My husband will be on assignment in Washington DC for 3 months starting mid-November. His apartment will be in Alexandria, VA. I plan to temporarily move there with him in mid-December through February (when we return home in St. Louis).

We travel all the time, but have never spent any time in DC (yet we're history buffs and have always wanted to).

So, for you DC fans out there, if you were given a 2 month stay in DC, how would you spend it? I'm just not sure where to start!

Obviously I'll make sure to tour the monuments and be a regular at the Smithsonian, but I know there's got to be so much more. Please advise!

(I don't work and he'll be doing the typical workday/workweek). We're young 30s.

Since there are many Smithsonian museums, there's a very good chance there may be some educational programs/activities going on while you're there that you might enjoy: http://www.si.edu/events/ . Or check out events by date: http://www.si.edu/events/20061115.asp . There's even cooking and wine tasting classes. Have fun!

You are coming in winter of course, so not the greatest timne for weather but less tourist crowds will be a plus.

Is the apt. in Old Town Alexandria, or in the burbs of Alexandria?

You have time not just to sightsee in D.C., but to get into life a bit in historical Alexandria. I think you can get a guidebook and find all you need to know about D.C. But in Alexandria, see Mt. Vernon, G.W.'s home, as it will be close by, and a great new museum and theater complex has opened there. Old Town Alexandria is good for restaurants, very interesting historical walking tours, and some interesting shopping (check out the Torpedo Arts Center on the river).

I assume you'll have a car for that amt. of time. Tysons Corner Center and the next door Tysons II around the Beltway are great places to shop, see a movie in the brand new section, and dine.

For weekend excursions, esp. since you like history, go to Colonial Williamsburg and visit Jamestown and Yorktown also. And perhaps get tickets and do an overnight to Philadelphia to see the King Tut exhibit, coming right after New Yrs, or the famous Flower Show in Feb. There is wonderful hiking in the Northern VA Regional Parks, go online if you are interested in that.

You are fortunate to have this amt. of time, but I'd get burned out on going into D.C. every day for 3 months. There is also a lot to experience right where you'll be in Alexandria. Get an Alexandria/Northern VA guidebook too.

Fantastic info - thank you so much! Keep it coming - I've got a lot of time to burn!
Not sure where in Alexandria the apartment is - will find out later today most likely. Yes, we'll have a car and we really don't mind the winter weather. It's worth the cold to skip the crowds!

I live in Springfield, close to Alexandria, and I lived in Alexandria for 15 yrs., so if you post back the location of the apt. I can give you some living info on your immediate and extended area.

We were in Washington last Sept. and also visited= Mt Vernon(close to Alexandria) and Annapolis(Maryland).We also were in Harper's Ferry(lots of history here).Excursions could also include Williamsburg VA(a must)-Jamestown-Yorktown- Take a weekend and travel by Skyline drive to Charlottesville and visit Monticello-Ashlawn and the Micie tavern.
Also Gettysburg Pa is not far from Washington.So start planning.Greetings from Belgium.Paul

DC is awesome its the one place I travel to for a vaction every year and am always excited. Spend time at the usual tourist places, of course, especially arlington national cemetary, its a very moving place for evening walks with great views of the city. I would also recommen spending a lot of time in Georgetown and Annapolis, MD. Georgetown has it all, bars, nightlife, shops, great eats-- same for annapolis a hour or so away. Those are my favorite aspects of the area.

Richmond, VA, well worth a weekend, especially for a history buff. Stay at Jefferson Hotel or Linden Row Inn. Seems a lot further from DC than 2 hour.

We spent a year in DC in the mid 90s and loved it. I grew up in Alexandria so that helped as I knew my way around. There is so much to see and do, as above posters mentioned, but a lot will depend on your likes/dislikes.

In addition to all the museums, there is wonderful theatre, dance and concerts in the area.

