tchoiniere

Friend of mine's wife is going to DC for 2 nights for a baby shower (Feb 18-20) and now has dragged her husband and myself into it from Hartford.

Our plan is to take MegaBus to DC from NY (Metro-North round-trip from New Haven to NY). This was even much cheaper than Amtrak Round-trip.

Effectively, we will have 2 full days. Having been there twice, we have done must major sites except for National Archives and Ford's Theatre...

Probably do those first thing Sunday then have the rest of the day to do whatever. If we decide to do any of the monuments, it will be Saturday afternoon / night once we get there.

Bus leaves DC around 3 on Monday afternoon so we will have some time on Monday morning.

Any other suggestions beyond the Smithsonians as well? Will spend some time in them but am open. Have done the Holocaust and the Newseum.

For our hotel, we are again booked at Americana as its not far from where the baby shower is. Will look around but was satisfied with that hotel in August.

tomfuller

If you buy a ticket for the Newseum it is valid for the next day as well. I plan to visit around Memorial Day.

tchoiniere

Tom, we have been to the Newseum and really liked it. But having just been there, we are looking for something different.

tahl

The National Building Museum -- beautiful building, cool exhibits, best gift shop among the Smithsonians, short walk from National Archives. It's on F at 5th (Judiciary Square metro comes up directly in front of it).

Short distance away: National Portrait Gallery / Museum of American Art (they share a building). Love the portraits, especially. F between 7th and 9th (Gallery Place Metro stop).

vjpblovesitaly

Have you been to Eastern Market? http://www.easternmarket-dc.org/

4carolina

The building housing the Portrait Gallery ALSO is home to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.This is a gem of a museum.If you go,be sure to get up to the top floor,a spectacular space,where AbrahamLincoln held his inaugural party.It is filled with funky art.The courtyard connecting the art museum with the portrait gallery is extraordinary.Norman Foster designed the domed roof covering the space.It is a serene,elegant space in which to have lunch,or simply to sit and contemplate all the American impressionists you have just seen.

Ktcaudle

If you want to check out some cool DC neighborhoods you should metro up to cleveland park (red line) and walk down constitution ave to dupont circle. There are lots of shops and restaurants and you pass right by Adams Morgan, which if you head over to 18th st (the happening part of the neighborhood) you can walk down and meet back up with constitution on your way to dupont circle. There is a lovely old fashioned movie theater in Cleveland Park called the Uptown that shows one movie at a time, and there are some cool boutiques and bookshops on the way down to Dupont. You'll pass by the Zoo and some really nice neighborhoods and a couple embassies.

Of course Georgetown is awesome as well!

I also reallllly recommend the Mitsisam Cafe at the Native American Smithsonian. Its like a history/cultural lesson and a really nice meal all in one sitting because all of the dishes are native american dishes from various regions (great plains, northeast, southwest, south america, etc). The food is relatively healthy and very well made, and there are options for picky eaters as well.

I also agree that the Art museums never get old!! And if you haven't seen the MLK memorial that's definitely worth seeing - go at sunset!

dmcq

Just went for 2 days while my husband was working. MLK Jr monument was great. Old Ebbitt Grill bar is great for people watching and eating if you are alone..Portrait Gallery is great, as is the Postal Museum next to Union Station. I enjoyed the Botanic Garden across from the Capitol to start the day! Have fun!

tchoiniere

Thanks for all of your recommendations. I have been to the Portrait Gallery twice and have really enjoyed it so may go to the Art Museum side this time.

I will take a look at the Smithsonians page tomorrow but does anyone know if any of the museums have a Titanic exhibit with it being the 100th anniversary?

Dinner on Sat night will be at Beck's Brasserie which we ran out of time for in August.

cferrb

Have you been to Mount Vernon? I love the grounds (although I don't know what they will be like in February) and the view from the house out to the Potomac is wonderful. Plus there's all that history.

Nelson

Have you been to the Library of Congress? Beautiful building, you can spend hours gazing at it. Two great exhibitions going on now, "Exploring The Early Americas", which has the Waldseemüller Map, first instance of the name "America" applied to the newly discovered continents.

http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/EarlyAm...s/default.aspx

Also, Thomas Jefferson's Library.
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/jeffers...s/default.aspx

Not far from there is the Folger Shakespeare Library, if that holds any interest for you:
http://www.folger.edu/whatsontype.cfm?wotypeid=1

My wife and I found both of the above to be sleeper highlights of our trip last year.

basingstoke2

Ditto on the Mitsisam recommendation - it is a meal and experience all rolled into one. If you find yourself in Chinatown try eating at the China Express - excellent food, particularly the noodle dishes and cheap! Don't let the usual line outside scare you off. It moves quickly and there is a line to get in for a reason.

Some folks really like the Spy Museum.

Megabus is a fine choice. Bolt bus is an even finer choice. Check prices on both and make sure you have a reservation - use whichever is cheapest at the moment, you can't go wrong.

tchoiniere

Whats the difference between Bolt bus and MegaBus?

gardendiva

You may want to schdule a tour of the Archives. They hit the highlights. If I remember the tour was about a hour long and then you can wonder at your leisure.

It may be too late but you may want to look into a tour of the Pentigon. You have to schdule these through your representative. If not a tour, I would still go out to see the 911 Memorial. It is beautiful.

basingstoke2

Bolt bus is a bit more lux - leather seats and the like. Both leave from and arrive at about the same place. Megabus is a semi double decker - passengers and luggage compartment downstairs, passengers only upstairs, hence the name. Costs are similar but since they both use a sliding fare scale based on date of purchase, seats available, you may be luckier with one than the other on any particular day.

The reason that I most often use Megabus is because they also stop at White Marsh near Baltimore which is more convenient for me and have free overnight parking there. If I was going only downtown DC to downtown NY I would opt for Bolt if the ticket prices were the same. Remeber to reserve online. You may not get a seat if you just show up.

tchoiniere

We ended up booking on Bolt. Was about $10 more round-trip and buses did sound better. Booked the 10:30 am out of NY which should get me into DC around 2:30.

Booked a National Archives tour this morning for Sunday and then Ford's Theatre for early that afternoon (they will be back-to-back).

We are still looking at all the other recommendations. Am also thinking about Capitol Steps too.

gardendiva

After your visit to the Archives have lunch at PAUL Bakery and then you can walk the next few blocks up to the Ford Theatre. PAUL is on Penn Ave next to the Archive Metro stop. Good food and quick service.

tchoiniere

If its snowing as hard as they are forecasting for Sunday, does Metro still run a full schedule?

Vttraveler

I second the recommendation for visiting the MLK memorial and others nearby. There is a separate thread about this. Obviously better not to do this in the snow.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...k-memorial.cfm

The Capitol Steps are very funny--it is fun to see/watch them even if you have heard their work. When I saw them do a show in late january I was impressed at how quickly they incorporate breaking news stories into the show.

basingstoke2

<If its snowing as hard as they are forecasting for Sunday, does Metro still run a full schedule?>

I don't see snow as a problem this time around. The most pessimistic forcast this AM is under 2". The National Weather Service at NOAA is forcasting up to 2 tenths of an inch. The days up to Sunday will have been been in the 50s which warms the ground so it is not likely that it will stick around in paved areas and none of the days you will be here would go below freezing during the day. If the forcasts are correct, metro will not be affected. We plan to go to the Newseum on Monday or Tuesday.