mwat

Hi all- I'm going to DC for a week 5/22-5/29. Sunday ,I'll be attending graduation ceremonies at Georgetown, and Friday, I'll be in Baltimore. Any input on my plans?? Note that for the Capital and White House, I'm not plannning any tours, just want to go by and take a look at the buildings. Thanks for your help. I'm staying at the Quality Inn Iwo Jima in Virginia.

Thanks!

Monday

- Smithsonian Castle
- Air and Space Museum]
- Museum of Natural History
- Museum of American History

Tuesday

- Capital Tour
- Supreme Court
- Library of Congress
- Natural Gallery of Art
- National Archives

Wednesday

- White House Visitors Center
- Washington Monument
- Holocaust Museum
- Lincoln Memorial
- Vietnam Memorial
- ?Monuments at Nite? Tour

Thursday

- Arlington national Cemetery
- Iwo Jima Memorial
- Unknowns Tomb

E

Looks OK to me, as long as you keep in mind that Wednesday and Thursday will be intensive walking days, even if you take the Tourmobile from stop to stop, so keep and eye on the weather and adjust your week accordingly. You don't want to be trudging along in a downpour--I've done that, and don't recommend it! Have a great trip! (And I'm a GU grad myself, so say "hi" to the old place for me!)

emd

You've packed in alot of big museums for Monday and Tues. Air and Space can take a day if done leisurely, as can the American museums of Natural History and American History (my personal favorite). Perhpas you know exactly what exhibits you want to see and which ones to bypass at all of those? I think that is the only way you could do all 3 in one day. If that is not the case, consider cutting it back to two of those a day, or at least being open to changing your schedule once you get there and get intrigued w/soem exhibit and may not want to keep running to get to the next museum.

Same w/National Gallery of Art and th erest on tues. Personally, the natl gallery woudl take me longer than you have alotted (I presume that form the ohter items you have scheudled that day)- but you may know exaclty what areas you want to hit there and which you can bypass.

Anonymous

Saturday, May 29 is the official dedication of the new WWII memorial. The city will be filled with veterans and others attending the memorial events. So if I were you, I'd switch the Thursday schedule to earlier in the week, perhaps Monday -- as the vets and others arrive for the weekend, Arlington etc. are the places they'll look at.

emd

BTW- that's a personal record for typos in a post for me.

jnn1964

As Anonymous noted, the WWII memorial will be dedicated on the 29th, but it is already open to the public (I went last week) so you may want to add it to your list for Wednesday - it's near the Lincoln Memorial. Also, you may want to include the FDR memorial if you have time - its to the south of the Lincoln Mem.

I agree with EMD that you've packed a lot of museums into your Monday schedule. If you like to take your time in museums, you may have have to scratch one off your list. But, if you're like me, and can breeze through a museum in an hour or so, than you'll be fine.

When you go to the Iwo Jima memorial be sure to wander over to the Netherland Carillon which is a few hundred yards to the south. There's a terrific view of the DC skyline from there. You should be able to walk to Iwo Jima from your hotel.

mrwunrfl

You might want to move your visit to the Iwo Jima memorial to Tuesday, based on the info below that I copied from http://www.mbw.usmc.mil/parades/mcwm_default.asp
Maybe they will have a parade on the 25th?

# Sunset Parades at the Memorial
Marines from Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., perform their famous Sunset Parade in front of the memorial every Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. during the summer months. The parade features a precision drill exhibition by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, and a "Music-In-Motion" performance by the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps.

# More Information?
For more information on the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial or the Sunset Parades performed there, call (202) 433-4173.

Underhill

A National Gallery FYI: when I was there 2 weeks ago, most of the galleries with the Dutch, Flemish, and German paintings were closed.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I've stayed several times at Quality Inn Iwo Jima and been very satisfied with the place. I too was going to suggest you change the schedule around a little, as you could easily slip over to the IJ Monument during walks to/from the Metro. The walk from the hotel to Rosslyn station is short, maybe 1/3-1/2 mile, but long enough that some people wouldn't wish to do it if hauling luggage.

TEXNJONES

We,as well, are going to Washington DC in October & as we are senior citizens have 1 major ? what is the weather in October there, aside from $costs thats second, any help you may have will be appriciated.reply to [email protected]

E

Well, I'm going to reply to you here so others may benefit, perhaps...

Weather in October should be very nice--warm but not hot during the day, cool at night. Halloween is usually one of the first really chilly nights. Rain is unlikely.

As for costs, what do you mean specifically? All of the Smithsonian museums are free, as are all of the monuments, and the White House and Capitol tours, if you've arranged those in advance. What costs are you concerned about?

suzanne97

TEXNJONES if cost is a concern then you may want to look through the posts for hotels in Virginia that are near a metro station. Many people have saved money on hotels by staying outside of DC and taking the 25-/+ minute ride into DC on the metro. However, I would only stay very close to a station. Another thing to look into is if the hotel has a shuttle to the metro station.