marvelousmouse

Library of Congress as #1. Natural History museum. Smithsonians were my museum "gateway drug". The artifacts somehow brought history to life the way textbooks had failed to do so. The memorials, esp. Korean. Both Arlington and Holocaust museum left a lasting impression on me as a teen- in a haunting sort of way though, not happy touristy way. Sometimes you need that, though.

You know, what really did surprise me when I visited the first time (high school) was the height of the buildings (namely the lack thereof). Sort of odd, I guess, but I associated skyscrapers with major metropolitan areas.

flygirl

Thank you all again for such great reminders. I will be a mini tour guide as well so I'll read up on some things - for instance, all the speeches and rallies at the Lincoln Memorial.. I agree the Newseum is one of my favorite museums in town, as well. I'm an info geek though!


I like all the references to the guided tours so I will look into those as well. I can only learn so much stuff before his visit.

MichelleY

Our favorite was Mt. Vernon. Could have spent all day there.

We stayed at the Westin on Embassy Row. Mr.Y was in meetings so I went a few doors down and took a docent tour of the Lars Anderson House. Fascinating. Society of Cincinnati members can still stay at this house.

society of the cincinnati library

obxgirl

Look at the NPS website -- they do a ton of stuff on the National Mall May to September. I did the Run with A Ranger tour earlier this month. They do walking and biking tours as well as night time tours of the memorials. There are also Ranger talks for specific memorials which run two or three times a day. There are concerts and other cultural event scheduled too.

http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

starrs

With all due respect, "hidden gems" are great, but at first time visitor may regret not seeing the major things. A mix would be nice but so are the "touristy" things. I'd be bummed if I visited DC and didn't see the things that I expected to see.

lynni

I loved walking from the Washington Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial at night. It was a "must do" on my list and I'm so glad we made it happen. The memorials are spectacular and were beautiful during the day also but it was much more emotional seeing them at night for me.

The tour of the Capitol Building in Richmond, Virgina was the most meaningful tour I have ever been on in my life. The woman who gives tours on Tuesdays is incredible... I believe her name is Mrs. Tuttle. She is a former school teacher who truly made history come alive. A great prelude to all of the history in Washington, D.C.

Monument Avenue in Richmond as well as St. John's Church ( The church where Patrick Henry gave his " Give me liberty or give me death!" speech) were both wonderful and moving to see.

The World War Two Memorial is stunning.

I could have spent an entire day at Mount Vernon.

Barbara_in_FL

We also really enjoyed Mt. Vernon on our most recent trip. I had not been there in many years. The highlight was the "visit with Martha" - the Martha Washington re-enactor is really superb.

Googs

Our Pedicab ride was superb. Beautiful cherry blossoms then rode with busy traffic to Ollie's Trolly. Sensation like we were flying.

emily71

Washington Walks tours- modeled after London Walks guides you through different parts of the city-Embassy Row, Georgetown with historical facts and little known items. They also have a Local Saturday Walks for more specific interest. This week it's a guided tour focusing on Walt Whitman. For $20 dollars its a great way to learn more about this city. I'm a resident and I love it.

Or a water taxi ride on the Potomac is another idea.

Hobbert

I live in Northern Virginia and head into DC every now and then. I've done all the touristy stuff but made plans to spend the day with my (also local) best friend earlier this year. We ended up doing a Segway tour of DC and it was fantastic! We used Capital Segway but there are several businesses operating these tours. It took about 3 hours and we were able to zip around many memorials and see quite a bit of DC. The best part was that we weren't tired at the end of the day! CS wasn't too far from Zaytinya and we had a wonderful lunch.

I also recommend Mount Vernon. Standing on the porch, looking out over the Potomac makes me feel as though I've gone back in time. My favorite time of year there is Christmas when everything is decorated but any time of year is lovely, really. And the gift shop is huge

Rich

Udvar-Hazy

FDR Memorial

HappyTrvlr

I love all of the museums and the Washington Mall. The White House is a favorite of mine and I enjoyed seeing the WWII Memorial on my last visit. We have eaten lunch at the American Indian Museum which offers regional NA dishes. Enjoyed the musem too.