Beware Metro buses. They fly through red lights at the drop of a hat in downtown Washington. Not only is nothing done, the Metro board probably encourages such behavior for scheduling reasons. So when you cross a street in DC, look both ways. You never know who might be careening through your right-of-way.

The area around the zoo is indeed hilly.

The official Metro stop for the zoo, Woodley Park, is downhill from the zoo entrance on Connecticut Ave. So for your arrival, it's better to get off at the next stop, Cleveland Park, and walk downhill (about the same distance) down Connecticut Ave to get to the main zoo entrance. Then when you're leaving, turn left and walk down CT Ave to the Woodley Park Metro. Downhill both ways, who could as for anything more.

If you have a car, check out Old Rock Creek Cemetary near Catholic University. You can visit the Basilica at the same trip. Arlington Cemetery is a must. Be sur eyou get off the tram or walk to the Lee mansion. The view from the far sisde of the building is back over the bridge and the best in DC.

If you have the time, you should see "non-tourist" Washington and see how people who live here see their city. Go to DuPont Circle, Adams Morgan, U Street, Logan Circle or Capitol Hill (but not Georgetown). These are all very tourist-friendly areas which will give you a sense of how people (or at least some) live.

Please stay near a Metro line and don't bring the car at all. Parking is expensive and can be difficult to find; traffic is bad and the routes are confusing. Just wear sneakers and enjoy the fact you're burning off pounds.

-- Thank you, the Commuters

D.C. has a nice Chinatown. It is not too far off the Mall- you can walk through the Penn Quarter area to get there. There's a nice Chinese Arch, some good restaurants (both Chinese and other types, some of the Chinese have dim sun on weekdays at lunch), a cool neon-lit bowling alley, some funky shops that sell oriental items, foods and candies (kids love looking in those stores).

Btwn. Penn Quarter and Chinatown, don't miss the National Portait Gallery, which is in a new space, the wonderful old restored patent bldg. It shares space with the new American Art Museum (also very good) and its wonderful Folk Art exhibit (very cool). The official portraits of the Presidents are just great to see on a D.C. trip. From April to Nov., eat at the Portico cafe, an outdoor dining area that has very nice views and is architecturally stunning- a great place for a glass of wine or coffee and pastry.

(I am hoping that someone like bardo will do a post here about the various areas to stay in just outside of d.c., pentagon city, alexandria, arlington, silver spring, etc.)

(also, can someone post about calling congressman ahead for a tour? those are things I think people need to know, but I don't know enough to do the post!)

I'll give the "congressional contact" thing a shot.

Go to your blue pages in your phone book and look for the offices of your local Representative and/or your Senator. Call the local office and ask for an appointment to talk to the person while in Washington.

No, I'm not kidding. I know you just want a good tour of the Capitol or some such, but there are two reasons to ask to meet the person. First, it's a really interesting experience to do that -- find the office, meet the staff, and even meet the person. They are far more interested in meeting you than you think. Even if they aren't there, the offices often make an effort to have you come in just to say hi. Really interesting to do that. Second, it will short-cut the process of getting set up for the tour.

There are "regular" tours, unsponsored, of the Capitol that will do exactly what you'd like -- you get docents who tell you what's what about the various chambers, etc., so you don't REALLY need a sponsored tour. But it's always nice to feel cared for.

Senator vs. Representative: The Senator represents the whole state, has more status, is busier, has a longer term and therefore less worried about the next election unless they're up for re-election in 2008. Representatives represent a much more local area -- YOUR area -- and need to be re-elected every 2 years, so they want to be really cordial to visiting constituents. Easier to get to see them, but offices much less imposing. (Senate Office BuildingS come close to a major monument.)

If you can't figure out how to reach the local office, go to www.senate.gov for your Senator, and www.house.gov for your Rep. -- their office contact numbers should be there once you enter your state and zip code.

How's that?

DC has some great music venues.
Find out who is playing before your trip:
www.930.com
www.blackcatdc.com
www.rockandrollhoteldc.com
www.velvetloungedc.com
www.birchmere.com (in VA)
www.iotaclubandcafe.com

The 930 Club will have most of the popular touring bands. The Black Cat will get the slightly smaller ones. Rock and Roll Hotel and Velvet Lounge are definately geared toward a younger crowd. The Birchmere is a sit-down dinner and concert hall--they get big names, though. And Iota is a bar that has shows...but it's clean and more upscale.

Wow casandra that's really useful about congress. So is everything else here, and I'd like to bookmark it but I don't know how you do that. Can someone explain?

You already have bookmarked it in the only way I know: By posting anything at all (even just the word bookmarking) you have put this thread on the list that will come up when you click on your own name, either within a thread or at the very top of the screen where it says, "Welcome: JJ495."

You shouldn't drive in DC.

However, if you are driving to DC watch for traffic light locations. Not all lights are hanging in the middle of the intersection. A good number are on a pole at the corner. Easy to miss if you're not used to street lights on a pole at the intersection.

and do not drive in d.c. if you don't know how to drive relatively fast (not at a crawl) and safely around traffic circles. There are lots of those, and lots of barricades and closed streets due to safety for numerous public bldgs like white house, supreme ct., capitol, etc.

Take advantage of the great ethnic food offerings in d.c. and the surrounding areas. There is great Ethiopian food (Mezkerem), Vietnamese (lots in the VA suburbs, and Vietnam Goergetown is very good), Latin (lots in Adams Morgan area), Thai (Sala Thai on P St., Haad Thai close to Chinatown), Cuban (try Banana Cafe near Eastern Market- very fun colorful place), Moroccan (Marakesh), Indian (Bombay Palace). Try something new, this area is a real melting pot.

Taste of D.C. is a big food festival downtown each year.

No one can really figure out when the cherry blossoms will bloom, sad to say, so don't expect to get full bloom blossoms because your tour bus operator says they have it figured out when the blossoms are opening. And very rarely does the cherry blossom festival coincide with the blossoms being open or at full bloom. But it is spectacular when it happens- sometimes you get lucky. Otherwise, just have a good time anyway and try again next yr.

Mt. Vernon is worth an entire day. There is a new museum there, a great interactive farm-type outdoor area, etc. besides the house, tomb, detached kitchen, and other bldgs.

The National Park Service publishes a very entertaining 'Cherry Blossom Watch", complete with a chart (at the bottom of the page) showing the dates for various stages of blossom for the past 16 years. Peak bloom can be as early as March 15 (1990) and as late as April 18 (1958).

http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisi...ssom-bloom.htm

A friend is going in April and I'd like to pass on some information. I know I heard/read about some political-spoof shows, anyone know the name or locale?

The Capitol Steps

http://www.capsteps.com/live/

thank you!

Great advice! My tip is that if you like to shop and have a car, head south on 95 to the Potomac Mills Outlet Center!

Any advice for finding a cheap hotel near a metro station? I can find hotels through travel websites, but I can never tell if they're within walking distance of the metro.