Re-Visit DC
 

We are thinking of visiting DC next spring. It does not have be during the Cherry Blossom season. Last time we went to sightseeing, there was a terrible snowstorm on President's weekend which proved John Kennedy's saying that DC is "A city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm."

There is much we want to see including the Smithsonian (and Air and Space), Holocaust Museum, National Gallery, Library of Congress and if we have time the HIrshhorn.

We are NY'ers, so we will take AMTRAK down to one of the most beautiful rail stations in the country. How is Foggy Bottom for an area to stay if the hotel is near a Metro Stop? We would just like to be near restaurants for a light breakfast or a light dinner. What are some of the other good neighborhoods in which to stay, since what we want to see is spread out.

I saw a list of everyone's favorite restaurants and that looks terrific.

Thanks in advance.

I adore Old Town Alexandria. And the Lorien Hotel is right at the Metro stop for King Street.

Thanks. I have only been to McLean on business, will look into it.

We usually stay in Alexandria at the Embassy Suites . . across the street from the Metro and a 10 min walk to Old Town with a ton of restaurants

http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/...TES/index.html

Thanks for the suggestion.

Old Town is great - lots of restaurants.
Do visit the Torpedo Factory in Old Town. It is one of the largest working artist co-ops in the world, and is really high quality and interesting.

Have you considered staying in the Dupont Circle or Woodley Park areas? Lots of great restaurants, easy access via the Red Line, etc.

We stayed in Foggy Bottom and used the Metro, It worked well.

Thanks for all the hints. We will see which works best. I used on the board of the largest art coop in Brooklyn, so visiting Torpedo Factory would be interesting.

The Torpedo Factory is a bit of a walk from the area where the Metro stop is located so be aware of that. It is not an impossibility but they are not right next to one another.

We like to walk the places we visit, although we are getting older and it is losing its charm. But thanks for the warning. I googled a map and depending on the hotel, the Torpedo Factory could be up to 20 block walk. But thanks to folks here, we have a solid alternative to places in DC.

You could take the King Street Trolley (which is free) and that will get you close to the Torpedo Factory.

Depending on the time of year and when you book a hotel you can get a good deal on lots of hotels in dc as well as Alexandria.

The Kimpton hotels often run specials. They have one hotel the George which is very close to Union Station, but
there are not a lot of places to eat in that area also a few hotels in Dupont Circle where there are lot of restaurants

Alexandria.. Old Town has lots of places to eat but you will be taking the metro all the time to sightsee in DC
if you don't stay there, you can easily go there from dc on the blue line

hotels are generally cheaper on the weekend or when congress is officially not in session absolutely the cheapest around the end of December






As you know once you get off in Union Station you can take
the metro. You can get a metro card and load it up...

Thanks.

There is a commuter line that runs from Union Station to Alexandria, that looks convenient.

We will probably go sometime between the middle to the end of April, when the weather, all things being equal, should not be too hot or cold.

The cost of taking AMTRAK for us, will be 1/4 of taking the shuttle from LGA. That has gotten ridiculously expensive but because it is for business and government officials, I guess they can get away with it.

yes the shuttle has become prohibitive for ordinary travelers.

be sure to book your Amtrak way in advance. Its always cheaper that way, you can get tickets for about $49 each way. The price goes up the closer to your departure date.
I wouldn't bother with the Acela its only marginally faster and costs a lot more. Boarding in Penn Station always is a bit of a scramble, as they put the platform number up 10 minutes before departure. Its much better from Union Station. if you do not intend to talk on your cell and don't want to hear others yak away for hours, look for the quiet car.

The commuter rail from Union Station DC to Alexandria only runs Monday-Friday, on a schedule, and is more expensive than the metro. the metro runs more frequently but it does require one change to either the blue or yellow line.to King St Station, which i believe is closest to Old Town.

Thank Maxima. I hate the scramble at Penn, maybe the new one which will be finished after I am dead will be better.

OTOH, Union Station in DC is one of the most beautiful renovations of a public space I have seen in the US.

The only time we would take VRE is coming and going from Union Station as we are getting too old to schlep luggage on the Metro has lost its charm. In fact a cab may be beckoning.

We are going to ask some friends and relatives to join us but I want to establish the hotel and a basic itinerary beforehand because we do not want a camel of a vacation designed by committee.

Do they allow you to stand these days on the LGA-DCA shuttle?

King St Station, which i believe is closest to Old Town.
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It is about a block from the Lorien Hotel.

Thanks.

I think we have narrowed it down to the Lorien and a place in Foggy Bottom. There is an AMTRAK train from Alexandria to Penn NY but it stops infrequently.

Old Town Alexandria is charming, but it's not DC, and I always prefer to stay in the district even though it's more expensive. Foggy Bottom isn't a bad place to stay. You're within walking distance of the Lincoln Memorial, which is nice, and there are restaurants fairly close by. You might end up taking a few taxis. I'd recommend you get the Uber app. I'm not an Uber fan, but taxis in DC are awful but jump on Uber fares, sometimes at the expense of street-hailers.