Will you have a car? If so, suggest you consider weekend trips such as Charlottesville, NYC, Getysburg, St Michaels, MD, Williamsburg/Va Beach, Philadelphia, MIddleburg, VA. If you don't have a car, it's worth it to check into car rentals for weekends as well as Amtrak (from Union Station in DC, you can be in NYC in 3-1/2 hours).
Hope you have a great 3 months!

I finally found out where the corporate apartment will be and it's NOT in Alexandria, it's in Arlington between the Crystal City Shops and the Pentagon Fashion Center at a place called the Lofts 590.

From my cursory search on the internet it seems like a pretty nice area. I'm hoping it's a safe place because this will be my first "city living" experience (we've always been in the suburbs or country). We will have a car but we don't plan on using it for day-to-day activities - more for weekend trips.

Aside from the change of address, all the info everyone is sharing is so very helpful - I sincerly appreciate every response!

I have a very close friend who just moved from CA to live in that area of Crystal City. It is a great area and very very close to D.C. You are literally right next to Pentagon City shopping mall (Nordstroms, Macys are the anchor stores, and there are theaters, a Ritz Carlton hotel connected to the mall, and nice upscale stores). Next door to the mall is the Pentagon Row area. Very cool square block of stores w/a central courtyard of unique and some more staple stores to walk to from your place. Lots of restaurants. A few blocks away are the underground shops and restaurants and the above ground restaurants by Crystal City. I just ate at Mortons there last weekend w/my friend, there is Jaleo's there for great tapas, many restaurants on one street.

You will love that area for a 3 month stay. You are across the hwy from the Pentagon, and you can see the new Air Force memorial spires soaring into the sky from your place.

There was one shooting outside a store at Pentagon Row over a year ago, but that was a very unusual event. It is the first time I've heard of any violence at all in that area. So be aware of your surroundings, but this area is very upscale now w/the new Pentagon Row shops, dining, and lofts.

Oh, and there is a Costco in a smaller shopping mall on other side of Pentagon City mall. And you are literally 5 min. from Natl. airport. and 2 min. from the Potomac River, and across the 14 street bridge or one metro stop from D.C. If you cross the 14th St. bridge, you are right there at Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and at the end of the National Mall that has the Washington Monument anchored on it.

EMD is correct and you are also a couple minutes walk from the Metro and much closer to it than you would have been in Old Town Alexandria.

My friend who moved to Crystal City does his food shopping at a Harris Teeter by your loft. DO you know Harris Teeter? Great grocery store w/very good bakery, deli and prepared food section, good wine section.

Make your first out-of-D.C. day trip to Mount Vernon. You will hop on the GW parkway have a straight shot down that road, hugging the Potomac river all the way down to Mt. Vernon, and be there in 25 min. Then explore Old Town Alexandria on the way back, you'll drive right through it.

We lived near the Lofts 590 (they were under construction) when my husband had a temporary job in DC. We had an apartment in Pentagon Row (check out the ice rink on the plaza) which is attached to the Pentagon Fashion Center which is a super gigantic mega mall.

DC in the winter is great, in my opinion. The museums are not crowded ; I prefer cold weather to the beastly summers. I love walking, I will never forget walking thru crunchy snow by the Smithsonian Castle while giant snowflakes fell. There is a cozy parlor at the entry lobby of the NAt'l Gallery that is a great spot to rest and warm up, awonderful cafeteria in the basement. Every night at 6PM there is a free performance at the Kennedy Center, we went often. It sounds like you will be there in December, dont miss the Messiah at the Nat'l Cathedral. Lots of holiday decorations will be up around town, very festive. I loved walking thru Arlington Cemetery in the winter and if it was not too cold I would continue across the Memorial Bridge to the Mall. I went into the glorious Library of Congress many times in the winter and often would be the only person there. You will have easy Metro access from your apartment, very simple to learn the system.

