We just returned from a wonderful and very HOT trip to Washington DC. We were visiting colleges for our oldest son and built in a family trip. I thought I'd give highlights to help other families plan a visit. Our family includes myself, husband, and 3 boys ages 11, 13 and 17.

Day 1 (Sun 7/30): International Spy Museum - I ordered tickets online and was glad I did and would recommend ordering advance tickets online for all attractions. We spent about 2 hours here - lots of reading - it was interesting and we enjoyed parts of it very much but I'm not sure we'd do it again unless it was free or less expensive.
$95 for our family of 5.

Ford's Theater and Petersen House (where Lincoln was shot)- we all loved this and highly recommend going to the ranger talk - very informative and great story-tellers. Museum was small but interesting. Spent about 1 hour total and it was free.

Hard Rock Cafe is right next door and that's where we had lunch. Join their "ALL Access" program - priority seating and you earn $20 credit for every $200 spent.

National Archives - our favorite!!! Watch the movie "National Treasure" with kids before your trip! Beautiful building and you see the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and more! We spent about 1 hour there and it was free.
Had to go through security check - I recommend traveling light!

Smithsonian Air & Space museum - I'm not sure if we were too tired and hot to enjoy this but it wasn't our favorite. We spent about 2 hours here and enjoyed the air conditioning! The boys liked a demonstration they went to about how flight works and DH loved the Wright Brothers exhibit. Another security check - free admission.

Dinner at ESPNZone which we enjoyed. Video game heaven for the boys and we ate dinner in an open booth facing a huge wall of TVs and had a TV and remote at our table. Lots of fun for the guys!

Day 2 (Mon 7/31): Tour of University of Maryland which our son loved - it went to the top of his list! We had a 3:00 tour of the U. S. Capitol building which I had reserved through our congressman. I highly recommend this - the building is absolutely incredible and we were allowed into the gallery even though they were in recess. I highly recommend this - it's free and there is a heavy-duty security check here. We weren't able to get a tour of the White House, but it's on our list for the next visit!

Next we went to the Library of Congress - again an amazing building - we missed the last tour but were allowed to view the main reading room. I recommend doing any tour available at all of these sites - they're very informative. Again it's free and a security check. I hadn't planned to go here but our 11 yo son wanted to after seeing the movie!

Dinner at Capital Brewing Co. - DH's request and we all enjoyed it very much!

Lincoln Memorial at night - a bit cooler and wonderful view of monuments lit up.

Day 3 (Tues 8/1) Washington Monument - again reserve tickets online - it saved a lot of waiting time and was only $1.50 per ticket (it's free otherwise, but you may not get in). Last time we were there this was under construction so we really wanted to do this. We loved it - amazing views and lots of interesting facts. Another security check - we spent about 1 hour there.

World War II Memorial - this was new for us and very impressive - don't miss it!

Holocaust Museum - again for a small fee I ordered tickets online and that was a big help. Heavy duty security check - we had to drink from our water bottles while the guard watched - not sure why - poison?? WOW this museum is hard to put into words but don't miss it - very powerful. Lots of reading, but also many artifacts, videos, recordings, etc. DH and I were moved to tears as were many other visitors. We spent about 3 hours here and probably could have spent more.

Washington National Cathedral - our 13 yo requested this over another Smithsonian (he was really becoming interested in architecture) so we did it. It is remarkable - just like cathedrals in Europe including gargoyles! We took the tour which again was very informative - learning about how it was built and the history of some of the stained-glass windows. Free, but they ask a donation for the tour. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here and took a taxi as it's a bit out of the way.

We went back to my cousin's condo and ordered pizzas - we were exhausted!! Left the next day to see Univ. of Delaware, then on to Philadelphia. I'll post our Philly trip under that heading.

We drove into DC Sunday AM and found lots of parking and left the car for the day. The other days we took the Metro which was very easy to use and convenient. It was during the recent heat wave so we decided to skip the zoo and most outdoor monuments in favor of air-conditioned buildings. It's amazing that most of the things we did were free - otherwise costs can really add up for a family of 5! Food was more expensive than we're used to - we had just eaten at a Hard Rock in Atlanta and Boston and the same menu items were $5 more in DC.

oh, thanks for the great trip report

Yep- Wright Brothers was terrific. I do understand about A&S though- I went for WB, world war II fighters, and Amelia Earhardt...otherwise, I enjoyed Natural History a lot more!

Loved National Cathedral!

Sounds like you had a great trip.....

Great report!

With that son who's interested in architechure, try to visit the National Building Museum next time.

If Southwest airlines serves your city AND BWI, consider enrolling your son in the Rapid Rewards program. With bonus credits and other promotions, he could earn a r/t after as few as 4 flights.

Two of my kids were in DC and Baltimore on a church choir tour earlier this year. My daughter has announced that she now wants to live in the DC area, and my son was really taken with Baltimore. Looks like we'll have to make a "family" trip sometime soon.

I live in the DC suburbs and am always glad to see people enjoying myself in my town. Glad you enjoyed your forced march through the nation's capital.