Agree with Doug about staying in Alexandria. And I love the Lorien. Alex is a lovely place to stay but if you're only in town for a few days why not stay in the city?

What hotel are you considering in Foggy Bottom? Depending on your location, in addition to the FB Metro you may also be pretty close to the Dupont Circle Metro. FB also has good access to a couple of Circulator bus routes, including one to Union Station. Circulators run a truncated route to the heavily touristed areas for $1 a ride, half price if you use a Smartrip Metro card.

You certainly can take taxis or uber but it's hardly a necessity.

I live a few miles from Old Town, and it's great, but I don't quite understand why you want to stay there vs DC if you really want to see the city. IMO, you will miss a lot of the DC experience if you don't stay in the city.

I would not stay in Alexandria, either. If the various museums of the Smithsonian are of particular interest, I would focus on Penn Quarter (in the District), a neighborhood within easy walking distance of the National Mall.

I stayed at the Embassy Suites between the GWU campus and Dupont Circle this April and liked the location (and proximity to Vidalia and Founding Farmers, which was my favorite eating experience in DC this time). We even walked over to view the White House one evening. So I think the West End is a good location. The Penn Quarter is closer to a higher concentration of restaurants and closer to the Mall, and since that's where you are mostly going, it may be a more convenient location that will require less walking. There are scores of hotels in the Penn Quarter.

Thanks again to all for your help.

I just printed out a map and circled our top choices and they seem to be concentrated one area. I am not sure what the cognizatti or the locals call it but some surround the Capitol while others are south of Penn Quarter.

We are also enjoy walking the places we visit so that area seems to make sense. Alexnadria seems quite pleasant however, so thanks for the suggestions.

I am going to give my usual suggestion of the Woodley Park Guest House. You can see the Metro elevator from the front porch. Woodley Park is on the red line so you can get on the Metro at Union Station and proceed to Woodley Park without changing trains.

Woodley Park has many nice restaurants. Although there are many people wondering around in the evening, the neighborhood is quiet. The Woodley serves a nice continental breakfast with many choices and good conversation.

I will take a look at Woodley Park Guest House. Thanks

My husband, daughter, and I stayed at The George in April. It's very close to Union Station which is convenient, and we loved the hotel.

I do agree with other posters who told me that the area is pretty corporate and there aren't a lot of interesting restaurants. We ended up taking the Metro out of the neighborhood for dinner most nights. We liked the Foggy Bottom area a lot, but we found a good deal at the George, so we stayed there.

I have stayed at the George and found the staff to be exceptionally nice, and I had a nice room at a really good rate for a spring weekend. On the way down on Amtrak I posted a shout out on the George's site on Facebook and was pleasantly surprise by a fruit and cheese platter and bottle of wine in my room on arrival.


I highly recommend Zaytinya for lunch or dinner. lots of small plates of Greek and middle eastern food. and its conveniently located across the street from the Gallery Place Metro stop, and the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museums.

union station is truly a beautiful building. other favorites are the library of congress and the national building museum ( btw entry tothe great hall is free )

I am currently wrist wrestling with my wife as to where to stay. She got insulted when I said Foggy Bottom.

Maxima, I had called three weeks before to confirm our reservation, and the person at the front desk remembered. My husband borrowed a bike to visit a farmers market. And the wine guy remembered our fave wine in the evenings. Great customer service!

There are some good restaurant suggestions near the National Portrait Gallery/Penn Quarter area:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...it-gallery.cfm

Thanks.

They have not invented a cuisine we do not eat. But since the Capitol is filled with Embassies, it would interesting to eat some types of food we don't ordinarily eat.

In that case, IMD, you should know that DC has always been known for good Ethiopian food, at all ranges of price and ambiance. I think there was a thread here about that, in fact. Central American food, too.

Ethiopian and Central American sound good.

Are there particular cuisines in which you are interested?

I have stayed in/near Foggy Bottom several times while our son was at school at GW. I enjoyed the area, being able to walk to the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, etc. There are more restaurants if you stay closer to Dupont Circle. We have stayed at the Marriott near the Embassy Suites mentioned by Doug Stallings.

I enjoyed staying in that area more than at hotels near Union Station at where I have stayed several times for conferences.

Since you are interested in the architecture of Union Station, you might also enjoy the National Building Museum. You can visit the Great Hall and have a tour for free.

KJA

All cuisines are of interest to us. We also try not to spend a lot for our meals, unless necessary, and when traveling we often have lunch as our big meal. This is rare for us to visit a US city and be on our own, because we have relatives all over the country and that is with whom we usually stay or near. Thus we rely on them for restaurants, unless we have read about some place that seems special.

Thanks Vtt-We will see if we have time for the National Building Museum.

I looked at National Building Museum and it is the old Pension Building and modeled after an Italian palazzo.

You might look at the Mitsitam Cafe, which is inside the Museum of the American Indian:
http://www.mitsitamcafe.com/home/default.asp

Thanks Kja, sounds interesting.