Washington DC with kids
 

My husband and I are taking our two kids (4 and 2) on a wild adventure at the end of April. One of our stops brings us to the Nation's Capital. My son is really into presidents and wants to see the White House. Other than that we are hoping for a paddleboats ride, carousel ride, a visit to some museums and monuments and maybe a quick visit with some dear friends time and schedule permitting. Here is my question... We are debating between 2 Airbnb's. One is located in/near Logan Circle and the other is located near Eastern Market. Each place has pros and cons, but we are more concerned with location!! We can't Uber because of car seats and have some limitations with getting around because of small kids, although we will have a stroller. Please give us your thoughts on the best location for what we are planning on doing?

Since you will likely mostly be using Metro rail or buses when you aren't walking, I'd pick the place that puts you closest to pubic transportation.

For Eastern Market that will probably be the Eastern Mkt metro station. That is on the blue/orange/silver line which will be w/in easy reach of the places you've mentioned.

No super convenient Metro station at Logan Circle. It's a 10 + minute walk from LC to McPhereson Sq Metro Station which is also on the same rail line to the places you've mentioned. There is a Circulator bus which runs a route down 14th through Logan Circle to McPhereson Sq. $1 a ride, kids may be free.

Metro's SmarTrip card is good on both buses and rail.

Eastern Market and Logan Circle are neighborhood names that are sometimes applied more broadly than their actual geography Recommend checking a couple of sources to plot the actual distance to Metro or bus stop.

I agree with obxgirl 100%. Eastern Market should be more convenient for Metro access, but check the specific location.

Logan Circle is a very nice residential area with a Whole Foods and many good restaurants nearby, but not that convenient to Metro. Depending on where you are in the LC area, it could be more like 20 minutes to the MacPherson Square station.

I hope you're aware that you can view the White House but not get inside. To do the latter you need to get tickets far in advance through your representative or senator and not sure small children are allowed. And you can't bring anything inside with you - even if you can get tickets.

<i> To do the latter you need to get tickets far in advance through your representative or senator</i>

The window for getting tickets is 6 months to 21 days. You're on the late end of it but it's worth a shot. Some Hill staffers are more diligent than others about helping with tickets. Regardless the WH Visitors Center will be available to your family. Your son will enjoy that.

Consider a trip to Mount Vernon to see another President's home if time allows.

<i>not sure small children are allowed.</i>

Small children are allowed.

<i> And you can't bring anything inside with you - even if you can get tickets.</I>

Wrong. Cell phones, compact cameras, keys and wallets are allowed.

nytraveler, why always such a lemon face?

"My son is really into presidents"

The Portrait Gallery has a permanent exhibit of Presidential portraits which I like. I don't know if a 4 year old would be interested

http://si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Am...Presidents-262

I was also going to suggest Mount Vernon. Lots to see and do. We loved it.

Mount Vernon is great, especially if the weather is good enough for the kids to enjoy the grounds and farm animals.

Thank you all. I appreciate all the insights!! Very much looking forward to our crazy trip. Fingers crossed the kids will be well behaved and enjoy it as much as I hope!

Our son was very disappointed in the WH tour, calling it "just another old restored house".
Perhaps the Presidential monuments would be more fun, especially since you can visit them on your own schedule, not worried about restless little ones on a very adult oriented tour.

Another place that might be engaging for both children is the Postal Museum. It is next to Union Station. They can mail a letter to someone.

I presume the OP just meant the son wanted to actually see the White House, not take a tour of it, which wasn't mentioned. He is only four years old, after all. I think it is exciting to see some things like that which you've only viewed on TV -- the Capitol, White House, monuments.

I think Mt Vernon is a good idea.

As for location, I'd also say Eastern Market. I don't see Logan Circle being particularly convenient for visitors. The nearest metro stops are also somewhat dicey at times IMO (Mt Vernon or Shaw, or maybe even U St), anyway.

sounds wonderful, keep us posted!

Most of you posted something about Mt Vernon... So to follow up...

With small kids, how should one get there, boat cruise or metro followed by a 20 minute bus ride?

What are must sees and parts we could do without?

Not sure which to advise. Maybe others with better knowledge will chime in. We went on a bus tour and did not have enough time to enjoy it all. If we did it again, we would go on our own and go at our own pace.

You can request White House tickets through your congressman via their web site. Really easy. No guarantee you'll get them but worth a try. You don't find out until 2 weeks prior to your requested date.

I requested mine last month for my July trip to DC and they responded very quickly. Give it a try. Have a great trip!

<i>With small kids, how should one get there, boat cruise or metro followed by a 20 minute bus ride?</i>

Neither of those sound fantastic with two young kids in tow but for maximum flexibility, I'd probably do the metro/bus option. It isn't hard to figure out and the main thing will be to time it so you're not waiting too long for the bus once you get off the metro.

I thought DC was one of the cities with UberFamily. I know there is a surcharge for it but it might be worth it for a Mt Vernon trip. Either all the way from DC or from Huntington Station.

the National Zoo is very kid friendly and you can't beat the price of admission..its FREE...plus you can visit the new baby panda

It's been a while, but when we took our kids to DC, we had no car. We were able to see most everything by metro, bus or walking. I think we took a cab just once or twice when we were far from a metro stop at the end of a busy day.

The Smithsonian museums have lots of amazing things, and are FREE. Our kids loved the Natural History and Air & Space museums the best. There will be lots of other kids there, too, so more relaxed.

I wouldn't recommend this if it's a busy weekend in DC, but we also made good use of a hop on hop off (Old Town Trolley?) tour. The all day pass takes you to most all the sights and even the rides can be fun if you get good drivers. You jump off when ever you feel like it, and then catch the next one when you're done there. The lines can be long if its a school holiday though.

One of our favorite activities was canoeing on the C&O canal. You can rent boats there, and once we left the rental area, it felt like we were back in the 1600s. There were also bike rentals, and Park rangers doing kid stuff when we were there, but that was 20 years ago, so check this:
http://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm