Malcolm

Going to DC with parents. Looking for ideas outside of the museums. Interesting things to see in Georgetown area would be nice. Any good shopping places for shoes, clothes or household items????? Any ideas are welcomed and appreciated.
Thanks

kam

All of Georgetown is interesting. Tour the university, the oldest Catholic university in the country with some beautiful old buildings. Great restaurants and clubs in Georgetown. Have lunch at Clyde's. You don't say how old you are so it's difficult to know what to suggest. There's a good and pricey shopping mall in G'town. Also, Alexandria for shopping and history. Have a meal at the Seaporter Inn which was built in 1750. Outside of D.C. you could visit the horse country near Middleburg, drive up to Skyline Drive, go down the river to Mt. Vernon, or go down to Charlottsville and see Monticello and Univ. of VA. Williamsburg is another day trip if you leave early. But, I would caution you that the museums in DC are not JUST museums, they are the Smithsonian and the National Gallery and well worth your attention. You could spend weeks in DC--enjoy and leave your dislike of museums at home.

Polly

Check out the National Cathedral. Take the modestly priced tour, visit the gift shop, go up the tower for wonderful views of the city, walk around the Bishop's garden and be ever on the lookout for gorgoyles! Go to Potomac (Great Falls), MD and enjoy the C & O Canal, its forested walkways beside the Potomac and its barge ride through canal locks. For shopping, drive about 1/4 hour south of the beltway to Potomac Mills, a discount shopping center with 100's of stores and square footage measured in the millions. (I am not kidding!) But don't be on that road going south between 2:45 and 7:00 PM...you won't go very far or very fast!

Neal Sanders

Skyline Drive is a great suggestion, assuming you have access to a car while you're in the DC area. This is a 120-mile-long road though a national park that winds along mountain ridges perhaps 70 miles west of Washington. The views are inspiring! Also, at the risk of putting too much culture into your trip, check out the Smithsonian's web site (si.edu) and check the Resident Associates activities for the dates you'll be here. Instead of watching "Seinfeld" re-runs at night, you can hear an author give a talk on a subject of interest, listen to a concert, or whatever. There are typically half a dozen things going on any given evening, and they're priced at about $10-15 per event. The mall mentioned above, Georgetown Park, lies just south of "M" St. in Georgetown and is rife with apparel stores; some chain but many one-of-a-kind.

Malcolm

Thanks for everyone's reply, but I must comment that I am not a cultural illiterate. I was in DC in November with a friend from Paris on her first trip to the US and we toured the museums for 2 1/2 days We especially enjoyed the Calder and Rodin exhibits at the Hirshhorn (I am a Matisse fan)-----even more than MOMA in NY which we attended 2 days later. I just wanted to get an idea of what else is there to do in and around the city in the time we were not going to the museums. As I said, I am going with my parents and they are both Smithsonian members, so they have the exhibit schedule. Thanks again for your reply's and it should be fun.