wendy

The $5 all-day metro pass is good any time after 9:30am.

A day trip to Mt. Vernon possible on your own - take the yellow line to the end - Huntingdon station - and a bus from there, or you can probably get an organized tour from your hotel. Try http://www.mountvernon.org/

peg

The holocaust museum in DC is nothing like those in Europe. Do NOT miss it.

Neal Sanders

Cathy, regarding Mount Vernon...

Mount Vernon is about twelve miles south of Washington, on the Potomac River. There's a wonderful parkway that goes there, hugging the river all the way down. But.... there's no public transportation to get there. You drive yourself (there's ample parking), you take the Metro as far as King Street and then a cab (probably $20), or you take a tour bus. It is possible that one of the tourist trolleys go there (they have Mount Vernon on their side as one of their destinations) though in eight years of living in Alexandria I never saw one of the trolleys on the George Washington Parkway. The tour busses appear to allow about two hours at Mount Vernon; not nearly enough time in my opinion to see that wonderful place. If you're staying with good friends, this may be the one time you want to borrow their car.

Christina

Just in case it's a little confusing, the $20 metro ticket is not really a "pass", (the $5 one really is a pass)it's just an accumulated fare ticket -- you put in as much money as you want to the vending machine and it spits out a ticket for that amt of money. YOu use that ticket in the turnstiles until it's used up; upon exit of the metro, it calculates how much to subtract from your ticket. It's just that if you buy at least $20 worth, you get an extra 10 pct bonus added on to it. As for Mt Vernon, there definitely IS public transportation there (Fairfax bus) and has been for many years; I've taken it and the above URL is correct for info on it. Anyway, I live in DC and you can put me in the camp of those who say the buildings on the mall are very far apart, not close together at all. They're just big, that's all, and so is the mall area and that museum area takes up a lot of space--it's eight blocks between the National Gallery and Museum of Nat History, for example, and those are not short blocks. It's too bad you will be here in Feb, otherwise there would be several things to recommend for gardens, etc. I disagree about the White House tour, I think it is very interesting and worth seeing even without a guided special tour; however, I see no point to memorials and monuments and would skip all of them; they are just marble buildings constructed for that purpose, they don't have any particular historical significance, and often no architectural one either IMO (except for the Vietnam Memorial which is good design, but not of much interest to foreigners, I'd guess). I think the Library of Congress is well worth seeing, it is a beautiful building inside and often has interesting exhibits; also, the Building Museum is one of my favorites. Among the Smithsonians, the Am History is my favorite.

Annie

White House tour is definitely not worth it, unless you want to be able to say you've been there. Mount Vernon is a good choice, and the tour there is interesting.

It probably will not rain much (unless you bring the bad weather with you.). However, it will likely be pretty cold (30-40 F, although it can be warmer).

Avoid Queen Bee. Lots of people swear by it, but it has been going downhill very quickly, and the last time I went the food was barely edible. Nam Viet's okay.

Hit Ford's theater. Very cool.

Cathy

Hi folks,
Me again with more questions
1. How does an European go about arranging tickets from "her" congressman to see the Library and the Capitol Building or the White House ?

2. Which is the best, in your opinion, the Trolley or Tourmobile. We plan to take one just to get our bearings before returning to do some of the places in more details.

Many thanks in advance,

Cathy

Cindy

Hi, Cathy.

Here are my opinions:

I have only taken the Tourmobile, so I can't comment on the trolley. You might inquire how frequently they run. You'd hate to have a long wait in February. Also, you should know that the Tourmobile has two "loops" that intersect, and a little loop that goes around Pennsylvania Ave. The little loop uses a van, not a big tram, and it runs infrequently and was way too crowded when I was on it. Something to consider.

As for getting White House Tickets, I would suggest two possibilities. If you have a friend, your friend can try to secure them. I tried to get them once for my parents from Arizona, so I called their senator. The senator's office would only mail them to an address in Arizona, so the tickets had to be sent directly to my parents. So your friend might have to request them, then send them to you. Just a hunch, but you might also call your embassy in the U.S. and see if they can help you.

ilisa

Cathy, can you tell us the dates you will be in DC? I will then look up the congressional calendar and see if there is a scheduled break when you will be in town (my entire job revolves around Congress). If you are visiting when Congress is not in session (weekend, recess), then you don't need tickets to visit the House and Senate galleries. If you can't get White House passes through a congressional office from a friend, then you will have to go to the White House Visitors Center to pick them up. They start distributing timed tickets at 7:30am - 4 per person. White House tours are given Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to noon (whoever is in line at noon will get in). Personally, I don't think the tour is worth that much trouble.

jwagner

Cathy,

Another vote for the holocaust museum. Also, you might get a laugh out of the protesters who plant themselves in the park across from the White House each day. You can see what the Gripe du jour is. Check with your embassy (before you leave your home country) about obtaining VIP passes to the White House or other activities. Embassy Row itself is very interesting.

