Holocaust museum, DC in late March
 

I keep reading about how crowded Washington DC is in spring. How early in spring does it really start getting "too" crowded? We will be arriving there March 29th. We came out in November of 2004 and it was empty - no lines anywhere. Since we only have two days this time, I'm hoping we won't spend most of our time in line!

One more question, we are considering going to the Holocaust Museum. How much time can we expect to spend there to really see everything? Are we talking a couple of hours, or is this a full day in itself? My girls would also like to see the pandas at the zoo, but not necessarily spend a lot of time at the rest of the zoo. Is that feasible?

We went to the Holocaust museum in early August last year. Had advance ticket reservations (which you can get on-line) for 2 pm time slot for the permanent exhibition and left about 4:15 pm, my notes stated we spent about 1 hour on the first floor. we left due to need to get tickets for the tourmobile night tour of the monuments and museums,we also had been on an 8:30 am tour of the Library of congress, 10:30 tour of the Supreme Court and quickly walked through the Natural history museum so we already had a long day. we did not see all of the holocaust museum but did see the highlights-the permanent exhibition was very crowded. We have been in D.C. in April, May & June with many lines and very crowded. For us the beginning of August was very uncrowded compared to our other experiences.

You should be prepared for lines. You are hitting the Cherry Blossom season and the school trip season.

Granted, this might be old information as we were in DC in 2001 (pre-9/11). We were in DC at the beginning of May (crowded with school trips) and it took us roughly 3 hours for the Holocaust Museum. We did see all of it, however, and it was worth it. Very crowded, though, and it did take a while to see some of the exhibits on the various floors due to the crowds. However, once we got to the end it was less crowded (people seemed to leave rather quickly), and we could take our time. I felt it was a very moving experience and would recommend it, though it would be nicer without crowds (what wouldn't?).

It's certainly feasible to go to the zoo to only see the pandas, but it's important to keep in mind that there isn't a whole lot to do around the zoo. We originally were only going to "see the pandas," but when I figured out that 1.) nothing much else to do around the zoo, 2.) the zoo entrance is quite a distance between metro stops, and 3.) we needed a break anyway, we decided to make a day of it. We weren't disappointed. But, if you only go to see the pandas, I would really recommend you get there when the zoo opens. The crowds are not yet there and the animals are more active and usually feeding then and more interesting to watch. As the day progresses the animals usually find a nice place to sleep - if you can find them at all.

I spent about 3 hours in the Holocaust Museum. I think that is about right, although you can easily spend more if you like. I did it at the end of the day, which was fine. I had tickets for 2:00 and stayed until 5:00. How old are your girls? If they are young, make sure to prepare them for what they will see. If they are older, encourage them to talk about it after. It is a very moving and sobering experience.

Get your tickets in advance for the Holocaust museum - it is about a 2 hour tour. Use this website to select the link for tickets.com:
http://www.ushmm.org/visit/

You can also get tickets in advance for the washington monument (if you haven't been to the top yet!)
http://reservations.nps.gov/ select washington monument.

The zoo is AWESOME! You can take the metro right to the zoo. You can see the pandas, but the rest of the zoo is just as great!

8-)

I would recommend planning on about 3 hours and reserving timed tickets @ tickets.com. They are free but there is a handling fee.

My daughter (age 14) at the time and I arrived during last year's spring break about one hour before our reservation. The line was wrapped around the building but we did get in around our designated time. There was lots of school groups with us (the week after Easter - this year (April 17-21).

It's is very moving and emotional at times. We saw several younger children crying in the upstairs exhibit. Please seriously consider the ages of your girls. Our 8 year old son did not go.

Early morning - 7:30-9:30 am is the very best time to visit the zoo. This is when all of the animals, especially the pandas, are outside and at their most active.

Conn. Ave. is uphill from the the Zoo stop toward the Cleveland Park stop. The zoo entrance is located on Connecticut Avenue - half way between the Zoo stop and the Cleveland Park Metro stop on the Red Line. Therefore, when visiting the zoo:
1) Get off at the Cleveland Park stop when arriving.

2) After your visit, walk downhill along Conn. Ave. and go to the Zoo stop for your trip back to your hotel.

You'll do enough hill walking on the zoo grounds as it is, you might as well make it as easy on yourself as possible.

Agree with earlier posters regarding Holocaust Memorial Museum. It will be crowded since it's cherry blossom season. Plan to spend 3-4 hour there.