D.C. With teens over New Years
 

Hi all
We will be in D.C. from 12/30-1/1 with our two teenage girls. This is our first trip to D.C. and I'm looking for itinerary advice. Will arrive 12/30 around lunch time and will stay until 1/1, late afternoon. Staying at the Fairmont in West End near Georgetown.
A few things we've already discussed doing:
Capitol building
Memorials ( not sure which ones)
Holocaust museum
Union Station
Ford's Theater
Georgetown
Good food!
Hop on/off bus?
Hope to see some of the sights in the evening while Christmas trees are lit.

So...any recommendations on how to schedule the days? We like to be busy but not rushed; our kids need breaks, usually with a good cupcake or other pastry! Not having been there before, I don't know how much time each sight requires or how long it takes to get from one to the other.
Any suggested itineraries are welcome! Thank you in advance.

I'd make it a point to see the Vermeer exhibit at the NGA.

Most things will be closed on NYDay and they'll close early on the 31st. I would plan the outdoor things to do on NY Day, like the memorials. Certainly you can see the Capitol as you stroll around the basin area.

Frankly, I don't think you're going to have enough time to do much of anything. Hopefully other posters will have a better idea how to plan your trip.

IMO, which memorials to visit is a very personal thing. My favorites are (alphabetically), the Jefferson, Lincoln, and Viet Nam War Memorial -- but that's just me. You might want to explore your options for an evening tour, as I hear great things about them and you get to see them lit at night.

Union Station has some interesting features; I wouldn't necessarily make a point of visiting it. YMMV. Ditto IMO for Georgetown, although I know many people think it a "necessary" part of any first visit to DC.

Good food is readily available in DC, but not necessarily at every price point. I think we would need to know more about your food preferences and price ranges to offer specific recommendations. Perhaps you have read one or more of the many food in DC threads on this forum? If you haven't already done so, you might look at the titles of DC threads....

For the time to get between sites, see google maps, which can provide information about foot, car (taxi), or public transportation options.

For information about how long a place takes to visit, we would really need to know more about you and your family. For example, I can easily spend an entire day at the National Gallery; others have had their fill after a couple of hours.

If you haven't already done so, I would strongly encourage you to get or consult a good guidebook or two -- the cost will be nominal in comparison to the cost of your trip, and you will learn things you never even knew to ask!

Hope that helps.

We saw the Vermeer exhibit a few weeks. It is highly instructive and well-done. Go early. It was crowded on what was otherwise a not very busy day. If the kids are interested in art there is a wonderful collection of sketches from 17th century Dutch masters as well.

The Holocaust museum is more an educational display than one of artifacts. It is important for kids to know what humans are capable of doing to other humans.

We truly enjoyed Jaleo. We have spent considerably time in Spain and these were some of the best tapas we have had.

Jaleos is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere.

When you say "Georgetown" do you mean touring the university, meandering up the commercial street (M & Wisconsin), or strolling through the residential areas looking at the architecture? Those 3 things are a day by itself, in daylight, which this time of year you don't have a lot of.

The plan of looking at the memorials on NYD is fine, but of course, it could be pouring rain, in which case walking around would not be so fine.

The Holocaust museum is at least a couple of hours. It seems to be actually OPEN on NYD (I'd call to check anyway) but it's only open until 5 ish.

In addition to the NGA, there is the National Portrait Gallery, the Corcoran (though I don't know its current status), and the Smithsonian (several buildings.)

With respect to holiday lights, check out this site: https://washington.org/visit-dc/cant...-washington-dc

I'd still cancel this trip or add 2 days and take one and visit Mt. Vernon, which is much more than a house museum.

Thank you for the suggestions. There's nothing to do about the amount of time that we have there...it is what it is. But we live in NY and certainly DC isn't going anywhere, so we'll plan on returning. I find it hard to believe that 2 days isn't enough time to "do much of anything."

We have several guide books but was hoping for some personal suggestions on here as well.

Given our experience visiting museums in other parts of the world and in NYC, 2-3 hours is about our max, not a full day.

In Georgetown I think the kids just want to eat and browse shops. We have friends there so I expect we'll be back another time if we don't see much this trip.

An evening tour of the memorials sounds great; I will look into that.

I'm still looking for at least a suggested itinerary for one-day itinerary.

Thank you.

Next door to the Holocaust Museum is the US Forest Service Information Center (1400 Independence Ave SW).
You can see Smokey Bear sitting at his desk.
The brick building looks a little strange among all of the marble.

Correction to a point made above -- the Smithossnian Museuems are open everyday by Christmas, so you can certainly plan to visit on that day. Which ones you go to really depends upon your interests. Have a look at them and decide which ones might be of interest.
https://www.si.edu/museums


Segway tours are very popular so you might want to do one of those if the weather is nice. Hop on Hop off Bus is a good way to get an overview and visit the sites that interest you.

Union Station is anice building but really not worth a special trip to see it. I think some of the tours start from there, so you could pop in if you decide to do that.

Georgetown has lots of chain stores these days, but it might be fun for 2 teenage girls to walk thru it. The "famous" Georgetwon Cupcakes is there.

I suggest you use google maps and map out the places you want to see. Then you can decide the order and timing.

Jaleo is good as are all of Jose Andres restaurants downtown, Oyamel, Zaytina, China Chilcano.

I think deciding on a one day itinerary really depends upon your interests. What I like such as the FDR Memorial and MLK Memorial may have no interest to you.

^^ and I'd spend the whole day at the Botanical Gardens, the NPG, NGA, Smithsonian, and Library of Congress

Thank you for the Segway your idea! We did one in Spain and it was a highlight for the family so we’ll definitely look into that.

I’m local but did a Capital Segway tour a few years ago and it was great! Such a fun way to get an overview of the monuments and it ended near Zaytinya- yum yum!

Every year I take 50 students to DC. We have a jam-packed 7-8 hours...you will be able to see plenty in your 2-3 days.
Here is our schedule: 9- 10:30 viewing the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War memorial, Vietnam Veterans Wall Memorial, MLK Memorial, FDR Memorial and WWII Memorial and Washington Monument. Between 11 and 5:30 we spend an hour at the Library of Congress, 90 minutes each at Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum and American History Museum. See an Imax movie at Air and Space museum. We depart at 5:30 when the museums close but you would have dinner or perhaps take a bus tour viewing the Monuments at night...magical!
My suggestion would be the next day go to Fords Theater, Holocaust museum, National Archives and any of the other museums along the National Mall. Have fun!!!

The WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans' Wall, the memorials for MLK, Lincoln and Jefferson are my favorite. My favorite of the Smithsonian Museums are the National Museum of American History and the National Archives.

Look at a map of the National Mall to see where each of the memorials, monuments and museums are that interest you the most. Also keep in mind that the distance between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial is over two miles....a lot farther than it looks! Check the weather forecast; if it's not pouring rain or a blizzard, visit the museums during the day when they are open (check their hours) and the monuments and memorials after the museums are closed.

@ deladeb: What an awesome gift you give these students! I can't imagine any of the adults along for the trip being anything other than exhausted at the end of such a day, but the students will have memories to last a lifetime. Kudos!

Dress warmly -- as of today weather forecasts are for very cold temps in the day with New Year's Day being the coldest at ~25.
Have a great time in DC.

I have been going since I was about 6, so many school trips, brownies, girl scouts, field trips, class trips etc. My favorite place to go was always the Smithsonian National Museum of American history. I love the monuments at night. Taxis are not expensive if you stray far from your hotel at night. The last trip to the Capital our tour group got picked to go in and watch a vote. Extra security but was very nice to get the chance to do this. They are in recess so you won't get this opportunity. If you go again you can arrange it with your Representative. I have climbed to the top of the Washington Monument, your girls might like that.

Itinerary: You've got a long list of possibilities to see but have offered no real gauge of which ones are most interesting to you. My best advice is to do what you probably already do and cluster them geographically so you don't waste time crisscrossing the city. Generally the more visited parts of DC are very walkable but as already noted, it will be cold. DC will be relatively quiet b/c of the holiday so taxi's will be easy to get. DC is a very Uber friendly city. Metro is easy to use.

I'd skip the tour bus.

If the Holocaust Museum is one of the places you visit (I don't think you will need timed tickets this time of year), I'd recommend scheduling something relatively mindless afterwards. It is, as you are probably anticipating, an emotional experience and there is a lot to process.

