Alexandria and DC
 

Hi all,

I will be visiting DC next month and wanted to know if Alexandria is worth visiting, too?

Thank you!

Alexandria is definitely worth a visit. If you'll have a car, you can drive from the city down the George Washington Parkway, which runs straight through Old Town Alexandria. Old Town has lots of restaurants and shops, and is a great place to spend a day or evening (or night, if you're into the bar scene). Continuing down the Parkway, about 12 miles south of Old Town is Mount Vernon. If you haven't been to Mount Vernon, I'd highly recommend it as well.

Definitely agree with Amy....In fact, we usually stay in Alexandria when visiting Washington --- Much more relaxing area for dinner after sighseeing in the capital all day.....

Agree with amyvt98. And if you have no car, take Metrorail (Blue or Yellow) to King Street station. It's about 1/2 mile walk along King St to the river, great window-shopping, shopping, restaurants, and the "torpedo Factory" for arts. Do a walking tour (maps avail at visitor center).

There is also bus service from Metro station along King St. Get a transfer slip at the station you BOARD the Metro on, and fare will be $0.25

Take a car to Mt. Vernon, but if Old Town is your desitnation, Metro would be cheaper and easier than fighting traffic and finding parking in DC and Alex.

Torpedo Factory is so fun, as is Old Town in general. Lots of nice hotels in the area also. A definite yes!

Stop for dessert at Bread and Chocolate!

The walking tours of Old Town are fun, they take you by the oldest pharmacy in the U.S., the places where George Washington used to drink, etc. There are day and night tours. They leave from the little house across the street on the side of City Hall on King Street (this is right in the middle of the action, so don't worry too much about finding it, just ask while you are walking on King Street).

is Bread and Chocolate still there? I noticed they've closed some other branches.

we took the water taxi across the river to d.c.

it was very convenient and stopped at a few different places, i think.
i would also either stay in alexandria or near a subway station in another bordering area or georgetown.

If you drive to Old Town, there's normally parking in an underground garage on King Street. Take the GW Parkway and stay on in into Old Town, where it becomes North Washington. At King Street, take a left and continue on for a few blocks. The garage entrance is on a side street (name escapes me right now), and you'll see a Christmas store across the street. It's only a few blocks from the river, so if you hit Union Street, you've gone too far.

Have lunch at Santa Fe East, and make sure to avoid Il Porto.

Bread and Chocolate was there a year ago in October. In addition to chocolate desserts, I had a custard tart with the best fresh raspberries on top that I've ever eaten.

My husband and I drove to Alexandria during our stay in DC last September. We had a great time. For a wonderful meal, try a little French restaurant called Le Gaulois (1106 King St). Enjoy your visit!

I'll second the suggestion for Le Gaulois. It's been around forever and is a lovely little place with good food.

Our favorite restaurant in Old Town Alexandria is Le Refuge -- not a lot of seating -- I would recommend making a reservation.

http://lerefugealexandria.com/ ((b))

Budman, Le Refuge is where we go for our anniversary. Love it, so cozy and so much like a bistro in France.
We also like Stardust Grill but it is a bit out of Old Town proper.

My favorite is Cafe Marianna. It's even a bit further out than Stardust, but more than worth the effort of finding it. It's one of my favorite restaurants in the entire DC area.

re Cafe Marianna: wow their website looks great. I had never heard of them and I've lived in the Alexandria area 20 yrs. Will try them out.

I had been in the DC area for more than 10 years before I found Cafe Marianna, so I only had a few years to enjoy before moving overseas. I always thought it was just a bakery. What I wouldn't do for one of their seafood omelets right now.