Going to DC
 

I am taking my 9 yr. old grandson to DC April 5th-12th. Cashed in all my airmiles. Will land at Reagan. Staying at the Capital Hilton for about $300 per night. I can't walk great distances, so plan on using cabs. Have made contact with my Rep. to tour the White House. I am raising him and he is so interested in politics-need to go before I get much older. I have never been there so it will be a treat for me too. The hotel is a big bite out of my budget. What do you think of my plans so far? Will be coming from Washington State--thanks for any ideas.

Welcome to Fodor's!

Sounds like you've got a good start by contacting your representative. What else do you plan to do for that week? If your grandson is interested in politics, a tour of the Capitol would be at the top of my list. You should also check out the Smithsonian museums. For a nine-year-old boy, the Air & Space and Natural History would be the first I'd go to, but there are many - all free. (The museums are large - depending on how you are with walking and standing for 2-3 hours, you might contact the museum staff about a wheelchair or something else. You might be fine - just a suggestion.)

The memorials on the National Mall are a must for me, but the Mall is very long - walking from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial can take quite awhile. I know there are tours of the memorials available, so you might look into those.

The Holocaust museum is really well done. Try to reserve a time slot ahead of time; I barely got in on my trip and had to take the last slot of the day, which meant I didn't get to spend as much time in the main exhibit as I would have liked.

I haven't been, but the Spy Museum sounds like it could be great for a nine-year-old!

<<<The Holocaust museum is really well done. Try to reserve a time slot ahead of time; I barely got in on my trip and had to take the last slot of the day, which meant I didn't get to spend as much time in the main exhibit as I would have liked.>>>

There is a special part of the Holocaust Museum for children who are too young for the main exhibits.

You might want to consider the hop-on, hop-off buses.

I would really recommend the Portrait Gallery. Was one of my favorite stops in DC. Lots of different subjects.

Air & Space was a given for me (work on jet engines), but that will definitely suit a 9 year old.

Given that you have a week, Id try the zoo. 1 concern I have in recommending is that it is on a hill and a lot of walking.

I second the suggestion of a bus tour. We did the night tour to see all the monuments and it was well worth it. A friend of mine had a broken leg for that trip so mobility was an issue.

Read very carefully about the Holocaust Museum and determine which area is best suited for your grandson. When I was there, there were kids his age running around laughing through the museum. Not what you want to hear.

Most importantly, enjoy it and don't overpack your days. Take your time and let them sink in.

1 item of note is that may be a very busy time as its school vacation (the same reason as your grandson) so it will take time to get into a lot of the exhibits.

When is the Cherry Blossom Festival? That would add a lot more people into DC.

Here is a link to my trip report to see if it could add any more. Would definitely recommend a Nationals game if baseball is of interest.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-sox-games.cfm

Why did you pick that particular hotel?

Are you planning to have breakfast at the hotel?, please be aware that during the week ends almost all coffee shops and the like where you might have breakfast are closed in that area.
A lovely place near by is the Hay Adam Hotel, this is a traditional beautiful hotel near yours.
I am guessing that breakfast in either hotel yours or the Hay Adams are going to be not cheap so may be one day you can do it in this very nice hotel.
Another nice place for breakfast and much less expensive would be Teasim, the entrance is on H street between 17 th and Connecticul, near Lafayette Park. Closed on week ends.
I bet there will lines all over, however if you cannot endure them I think you should ask for a wheel chair. It will help.
Air and Space is a must, and the IMAX movie on the Hubble is amazing.
Take your time, relax and have a great time, I am sure your grandson is going to cherish this visit all his life.

1. Your visit coincides with the end of the Cherry Blossom festival as well as Spring Break for many schools. There are also lots of school groups here in April. Expect crowds.

2. Hopefully you will get tickets for the White House tour, but be aware that they are very limited. If your Representative or Senator offers guided tours of the Capitol, request one of those. (They are usually set up for just a few people at a time, so are better than the general public tours.) If they don't offer guided tours, they can get passes for you to do the general public tour (or you can do this yourself at:http://www.aoc.gov/cc/visit/) Your Senator or Representative can also arrange for passes to the House and Senate Galleries which your grandson should enjoy if he's interested in politics.