Just remember that you cannot do DC in a week. Heck, I live here and I am never done with it. There is almost something new.

The American History Museum closes on Sept. 5th for renovation. They are already moving some of the exhibits out of the building. Boo hoo!

While American History is closed, be sure to visit the newly opened National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. They are in the same building. The building used to house the patent office at one time and was full of patent models on display. You had to submit a model when you applied for a patent on an invention. So, way back when, before the museums on The Mall, the Patent Office was sort of DC's first museum.

There is what looks like a terrific hotel right near the Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum: The Hotel Monaco. That building also has an interesting history. It was at one time the Post Office Dept. (before it moved to Pennsylvania Ave. and then relatively recently to L'Enfant Plaza.

Wherever you walk in DC, there is history under your feet. The most amazing thing is that DC did not even exist a little over 200 years ago.

For current events in DC, be sure to check with Cultural Tourism DC, http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/

We might be going(family)for Christmas this year. So I'm bookmarking!

I just passed the test for a DC tour guide license yesterday. Not an easy test by any means. Of the 4 people who took it yesterday, I was the only one who passed. I was also the only one who took an extensive, exhaustive and expensive preparatory class. The test is set for a 2 hour slot. It took me 25 minutes. I had to hang around for the others to finish before picking up my license. When people take a long time answering the test, you know they are not passing it. They have multiple versions of the test and people can take it a number of times.

I have to say, having been through this, that licensing of tour guides is an excellent idea. It is a lot better than someone just hanging out a shingle and saying, "Hello, I'm a tour guide." It assures you of some reasonable amount of accurate information--and we have all had experience of really awful guides.

The NYC tour guide test is supposed to be even more difficult. Since you really need to walk a town to know the town, I wouldn't even attempt to take the NYC test unless I lived there or had lots of time to go there and walk.

When hiring a guide in DC, be sure to get a LICENSED guide. You are supposed to be licensed, but many guide anyway and there is not a lot of enforcement of the license requirement. The only thing the license does for you is to help you get hired with the tour companies. Most of them will not touch anyone without the local license.

You know, having gone through the process, I am not even certain what I am going to do with tour guiding--although I certainly could be hired privately to show people around now. The trick is how to advertise; I haven't a clue. I am an attorney, but I am thinking of chucking the law practice and basically retiring from it. I will still have to earn some money in "retirement" but not as much and I am looking for something interesting to do. Getting the license all began with an exhaustive web search one evening brainstorming with the computer as to what I would like to do in "retirement". I could never just sit around. I would be bored in about 5 minutes of doing that.

In any event, feel free to ask questions about DC online and I will be glad to help. I thought I knew quite a bit, but the tour guide class taught me I have a lot to learn. Passing the test is a start, but I am still learning.

Congrats are in order!! I still don't know what our family is doing.We try to go to New York once a year. D.C came up and my husband who is from New York likes the idea.We could also look at Georgetown and George Washington colleges for the 17 yr old. So be ready for questions if we go to D.C. Faux ,
I'm going to tell my DH what you did.He is an attorney with his own practice and I know he feels like doing something different at times...like owning a wine vineyard!

I wouldn't mind owning a vineyard but I don't have the money for that. I am just tired of law practice and want to try something new.

Good luck to all career changers!

PS I hadn't taken any sort of test in 35 years. It was very nerve wracking but as soon as I got started with the test I knew I would pass it. Whew!

My thanks go out to the woman who ran the tour guide class. She worked us to death and that is why her students always pass.

Insofar as the old college tour is concerned, I consider those an exhausting waste having seen 2 children through the college admission process. I recommend that you see where they are admitted and then go visit those schools. After awhile the colleges all look the same. In fact, in my opinion, many are pretty much the same. You can get a good education wherever you go if you put your mind to it. It turns out not mattering much after your first job or two.

Thanks for your trip report.

Thank you for the trip report. It is very helpful as we are going to Washington next weekend with our teens (it won't be "hot" like it was in August!)

From what I read, I think it makes sense for us to skip the Spy Museum ($$). That leaves Saturday afternoon and Sunday to go to Ford's Theatre, National Archives, WWII Memorial, National Gallery, the American Indian Museum, and the National Building Museum. (These are sites we missed on our last visit to Washington). We have tickets to tour the Capitol on the day that we leave. My husband really wants to go to Mt. Vernon (I see that it's free on Monday, 2/19). Is it crazy to try to go to Mt. Vernon this trip? We arrive on a Sat. afternoon and leave on a Tuesday (after touring the Capitol). I know it's a lot to fit in - it's always hard to prioritize.

Mount Vernon is fabulous on a number of level, not the least that the beautiful grounds are such as break from the other museums. Don't miss he stroll to the Potomac and the farm. GW's study is amazing.

You can grab a great lunch or dinner in Old Town Alexandria, a fun stop.

When we get visitors, we try to include it whenever we can -- and it always ends up as one of the things they talk about most.

bookmarking

bookmarking

FYI: This trip report from 2006 mentions a visit to Ford's Theatre. Ford's Theatre is currently closed for renovation. However, the Petersen House is still open.