Restaurants: Your hotel is a great choice and you have a lot of excellent restaurant choices in your immediate vicinity. Here's a few but there are more. Penn Quarter (near Archives, National Gallery) also has a high concentration of great restaurants. You won't miss with any of the aforementioned Jose Andres places (altho I am not a fan of China Chilcano)

Rasika West End
Blue Duck Tavern
RIS
West End Bistro
Pesce
Bindaas
Cafe Deluxe
Founding Farmers

Visiting the monuments: Your hotel is at the west end of the National Mall. Lincoln, Vietnam, Korea are clustered at that end. You can walk from your hotel (maybe 25 min downhill on 23rd St) or take a cab or Uber. The WWII Memorial will be visible at the end of the reflecting pool is about a half a mile walk one way.

Cupcakes: My favorite is Baked and Wired on Thomas Jefferson Street in Georgetown. (about a 15 min walk from your hotel) Fantastic coffee offerings as well as great pastries and cupcakes that are, IMO, a nudge better than GT Cupcakes.


<i>I have climbed to the top of the Washington Monument, your girls might like that.</i>

The WM has been closed since 2016 and will remain so for at least another year to repair the elevator damaged by the

It's been at least 25 years since you could either walk up or down the stairs except by special tour arrangement.

<i>In addition to the NGA, there is the National Portrait Gallery, the Corcoran (though I don't know its current status), and the Smithsonian (several buildings.)</i>

The Corcoran has been closed for a couple of years. The best parts of its collection are now integrated into the NGA.

Good suggestions by obxgirl. I agree with her on China Chicano.

I'm not fond of China Chicano, either.

China Chilcano.

Thank you all for your suggestions! We will plan on seeing the memorials and monuments at night, which sounds like a lovely time.

@obxgirl, I was thinking we would want a break after the Holocaust Museum as well, so thanks for reminding me to keep a light schedule afterwards.

@deladeb, thank you for your detailed info. I'll try to follow some of your itinerary.

I will report back with what we were able to see, keeping in mind that the weather will be incredibly cold!

Other ideas in DC that might be especially of interest to teens are the Spy Museum and the Newseum. Both charge admission (unlike all the free Smithsonians) but they are very interactive and may draw teens in more than art museums. (Depending on the teens' interest, of course!)

I hope you had a good visit despite the freezing temperature, let us know what you ended up choosing to do.

Wanted to come back and give a brief synopsis of our trip. Weather was very cold so it really determined what we could do, but despite that we had a wonderful time and plan to return in the spring.

We took cabs or uber unless destinations were super close together; that's how cold it was! Taxis or uber never more than $9 and usually around $6.

The highlight for both my husband and me was the Holocaust Museum. I thought it was very well done and could have spent more time there. The kids were getting antsy though so I think we were there for about 2 1/2 hours. Very memorable and thought-provoking.

Arrived Saturday afternoon, lunch at Bread & Cocoa (ok) then toured the Capitol Building, checked out steps of Supreme Court (lawyer in group), White House (outside only), National Tree, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, returned to hotel. Dinner at Founding Farmers (excellent).

Sunday: Had breakfast in Georgetown at Le Pain Quotidienne, then Holocaust Museum, National Museum of American History, walked around Georgetown and stopped at Baked and Wired for cupcakes and coffee. Returned to hotel and had New Years Eve dinner at La Perla (good).

Monday morning we decided to drive around in our own car on our way out of town so we drove to Georgetown Univ (college-age teen was interested), Lincoln Memorial, frozen reflecting pool, Korean War Memorial.

Yes it was a quick visit but still worth it to us. We're all looking forward to going back when we can spend more time walking or biking outside.

Thanks for getting back -- you saw alot. Too bad the weather was so frigid. DC is at its best in the spring and fall when generally temps are moderate. Not familiar with La Perla so nice ot have a review of it.

Nice to hear the update on your visit. Despite the v. cold weather sounds like you made fair headway into your list of interests.

La Perla is in our neighborhood -- pricier than we seek out for your average weekday dinner but I've taken colleagues there for lunch from time to time. White table cloths, traditional Italian menu.

Sounds like you made good use of what little time you had! DC is one of those cities I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing.

Sounds like a great trip -- thanks for letting us know!

Glad to see you had a good weekend! In the Spring have a ranger led talk in Fords Theater and check out the Library of Congress.