3. Another good place to visit (especially for someone interested in government/politics) would be the National Archives. Because of long lines to get in during the busy season, I recommend you arrange for a guided tour or a timed entry. (I did this a couple years ago and we bypassed a very long line to get in.) See: http://www.archives.gov/nae/visit/reserved-visits.html

4. Best museums for a 9-year-old will be the Smithsonian's Air and Space, Natural History and, perhaps, American History. The Smithsonian has a good site for visiting with kids that you might like to look at before you come: http://www.si.edu/Kids

5. While the International Spy Museum is popular, it requires a lot of reading to fully appreciate the exhibits. I generally recommend that it's best for kids over the age of 10. I visited in April and it was really crowded, so much so that it somewhat negatively impacted our visit. If you are sure you want to go, you might want to order tickets online. The line to buy tickets, which are all for timed-entry, can get quite long.

6. Touring the monuments and memorials via a hop on/hop off bus is a good idea. There are a couple companies that also offer these tours in the evenings, called "Monuments by Moonlight" tours and you and your grandson may enjoy doing this. If you do the tour during the day, I recommend that you stay on the bus for an entire loop before deciding to hop on and off. The waits for buses can be long and the buses can be crowded so you might have a hard time finding seating. (You won't have this problem if you do the evening tour as you tour as a group with only one bus.) A couple of companies that do these tours are Tourmobile and Old Town Trolleys.

7. Perhaps your grandson would enjoy a visit to Mt. Vernon. (They've got an Adventure Map for kids). Without a car, I would recommend taking a taxi or even doing one of the tours that go to Mt.Vernon by boat. Again, April is a busy time for touring Mt. Vernon and you have to stand in line to enter the mansion. If you want to go, I'd recommend getting there early (they open at 8am). Then, maybe, you can arrange to return to D.C. on one of the boats. See the Mount Vernon website (www.mountvernon.org) for more info on transportation options and seasonal activities.

8. Unfortunately, the Nationals will be on the road during your entire visit.

Re the White House, be aware also that you are not allowed to bring in anything -- not even a purse.

Thank you for these tips. Does anyone know anything about the hotel? I just picked it from a list and thought the location was good?? The hop on buses sounds like a good idea. Was also thinking of taking a tour out to Mt. Vernon

Here's a link to my trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...week-in-dc.cfm

Take a look at a Metro map; the DC Metro is amazingly safe, clean and easy to use. Your hotel is a very short distance from several Metro stops. http://www.wmata.com/rail/maps/map.cfm

Hmmm, I'm not aware of anything wrong with the hotel, but there is nothing particularly interesting about it either. It caters mostly to business clientele. While it is "central" in terms of physical location in the city, it is in a mostly commercial office district, so not particularly central to restaurants and things to do in the evening. While $300 a night is not out of line for DC hotels (esp in Cherry Blossom season), it is personally more than I'd want to pay for a tourist visit. If cost is at all a concern. I just did a very quick search on hotels.com, and for example the Quincy, which is within several blocks of the Hilton, comes up at $218 a night. (This will not be as fancy as the Hilton perhaps, but I think perfectly serviceable. Do a search in this forum to see reports from others who have stayed there.) And many others with equal or better locations in the range of $200-300. And if cost is not a concern, I still think you can do better in terms of somewhere more interesting, e.g., the Madison, which is showing a rate of $313. Or the Hotel Palomar, whose website is showing an 'extended stay' rate of $323, and is located in the much livelier Dupont Circle neighborhood. If you are more specific about the type of amenities and location you want, posters here might have some addition suggestions. Good luck, I'm sure you will have fun no matter what!

Your hotel is OK, you'll be fine there. I do agree w/ everything Moongirl stated above, though.

You are coming to DC at it's <b>most</b> popular time, so I doubt you'll find anything cheap (and if you do, it will not be well located or particularly nice). Actually, the Hilton rate for those dates is pretty good. I often recommend the Hotel Monaco DC which is usually around $250 but is a whopping $539/night for your dates.

