Washington D.C. City Tours
 

Hi,
During next month I will be going to Washington City for official purposes. I will stay there for about 15 days. So I am thinking of visiting the city. Can you people guide me in planning the trip? Tell me name of places I should nto visit. I will have around 3 days with me for the trip.

I would be glad to help you, but you need to post what you would most like to see. Getting into The Capitol or going up in the Washington Monument takes advance planning if you do not want to queue at 8:30am.

Washington has many museums and you need to do some research and decide what you would like to see. You cannot see everything in 3 days.

Take the Old town trolley.You can get on/off all day and the driver is an experienced guide.The next days you can explore the things you want to see in depth.You can order it on the internet it's cheaper and easier.You just print your ticket and give it to the driver.Paul

Hi,
It’s good to see that people are able to find some time out their busy schedule for themselves otherwise they generally don’t even think of going on trip. Yes you can have trip of 3 days during which you can visit most of the important places in Washington City. You can find tour packages online from a large no of tour operator in the city. But go for which provide the cheap and best thing according to your budget. You should try to arrange trip during weekend so that your work will not suffer because of this. I generally use Tours4fun services for any trip in USA as they provide the best tour packages at very low prices. To know more about their current offerings, you can visit to www.tours4fun.com. You can also get online help from their consultant who will definitely eliminate any confusion of yours if any. I really enjoyed the accommodation and transportation services they provide. Moreover the stuff works very hard to give their best to the entire tourist group. I think you should go once for their services and you definitely will not be disappointed.

As the folks say above, more information would help (like where are you staying, will you have a car), but for a first-time visitor the big sites include:

Capitol building--take the tour of the building; make sure to at least see the Library of Congress and Supreme Court buildings on the East side

White House--I wouldn't bother taking this tour given your limited time

Lincoln Memorial--stunning at night; Korean and Vietnam memorials are adjacent, and WWII memorial is not too far away, along the Mall toward the Washington Monument

Washington Monument--I wouldn't bother to wait in lines to go up the monument; if you want a view, try the much less crowded Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue

National Archives--see the Constitution and Declaration of Independence

Smithsonian Museums--take your pick. American History is closed, but some of that stuff is in Air and Space temporarily. Natural History, American Indian, Asian and African art, National Gallery of Art, National Portrait Gallery, American Art and more. If you want to see Imax films at Natural History or Air and Space, buy tickets in advance on-line.

Mount Vernon (home of George Washington)--maybe not easy to fit into your schedule, but a worthwhile destination.

International Spy Museum--Still a hot ticket; buy your (timed) ticket on-line in advance. In a nice area for restaurants and such (Portrait Gallery, American Art, Chinatown all in vicinity)

Holocaust Museum--haunting. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is next door, and Jefferson Memorial is nearby

Arlington Cemetery--see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier