes back to you in the turnstile if it still has value.

BBEAR

We went a few years ago with our 3 boys who were 18, 14 and 12. Some of the things they loved:
Ford's Theater
Washington Monument (go to top - for them it was a thrill)
National Archives and Library of Congress (watch National Treasure movie first!)
Washington National Cathedral (requested by our 14 year old son- and it was amazing)
Holocaust Museum - everyone should experience this - not just the guys!
Tour of the Capitol was great

The Spy Museum was okay but pricey - wouldn't do it again)
They didn't really care for the Air & Space Museum

1JAR

Be sure to see the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial.

You could see it when you go to Arlington Cemetary in the day and combine it with lunch/shoping at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City MAll & do consider to come back to see it at night..it is stunning and an unforgetable momment in history

http://gosoutheast.about.com/od/virg...ntagon_mem.htm

BTW there is a link at the bottem of the link above to Fashion Centre

obxgirl

I agree with advice to stay in the Alexandria area on Sunday. If your rental home has bikes and you and the weather are inclined, the Mt. Vernon bike trail along the GW Parkway would qualify as scenic. You can also drive to various points, park and ride or walk along the Potomac River. http://bikewashington.org/trails/vernon/index.php

If you enjoyed Grand Cental Sta, then I think Union Station is worth a visit but probably not a must see if your schedule gets too crowded. You can see from their website (http://www.unionstationdc.com/) what shops and restaurants there are to see. Your daughters will probably enjoy more the shopping in Alexandria or at near by Pentagon City (couple of metro stops from King St in Olde Towne directly to the mall).

Hope you have a wonderful time!

furledleader

The cards and passes and fares for riding the metro can be a ball of confusion to someone new and trying to figure out what is best for you can take some calculation.

If you want an unlimited pass for the week with no restrictions (and thus no worries) get the 7-day fast pass for $47 each.

A 7-day short trip pass costs only $32.35, but time restrictions apply for longer trips and you have to use an exit fare machine to pay the extra fare if you take a long trip at certain times of the day.

A one day pass costs $9 and offers unlimited travel, but you can't use it before 9:30 a.m. on weekdays.

A metrorail farecard is a paper card that can hold up to $45 and can be recharged with more money when it gets low. When you exit the metro, you insert the card in the turnstile and it deducts the cost of your fare for that trip ($1.60 - $5 depending upon the length of your trip and the time of day).

A SmartTrip card is just like the metrorail farecard except it costs a non-refundable $5 up front, holds up to $300, can be used on buses, can be replaced with no loss of value if it is lost, and can be used to pay for parking at the outlying metrorail park & rides.

See http://www.wmata.com/fares/purchase/passes.cfm for details.

What you choose to purchase is totally dependent upon how much you plan to use the metro. If you really want to do your homework to figure out what is best for you on any particular day you can use the metro trip planner to figure out all the individual fares, and then compare those to the price of a pass.

http://www.wmata.com/rider_tools/tri..._form_solo.cfm


Another great site is http://www.stationmasters.com/ . Click on the icon for the Metrorail System map, then clicking on any of the station names brings up a map of that station with entrances/exits, elevators, and surrounding places of interest.

In Alexandria, the free King Street Trolley runs along King Street between the waterfront and the Metrorail station.

http://alexandriava.gov/Trolley

Giovanna

This website might be of help:

http://washington.org/visiting/brows...e-things-to-do

I'm sure it will repeat some ideas above, but you might find a new thing or two you're interested in.

sf7307

Just adding to the chorus for Alexandria - it's - it's a great little town and not just qfor shopping. - it's quaint, has great shoppinfq and eating, histoqrical architecture. Just a wonderful place to spend an afternoon especially iAd the weather is good.

Gretchen

if the Marine Corps Barracks Tattoo has begun by then, don't miss it.
national Gallery?

edjim

Your kids might like Georgetown. C&O Canal is scenic and the river is nearby. No Metro access but Circulator buses go there.

furledleader

I really like the fact that you've not tried to squeeze too much into each day. Most people think they can do more than the day actually allows. Props.