Thank you all!! I just changed my reservation to The Quincy--saving $900, and by the looks of it, there are many more restaurants etc. in the area as moongirl said. Wonderful! Getting very excited about this trip. We will use the Metro a lot too-anything else? Such good info from you all---

Will be going to Mt. Vernon. longhorn55 suggested going early. It might be worth it to take a cab out there and a boat back--will that cost a lot? Oh wait, I just saved $900!!!

If you are going to use the Metro a lot, you can pay Senior fares...>? They are half the regular fare
you can get a Senior Farecard for $20 that should be enough for your whole stay. Get it at
Metro Center Station, week days. Have tu show picture ID like a Drivers License.
It is not only the savings but the convenience.

I'd suggest googling "Kennedy Center Millennium Stage" ... every day at 6:00 there is a free performance on a stage in the atrium, no tickets required. It's extremely varied -- could be anything from an opera singer to the Navy Band to the Felice Brothers. As of today, the schedule is announced through Sunday March 20th. So in a few weeks you could see if there is anything to you or your grandson's taste or not. Worth a try, maybe?

In any event, April in DC is a beautiful time of year to visit. The spring flowers should be well underway, and the dogwoods and redbuds will be starting to show their blossoms.

For what is worth it, I made a mistake the Senior Farecard is woth $10 and it should be enough
for whole stay.

Don't overlook the Newseum. It costs money (we in DC are spoiled to free museums) but is well worth it. Your grandson will love it--as will you. Do go to Mt. Vernon--I went last month for the first time in years. There's a wonderful visitors education center. Watch a movie about Valley Forge and get snowed upon! Do a tourmobile or dc ducks (they go into the water) to avoid a lot of walking for yourself. These often include transportation to Mt. Vernon.

DC is wonderful. I'm sure that you and your grandson will have a great and memorable time. Just try not to overdo. You won't see everything. You can't see every exhibit in every museum. Pace yourself, see what you are interested in, and take long lunches and breaks. Remember, April can be cold here. Make sure to bring jackets. And welcome!

We too will be in DC around the same time & I posted similar questions as yours. Fodorites are amazing so you should get lots of interesting feedback if you read the fantastic suggestions they gave me on my forum post: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ore-please.cfm

Have fun, I know we will.

If you're interested in Lincoln, Ford's Theater is very interesting. You can tour the theater, get a ranger presentation about John Wilkes Booth, the political situation at the time, the assassination and its aftermath, and you can go through the fascinating museum in the basement.

It sounds like a great trip for both you and your grandson!

The tourmobile has great on/off service for the monuments. You can buy their package that includes Arlington, which is a must-see in my opinion. You can also take the metro there if you want and just purchase the cemetary portion of the tourmobile tour. It drops you off right at the Kennedy graves and the tomb of the unknown soldier.

The Capitol is a must obviously, if you your grandson is into politics. There new visitor center makes it much easier to visit than it used to be. You can schedule a tour online or with your Congressman. I recommend your Congressman, but make sure to request passes to the galleries, because they are not inlcuded with the standard tours. Sitting in the galleries during a session is pretty fascinating for those who like politics. Also, keep in mind that there is a tunnel to the Library of Congress from the Capitol visitor center. You can easily walk there without going outside or going through security. (You do have to go through additional security if going from the Library to the Capitol, since the Capitol is stricter than the Library). The Library of Congress is another must see in my opinion, especially with their new exhibit of Thomas Jefferson's library. There are a ton of fascinating historical documents on display there.

Since you want to limit walking, be sure to take advantage of cafeterias in the various museums and buildings. It may not be the best food or cheap, but it will allow you to save your energy for the sights. My motto in DC is always "I can eat when everything closes." (Although my co-travelers don't always appreciate my travel philosophy.) The Capitol has a great cafeteria. The Supreme Court has a smaller one, but it is easily accessible. Union Station has a huge food court with a ton of fast food type options. Most of the Smithsonians have food options as well, although they are pricey.

Mt. Vernon is pretty awesome. I went in November and didn't want to leave. I think it is PERFECT for a nine year old. That may be the ideal age to visit.

Have a GREAT time!

Also check out the DC Circulator bus system that links all the tourist sights, sometimes more easily than Metro.

http://www.dccirculator.com/

Be sure to check out the special Smithsonian performances. They do a lot of kids' programming.