Help please,advice on how to get most out of Dc in one day,and hotel we have cho
 

How can you get the most out of Washington DC in such a short time.We are arriving dec 13 late afternoon,leaving15th early morning.We are staying at the holiday Inn Washington Central at 1501Rhode Island Avenue,Is this a good choice?Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Also what would be the best way for 2 adults& 4kids 16-11 to get from Washington Dulles to the hotelThanks Jan

Hello -<BR><BR>With one full day of touring available, I would stick to the major attractions on the mall. The location of your hotel is good - downtown, about one mile from the the mall. You could either walk there, or hop into a cab. I would suggest you go by the White House, but not into it, as it eats up a lot of time (standing in line) for a short tour. On the mall, you can see the Washington Monument and Linclon Mmeorial pretty quickly, then pick from the museums that interest you from those on the mall. Theya re all lined up in a row. You can also go into or take a tour of the Capitol building.<BR><BR>For dinner - there are a whole bunch of restaurants on 17th street between P and R. These are only a five minute walk form your hotel, and most of them are moderately priced.<BR><BR>From Dulles, a cab, though pricey at about $60, would be no more expensive for your family than the shuttle bus into the city. If you are looking to save money, there is now a regular DC metro bus to downtown, at less than $2 per person. It lets you off pretty close to your hotel - you can take a quick 5 minute cab ride. This is much cheaper but there are more logistics to it.

I'd suggest you time it so that you're touring the Capitol building at lunch, and have the bean soup in the Senate cafeteria - it's traditional and offers a shot at seeing some electeds in their natural (?) habitat. Bone up on who's who before you go so they'll be able to recognize the VIPs. Also, before you go, arrange through your Congressperson's or Senator's office for gallery passes to the House or Senate (assuming they're still in session on the 14th), which make great souvenirs, even if the debate is boring or nonexistant.

One suggestion in addition to the previous: Learn to use the subway system (Metro). It's clean, fast and safe. Buy your tickets at any Metro station sometime other than rush hour, or else you'll be lined up with all the commuters trying to buy their tickets.<BR>

A couple of comments ont he previous two posts. They had good ideas, but:<BR><BR>The Congress will almost certainly be out of session when you are in DC, so there won't be anything to get tickets to.<BR>Using the Metro is a good idea in theory, but 1) you will not be covering great distances, so you could walk, or 2) with your whole family, the metro is not any cheaper than a cab, and would be more time consuming - your hotel is about a 10 minute walk to the metro - by the time you got there and got your tickets, your cab ride would be done.

If you write to your senator, he or she can get you tickets to tour the white house- I loved this and am sure it would be beautiful in December. The Air and Space Museum is a don't miss, as is the Smithsonian- Dorothy's shoes and Fonzie's jacket are there. Other favorites: the National Archives, Library of Congress, Folger Shakespear Library. Have a great time!

As a DC native and mother of a 13-year old, I would say, given your timeframe: DON'T do the White House (eats up all day, and underwhelming); DON'T climb to the top of the monument (ditto), DON'T try to do a formal tour of the Capitol, but walk inside and look around -- there's lots to see; and definitely do the Mall museums, especially Air and Space. If you had the time and the $$$ you could also do the Trolley Tours thing which would take you off your feet and take you by every major attraction, give you a beautiful view and feel for the city and the good tourist spots, and you could hop off wherever it interested you and hop back on again in 15 minutes if it didn't!! Have fun, it's a great city to visit whatever you do.

If you write to your Senator or Congressman for White House tickets, make sure you do it at least three months in advance. Offices get a limited number of tickets per week to distribute. I would like to clarify something. Laura's post said the Air and Space Museum is a must see (I agree; I'm a docent there) as is the Smithsonian (I think she was trying to refer to the Museum of American History). Air and Space is part of the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian is a collection of museums, not just one.

I agree with Chris, except on one point--the tour of the Capitol is excellent, and you get much more out of it than wandering around on your own.<BR><BR>That said, to get the most out of one day, I would get on the Tourmobile. You pay for a ticket, and you can get off at all of the major tourist sites around the Mall, and over to Arlington Cemetary. It's a good way to see a lot of the city and sites in a short amount of time, and you don't have to spend time figuring out how to get around.<BR><BR>A cab is going to be your best bet from the airport, because as an earlier poster said, a shuttle will probably end up costing more for 4 people than a cab. It cost me $45 recently to Arlington, so I'd say $60 is probably a fair estimate.<BR><BR>It's absolutely beautiful here right now, so I hope you get typical April weather for D.C. when you arrive.

I completely agree with skipping the White House since you only have a day--it's not worth the time expenditure. In addition to all the other good advice (I also agree that taking a cab when you have four people is about as economical as the metro), consider a night-time tour. The Capitol, White House and the monuments are all lit up at night and it's really pretty. You may be able to get something like this with a regular tour company or get a cab to drive you around.