Found Hotel, Now Need Tips!
Sep 7th, 1999, 06:10 AM
#1
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Found Hotel, Now Need Tips!
Thanks for all your help on my previous post for a hotel recommendation. We ended up booking the Radisson Barcelo for $119 -- thought it was a pretty good deal.
Now, esp., people who live in DC -- tell me the top 10 things I HAVE to see/do, we only have 3 days.
Please give me some suggestions for things to do in the evening after dinner, how late to the attractions stay open?
How long of a cab ride is it from National to the hotel?
How about good places for breakfast in DuPont Circle area? How about lunch?
Last but not least, tips on being a "good" visitor, meaning how to not piss off the locals!! Being from Chicago, I hate it when people are milling around with a map in their hands blocking the way to the train as we are hustling to make our train to get home after a long day. Stuff like that....what time does "rush hour" start?
Thanks!!
Now, esp., people who live in DC -- tell me the top 10 things I HAVE to see/do, we only have 3 days.
Please give me some suggestions for things to do in the evening after dinner, how late to the attractions stay open?
How long of a cab ride is it from National to the hotel?
How about good places for breakfast in DuPont Circle area? How about lunch?
Last but not least, tips on being a "good" visitor, meaning how to not piss off the locals!! Being from Chicago, I hate it when people are milling around with a map in their hands blocking the way to the train as we are hustling to make our train to get home after a long day. Stuff like that....what time does "rush hour" start?
Thanks!!
Sep 7th, 1999, 06:16 AM
#2
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DC Tourist Tips: When going up escalators in Metro stations, the left side is for those who walk up, the right side is for those who ride. Please don't stay on left side if you aren't going to walk. People behind you get angry.
Rush hour starts around 3:30 pm.
Have fun!
Rush hour starts around 3:30 pm.
Have fun!
Sep 7th, 1999, 10:12 AM
#4
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For most people this is common sense, but you would be surprised. When you get on the metro and see that there are no seats, please walk to the center of the car - don't stop in your tracks in front of the door. And, please don't lean on the poles, especially while someone else is hanging on. Regarding the top ten things to see, it really is a matter of priorities. Do you like museums, monuments? The one thing you should do in the evening is visit the monuments. They are an absolutely beautiful and a must see at night. Smithsonian museums stay open until 5:30pm. Each museum has so much to offer that you really have to prioritize which is most important to you, if important at all. Regarding a cab, last time I took one from my office, which isn't far from Dupont, to National it was about $14.00.
Sep 7th, 1999, 01:19 PM
#5
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Cleo, you’ve chosen a nifty neighborhood for a hotel. The heart of Embassy Row is a block north of you along Massachusetts Avenue, the outer reaches of Georgetown are two blocks west, just across the P Street bridge over Rock Creek Park, and Dupont Circle is two blocks east. You’ll find ample eating spots all around you… this is an area that thrives on reasonably priced restaurants, especially along Connecticut Avenue.
The Metro station at Dupont Circle is your gateway to the rest of Washington. In three days, you can scratch the surface of Washington, but that’s about all (how many days would it take to see Chicago?). If you are culturally oriented, the great museums of the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art are strung out along the Mall like so many jewels. You get there by taking the Red Line south from Dupont to Metro Center and changing for the Blue or Orange Line toward Addison Rd. or New Carrolton, and getting off at the Smithsonian station. The south side of the Mall contains the Air and Space museum, and Hirshorn (modern) and Freer (Asian) galleries; the north side has the museum of American History and Natural History, the latter with the stunning new gem hall. Farther to the east are the Archives and the National Gallery’s east and west wings. You can tour the Capitol; the Library of Congress is just another block east and is one of my favorite destinations in the city. Incidentally, a very good museum, the Phillips Collection, is right outside your hotel’s entrance. The Phillips’ strengths are in impressionism and modernism.
The principal monuments are to the west and south once you’re on the Mall. The Vietnam Memorial is one the most powerful every built; the Lincoln and Jefferson are striking in their simplicity and grandeur.
For restaurants, the Dupont Circle area has many of Washington’s best. For a real treat that’s walking distance to your hotel, book at Vidalia (21st and M). Georgetown and Adams Morgan are a short cab ride away. Citronelle in Georgetown is a personal favorite, as is I Matti in Adam Morgan.
As to getting to your hotel from National Airport, unless you're lugging four suitcases, you can catch Metro's Blue or Yellow line just outside the main terminal, take that to Gallery Place and switch to the Red line for Dupont Circle.
Those are the obvious choices for three days; what else would you like to see?