That being said, I think you can do a little more on Wed. June 1st. Perhaps that's when you can do the Archives (it generally takes less than an hour once you get in if all you are doing is seeing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution). Take the yellow metro from Alexandria up to the Navy Memorial and you emerge almost right across the street.

I noticed you didn't pencil in Ford's Theater. You may want to consider one of their ranger led programs (they last about 1 hour) about the night that Lincoln was shot there.

You mentioned going to church on Sunday. I'm not Episcopalian myself, but I've attended services at the National Cathedral, and I've always been interested in attending a service at historic Christ Church in old town Alexandria (corner of N. Washington & Cameron Streets). George Washington and Robert E. Lee were both regular worshipers there.

nanthompson2

Is this your first time to DC? How about the Smithsonian museums and the mall area? These museums are free and really great. You could spend a whole day just in this area. I especially like the Natural History museum and the Air and Space museum.

rosslang

Here is a revised plan based on lots of great advice:

Sunday, May 29 - attend church in Alexandria at Christchurch, get settled/buy groceries. There would be time in the afternoon for some kind of scenic drive in the area if anyone can suggest a route!

Monday, May 30 - visit friends in Winchester, VA

Tuesday, May 31 - Spy Museum in the morning, Capitol Tour scheduled for 2:00 pm

Wed, June 1 - American History Museum, walk by White House, Archives, Ford's Theater (had wanted to add that!)

Thurs, June 2 - Mount Vernon, in the evening drive into DC to see memorials at night

Fri, June 3 - Arlington Cemetery, Pentagon City Mall (is this the same things as Fashion Centre?), Pentagon - 9/11 Memorial in the evening

I am wondering if June 3 should be done by Metro. Am I reading the Metro map right that we could take the Blue Line from Alexandria to Arlington Cemetery, then back to the Pentagon City stop for the mall, then back to the Pentagon stop for the memorial?

I am so excited to hear about the free trolley in Old Town Alexandria! On the link you sent, I found a stop just blocks from our house where we can ride along King Street! Thank you!

obxgirl

>>Fri, June 3 - Arlington Cemetery, Pentagon City Mall (is this the same things as Fashion Centre?), >I am wondering if June 3 should be done by Metro. Am I reading the Metro map right that we could take the Blue Line from Alexandria to Arlington Cemetery, then back to the Pentagon City stop for the mall, then back to the Pentagon stop for the memorial?

LouisaH

Quick note here, but feel free to ask other questions. I've lived in Alexandria for 25 years and have a daughter and we're both shoppers. Yes Fashion Center and Pentagon City Mall are the same thing, but really they are not very special IMO, except for Nordstrom's, which is nice, especially if you don't have one in your area. I also wouldn't go out of my way to shop at Union Station but if you happen to be there, it is a beautiful place and worth seeing.

Not sure what furledleader is talking about but unlike other cities, there is no discount for multi-day passes but it it more convenient to put money on your card for multiple trips. Be careful though, unless you get Smart Card, other fare cards are very sensitive and get de-magnetized easily.

furledleader

Louisa,
I don't ever recall mentioning anything about a discount for multi-day passes.

I personally don't see this family using the metro enough to spend $9 for a one-day pass, or even $47 for the 7-day pass. If I were them, I'd just get everyone a simple metrorail farecard, put $10 or $20 on each to begin with, then add more if/when needed. Adding more to each card is simple and can be done with a credit card at the machines in every metro station.

On the night you tour the monuments, consider driving up to the Marine Iwo Jima Memorial before heading back to your rental house. It's across the Potomac River in Arlington, just north of Arlington National Cemetery. The memorial is quite striking at night, and the high ground that it sits upon gives a more distant view of Washington itself.

http://www.aviewoncities.com/washing...mamemorial.htm

If you go, look for an interesting illusion. If you stand directly behind the men raising the flag, the flag will appear to be low. As you walk around to the front of the memorial your perspective changes and the flag appears to be rising, and when you get to the head of the memorial the flag appears to be nearly completely risen.