Hi,
My husband,teenage son and I will be traveling to Washington, DC at the end of July. We have chosen to stay at a TownPlace suites in Falls Church, Va. Can anyone tell me if this area is a good choice? Is it convenient to the Metro? Is the area condusive to walking? Any helpful info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I've never heard of it. Falls Church has good sections and kind of OK sections. I would call the hotel and ask them all this information.

I'm not positive, but I don't think the metro runs in the Falls Church area. You can check www.wmata for the metro routes, there may be a metro bus to a nearby stop.

Falls Church is a suburb, there are a few parts that one can walk around, other parts are typical highway suburban traffic areas.

Just returned from DC - stayed at the Hampton Inn in Alexandria -- just a block from metro center - nice area - would stay there again - Old Town Alexandria has some nice shops, restaurants and a very nice waterfront area. We walked every evening to dinner in Old Town - - loved it!!!

There's not too much happening in Falls Church VA so I'm guessing you got a marvelous price on this suite there. Otherwise I'd recommend you either stay downtown DC or as the other poster suggested Alexandria VA. Embassy Suites in Alexandria is quite nice and convenient to the subway and a lot of what is happening in Alexandria in the evening. But if you want convenience, stay at the JWMarriott, the Holiday Inn downtown or the Hyatt on New Jersey Ave. These are really good locations. You can see the capitol, check out all the Smithsonian museums, the Wash monument, Jefferson & Lincoln memorials, the Viet Nam memorial, Natural History, Air & Space, National Gallery of Art and then hop the Metro up to the zoo and see the pandas. Then the next day you can take in Arlington cemetery, the Iowa Jima memorial, etc, etc. Enjoy it - it's your capitol!!!
Just don't make any hotel reservations at any hotels on New York Ave NE. remember that

Metro runs through falls church--there are two stops on the Orange line, East Falls Church, and West Falls Church. It is a suburb of DC, but you can be in DC (by car via Route 66 in non-rush hour traffic) in about 15-20 minutes. As a tourist, I think that you would have a better time staying either in the city, or in Old Town Alexandria as others have suggested. You could also check Crystal City, which is only 3 stops from DC (L'Enfant Plaza), and has one of just about every hotel brand around. They frequently run weekend deals because Crystal City is a business/office area. I agree with the previous poster, do not stay in any hotels on New York Avenue, or on South Capitol Street.

Here's some advice from a local resident:

Town Place Suites is in a very safe, primarly residential part of Falls Church and built within the last year or so. While walking is safe in the area, there may not be many things nearby that a tourist would want to go, so that is up to you.

Although Falls Church is a suburb of DC, it isn't a typical suburb - it's still inside the beltway and a very small and quiet community (the main street has a 25mph speed limit, if that gives you an idea). I wouldn't call it particularly convenient to Metro for tourists, but according to the Marriott website the hotel is one mile from the East Falls Church metro.

For dining out, I recommend Broad Street Grill and Ireland's Four Provinces, both within walking distance. A bit further away are The Sign of the Whale and The Italian Cafe, which I also recommend. Also check out the State Theater, which is a classy venue for hearing local bands (http://www.thestatetheater.com), which might interest your son.

Stayed at Embassy Suites Alexandria last Thur-Sun, which was nice, but was also $190/night. Sometimes a little extra commuting can mean big $avings on the hotel. After we'd booked, found we could stay at Embassy Suites Tyson Corners for $75/night. Heck, $115 a day pays for a lot of taxi's, meals, shows, or whatever, but my fellow travelers didn't wish to change itinerary. I've come in from Vienna, and it's not a bad ride, for the money you will certainly be saving.

I'd pay someone $115 a day just so I wouldn't have to stay in Tysons Corner.

There's also a Hilton and Hampton Inn just as near King Street metro in Old Town Alex. You can probably beat that rate at the Hampton (new hotel--opened about 6 months ago).

The town of Falls Church is nice, but you can easily end up in strip mall hell. But it's not a bad location at all as a base for touring DC, assuming you are close to the metro. And if, for some reason, you were trying to choose between Tysons Corner and Falls Church, FC is much closer to DC. Try the Lost Dog Cafe just over the border into Arlington, not too far from the East Falls Church metro. Best pizza and sandwiches in the area.

Yes, the TownPlace Suites are in a nice little residential area. Can you walk to Metro? No, not quickly or easily. Is the area conducive to walking? An after-dinner stroll, yes. Walking around to enjoy the sights, no. While we are a pleasant little city with great schools, we don't have much by way of tourism-the city council hasn't made a commercial growth decision in at least twenty years. Falls Church City itself has no strip malls; that dubious distinction belongs to the Fairfax County part of Falls Church. For restaurants we have Haandi (great Indian food), Broad Street Grill, Argio's, and Ireland's Four Provinces plus a handful of chain restaurants.