Washington DC Itinerary Suggestions?
 

So, the airline reservations have been made; I will be traveling to Washington DC from April 26th through May 4th, so I will have 7 full days for sightseeing not including travel days. Staying with a friend in Arlington who lives very near a Metro station. All touring will be done via public transportation. Probably will start off with a hop-on, hop-off tour from Tourmobile or Old Town Trolley (which is better?). The DC by Foot tours also look interesting; anyone have any experience with them?

At a minimum I think I would like to see the Monuments, National Archive, Museum of American History, Holocaust Museum, Newseum, Air and Space Museum, Library of Congress, National Zoo (if the pandas are still there then), Ford's Theatre, the Newseum and the National Gallery. Would also like to spend one day exploring Mt. Vernon. Also Arlington National Cemetary, which is two blocks from my friend's apartment.

I see that Capitol tours can be booked online at www.visitthecapitol.gov...would there be any advantage to going through my Congressman's office instead? I really don't need to see the Senate or House chambers but would like to see the Rotunda, National Statuary Hall etc. I've also had differing opinions on whether it's worthwhile to take the White House tour or not...I know I have to get moving if I expect to be able to do that.

Anything else that you'd consider a not-to-be-missed?

I have looked at the five day itinerary in the Fodor's Washington DC Guide, but was hoping someone with recent experience could help me group things appropriately. Thanks for any help!

Heres a link to my trip report from last June
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-sox-games.cfm

Pandas are still at the zoo. We did the bus tour due to my friend's broken leg. I would highly recommend the Portrait Gallery as it was a highlight for us. For the Capitol, I don't think there is any difference other than seeing the chambers. We went through the site you mentioned. If you want a viewpoint and dont want to wait in line at the Washington Monument, go to the Old Post Office.

You can also get timed tickets to the Holocaust Museum so you get the time you want. It was very somber after that and we hightailed it to a bar to wind down.

Biggest piece of advice is don't pack too much into each day. We were beat by the end and skipped a few things that are still bugging us: National archives, Arlington Cemetery.

If you are a baseball fan, Nationals Park is a nice stadium for a game.

You have a good plan. Personally, I can spend a lot of time in the museums in D.C., including some not on the Mall. You may also want to include the goofy-fun, and historically intersting Spy Museum. Caution: that heating duct that invites you to crawl through like a spy actually goes into another room where everyone can hear what is being said -- which can be very entertaining for those in that room.

I was glad we contacted our Congressman to tour the Capitol last year. We met at his office and his intern took us in through an underground tunnel and we had a private tour with just one other small group from our state.

Our tours were prior to 9/11 so don't know the differences now, but we had Congressman's passes for the Capitol and White House tours and would recommend getting them if you can. We met at a different entrance at the Capitol from the public tours and toured earlier. The White House is oh so special and we felt very priviledged to get our tickets. Definitely visit Arlington and stay for changing of the guard (so moving). Everything on your list was on ours and it is exhausting but so worthwhile....and you can rest when you get back home :)

We did the hop on/off red double decker tour bus on my last trip to DC this past November. I think we got more places to visit on this tour, plus the price we paid was good for 2 days. This is why we chose it over the Old Town Trolley. On a previous trip I took my kids on a DC Ducks tour--this was a blast as it goes right into the Potomic for short boat ride. While this is not a hop on/off tour, if you want a fun, live tour-guide experience instead, I'd go with the DC Ducks one.

Just walking along the canal and by the shops in the Georgetown area is also a fun thing to do. Right in Georgetown is the Old Stone House (they say it's haunted) and is the oldest house in DC: http://tinyurl.com/yegjjun.

If you do the tour bus deal on the first day, you could "knock out" the monument and Arlington Cemetery all in one day. I hear the tour does the monuments at night and that is supposed to be very spectacular.

The Holocaust Museum in the morning on the next day. Lunch. Then a pick the nearest of the Smithsonian Museums to visit.

I think you have some great places to visit. I love DC.

Tai Shan, the 4-year-old panda, will be leaving the zoo within the next few months to return to China, so he probably won't be here when you come. But the two adult panda are on loan until the end of 2010, so they will be at the zoo.
The main advantage of taking a Capitol tour through the office of your representative is that the groups they arrange are generally much smaller than those you will find on the "public" tours. The guides, who are generally interns, can take you on the subway that the Representatives take to get to the House for sessions, votes, etc. It's a fun little perk that those on the "public" tour don't get to experience.

We spent New Year's in DC near the Dupont Circle area. We arranged for the Capitol tour with our representative but didn't request a "representative tour" - so our tour was crowded and somewhat difficult to hear. We both agreed that the Newseum was one of the best museums we have been to in a long time. We spent hours there and could have gone back (your ticket gives you two days access) if we had the time to do this. If you are interested in art I would highly recommend the Phillips collection near Dupont Circle - we were blown away by the collection and the home.
The Holocaust museum was very interesting and moving...it took more time that we thought. Have a great trip.

I took the DC by Foot tour with Tim. It was great and we spend more time than the 1 hr 45 minutes posted on their site www.dcbyfoot.com. But, Tim said that's what he likes to do. The stories were fantastic and his enthusiasm was contagious. Definitely recommend.

Ride the metro, visit the Eastern Market, walk the National Mall which, in addition to the monuments offers access to lots of Smithsonian museums including the undersung Freer/Sackler Galleries (Whistler's beautiful Peacock Room, and excellent collections of Asian and American art), and the Hirschhorn Museum (contemporary art). I had Sunday brunch at the Smithsonian Castle Cafe, which was wonderful and quirky-stuck in a time goneby. I hear they've remodeled the room since and no longer offer brunch. But I don't know that for a fact. Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. A Wizards game. Of course White House, Senate, House of Representatives. Maybe drive by the Watergate apartments? Do a driving tour of national embassies? There is so much to see in Washington DC. I love that city.