The Metro station at Dupont Circle is your gateway to the rest of Washington. In three days, you can scratch the surface of Washington, but that’s about all (how many days would it take to see Chicago?). If you are culturally oriented, the great museums of the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art are strung out along the Mall like so many jewels. You get there by taking the Red Line south from Dupont to Metro Center and changing for the Blue or Orange Line toward Addison Rd. or New Carrolton, and getting off at the Smithsonian station. The south side of the Mall contains the Air and Space museum, and Hirshorn (modern) and Freer (Asian) galleries; the north side has the museum of American History and Natural History, the latter with the stunning new gem hall. Farther to the east are the Archives and the National Gallery’s east and west wings. You can tour the Capitol; the Library of Congress is just another block east and is one of my favorite destinations in the city. Incidentally, a very good museum, the Phillips Collection, is right outside your hotel’s entrance. The Phillips’ strengths are in impressionism and modernism.
The principal monuments are to the west and south once you’re on the Mall. The Vietnam Memorial is one the most powerful every built; the Lincoln and Jefferson are striking in their simplicity and grandeur.
For restaurants, the Dupont Circle area has many of Washington’s best. For a real treat that’s walking distance to your hotel, book at Vidalia (21st and M). Georgetown and Adams Morgan are a short cab ride away. Citronelle in Georgetown is a personal favorite, as is I Matti in Adam Morgan.
As to getting to your hotel from National Airport, unless you're lugging four suitcases, you can catch Metro's Blue or Yellow line just outside the main terminal, take that to Gallery Place and switch to the Red line for Dupont Circle.
Those are the obvious choices for three days; what else would you like to see?
Sep 8th, 1999, 07:52 AM
#7
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For dinner, I agree that Citronelle is wonderful, try drinks at Sequoia's harbor to enjoy a beautiful view of the Potomac beforehand. For brunch in Dupont try, Gabriel for an elaborate Sunday brunch (it's on P Street towards Georgetown from Dupont Circle) or Kramerbooks & Afterwards (on Connecticut just north of Dupont Circle) for good people watching. Lauriol Plaza on 18th St. NW and T St. NW is wonderful Spanish food and has just opened it's newly built restaurant (a first in Washington in a long time!)
As for memorials, the FDR memorial is a great one to see on the edges of the memorial lake.
have fun and good luck!
As for memorials, the FDR memorial is a great one to see on the edges of the memorial lake.
have fun and good luck!
Sep 8th, 1999, 12:40 PM
#8
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I admit I am not a D.C. local, but can't believe no one has recommended the Air and Space Museum. That is one of the most popular museums and has wonderful IMAX movies in it. If you go, get tickets early for the IMAX movie you want to see because they sell out.
Yes, do go see the Vietnam Memorial and I thought the Holocaust Museum was a very powerful one, although I don't know if it is on most people's "must see" list. I hear the FDR memorial is quite interesting.
Yes, do go see the Vietnam Memorial and I thought the Holocaust Museum was a very powerful one, although I don't know if it is on most people's "must see" list. I hear the FDR memorial is quite interesting.
Sep 8th, 1999, 01:32 PM
#9
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This may be a somewhat off-the-wall suggestion, but made for one of the most intriguing afternoons I've spent in my several trips to DC: a tour of the Marjorie Post estate, if it's reopened after a lengthy renovation. It's something I would've never thought of doing myself,not being particularly big on home-and-garden tours, but went with some friends who had heard about it and was captivated -- what an interesting woman she must've been!(If you go, be sure to look for the 'cemetery' in the gardens.) I assume there's info on this in some guidebook somewhere, but I don't have one handy. I would also highly recommend the Holocaust Museum -- one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. Another site that doesn't necessarily appear in many guidebooks is the National Cathedral -- talk about tranquility in a sea of chaos!
Sep 21st, 1999, 01:24 PM
#12
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HI, I WENT TO COLLEGE IN DC AND LOVED IT! DINNER AT THE OLD EBBITT GRILL WHICH IS RIGHT NEAR THE OLD EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING AND THE WHITE HOUSE IS A GOOD ONE...ALSO THE MONUMENTS BY NIGHT IS A MUST, ALTHOUGH NOW THAT I AM NOT A 20 YEAR OLD STUDENT I WOULD WORRY ABOUT THE SAFETY OF WANDERING AROUND THERE AT NIGHT, B/C IT IS SO DESOLATE. AT THAT TIME HOWEVER, IT DIDN'T OCCUR TO US. BUT GET A CAB TO DRIVE YOU AROUND THERE, IT IS SO MOVING. AS IS THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL, I THINK EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD SEE THAT. THE AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM AND AIR & SPACE ARE TWO NOT TO BE MISSED. HAVE FUN!