And yes, I would definitely hop a train for a weekend in Philly and another in NYC. The Baltimore Museum of Art is astonishing. We drove to Williamsburg, Assateague Island, Annapolis, Shenandoah, Amish country.

I bought and highly recommend the slim gudiebook by DK: Top Ten Washington DC and went practically everywhere listed. Also recommed a Streetwise map of DC.

You will have a wonderful time, I wish I was going back for a long winter stay!

Excellent info! (as usual). Thanks emd, vivi and the rest of the gang for your input. I am so excited to go!

I hadn't heard of that grocery store but it sounds like my kind of place. I love cooking, but the prepared foods section will come in extremely handy considering that my time will be better spent outside the kitchen for that period of time (except baking, I can never forgo that).

Also - we are Costco people, so that is an outstanding tip. I am just so happy to have all this great info.

The advice re the guides for DC is very timely. I was wondering about that today as a matter of fact. I looked online at the choices and none stood out to me.

My husband will be working somewhere around 18th & K in DC. If I was at the museums on the mall, would it be feasible for me to meet up with him for lunch? Is anyone familiar with the casual lunch spots around there?

I think that 18th and K is around International Square. There is an abundance of places on K St. there. Just meet him at his place of business, walk out the door on K, and you'll have lots of options. Or he could walk up to Connecticut Ave and K st. and meet you as you come up at that metro stop, as there are lots of places there also.

The mall in D.C. is a b-i-g place, it spans blocks and blocks and those blocks can be 1/4 mile long. So it depends where on the mall you are, what museum you are at re how easy and fast it will be to join him. Some of the museums are closer to the metro (like the Natl. Portrait Gallery and new Museum of American Art, which are a bit off the mall and closer to metro). If you are in those, or in the ones at the Smithsonian stop, then you can get on the metro and meet him. Get your hands on a good map of D.C. with metro and museums on it. VanDam's Streetswise map (available online or at Barnes and Noble's) is very good- laminated and folds thin the size of an envelope for your purse, but the streets names are big enough to be legible.

Van Dam Streetwise maps- go here and when the maps appear at botom of page, click on D.C. map:

http://tinyurl.com/sxv6u

Or you could just cab it to meet him. But be aware that D.C. cabs run on a "zone" system, so your fare depends on how many zone lines you cross. I've never been able to figure out the lines, which matter because if you get out on one side of the street you can be in one zoen, but if you get out on the other side, it can cause you to cross into another zone and raise your rate.

I forgot about the Costco until emd mentioned it. It will be practically across the street from you along with a Borders and Linen and Things. Pentagon Row is crammed with ethnic-type restaurants, the Lebanese Tavern was our favorite. I very rarely cooked when we lived there. There is also a funky restaurant row (23rd street?) in Crystal City along with many large, expensive chain restaurants in that area. Plus the Crystal City Underground mall which I thought was kind of creepy with its warren of hallways with commuters dashing about . About a mile down Jeff Davis Hwy is another large mall with all the big box stores plus the movie theater. ( We liked the movie theater in downtown DC that played independent films.)

Be prepared for sticker shock at the grocery store, I shopped at Harris Teeter and thought the prices were higher to or at least equal to the prices our our last job assignment on pricey KAuai. There is a Trader Joe's in Alexandria.

Downtown DC has some good shopping including an H&M.

One of my favorite art galleries is the Renwick, very close to the White House. It is free. The Phillips Collection is usually fabulous, keep on eye on what is currently showing.

The first week I was there I took a DC By Night Tour, the bus will pick you up at the Crystal City Marriott. I enjoyed seeing the nighttime Christmas decorations and its a good way to get oriented. As an added bonus we were at the Lincoln Memorial late at night with a beautiful snow falling and ran smack into Martin Sheen who was just wrapping up an episode od the West Wing!

FDR Memorial in the dead of winter in the evening is neat to see when all the waterfalls have frozen.

I could go on and on! We have lived in many great places due to my husbands job but DC was my absolute favorite!