Gary

Cindy and/or ilisa:

I'm bringing my teenagers to Washington in June--they've never been and I want to take them before they're old enough to refuse to go along. I've been there many times, so I know where I want to take them, but I have never taken the White House tour. Questions:

1. Does the tour have a minimum-age limitation?

2. If I try to get tickets through my congressamn, and considering school will be out, how early should I write? Does this type of ticket specify a certain day/time?

3. What (ilisa) did you think was not worth it? Too long, too boring, etc? I mean, I would have liked to see it when I was fourteen or fifteen, but then, I'm kind of a geek. Do you think eight or tenth graders would hate it?

Thanks both for your DC expertise.

xxx

Gary,

Call the local office for your Congressperson. If you don't know the telephone number, or the office is in a different city, ask the reference desk at your public library.

When I did this a few years ago, they kept the tickets at the DC office, sort of like will call.

Each Senator/Congressperson gets a limited amount so reserve early.

Cindy

Gary,

No minimum age requirement for the White House tour that will affect you. I took a 3-year old once.

As for the length, I recall that the tour was pretty quick. Maybe 30-45 minutes, which is a reason some people think it is not worth the effort.

Call your Congressperson yesterday. Summer is quite busy.

I wasn't successful trying to get White House Tour tickets at the visitor center at 7:30. We went very early (7:45-ish) and they were already out of tickets.

As for whether the tour is worth it, Gary, if you've always wanted to do it, that's reason enough. Just make sure you lower the kids' expectations a lot. This tour is really just a glimpse. The best part is snapping pictures right in front of the portico as though you are some cool "Friend of George" or something.

Also, if you know anyone working in the White House (like an intern -- ha ha), secret service, Old Executive Office building, see if your friend can walk you around. I have pictures of myself standing in front of the press secretary's podium. My kids did this once with a Secret Service friend, and they saw all of nifty parts of the White House, including the bowling alley (can't believe there is one, but the kids swore).

Have fun!

ilisa

Cathy, congressional staff recommend that you request White House tickets at least 3 months in advance; they only get about 10 tickets per week. Congressional tours are given early - between 7:45 and 8:45am. I don't think the general tour is worth it because 1) it is not guided like the congressional tour; 2) it is way too crowded. Personally, and this is just my opinion, I don't think you see anything earth shattering for all the trouble you have to go through to get in. Good luck!

Annie

Tourmobile (a trolley blew up a couple of years ago).

Cathy-I would try any congress member with Irish connections, such as Ted Kennedy or Bob Kerry. Turn on the charm, and you shouldn't have a problem getting tickets. Or if they can't help you, they might be able to direct you elsewhere.

Gary

Cindy:

Thanks a lot for the advice--I'll call the Congressman's office this week (David Drier, of all people). Note: I also knew of the bowling alley--I think Ford was a big user of it, and I've read that the Secret Service has a league. Will being making more detailed plans in the coming months, but there is SO much good D.C. advice on this site, it should be pretty easy.

Thanks again.

ilisa

Cindy, I vouch for your kids! There really is a bowling alley. It's only one lane, but it is there.

Topper

Where but only to the top

Cathy

Ok folks, many thanks for all your wondeful help and I hope that I can return the favour to those of you heading to Europe.

This post concerns the question that I promised I would never ask (having answered them elsewhere) - what to wear? OK the weather is brutally cold and miserable in DC but no worse than parts of Europe that I have been in recent times but that leaves me with a question as to what is suitable apart from layers and warmth for outdoors, museums, the Mall, the Capitol etc. I want to be comfortable and warm but not by wearing jeans and heavy sweater. Hints and advice gratefully accepted and any tips also taken with great thanks.

Many thanks


Cathy

tee3

Hi Cathy - It sounds like whatever you'd be comfortable wearing in Europe would probably do the trick here in D.C. You will see people wearing all sorts of things - but nothing too dressy for walking around on the Mall. If it's rainy, it can get pretty muddy. The best advice I could give would be to wear comfy shoes - like you wouldn't know to do that anyway! If you don't want to wear jeans, I would at least recommend slacks of some sort. It isn't typically rainy, but we did just have 3 days of rain that culminated with about 5" of snow. It's really unpredictable. Some posters have almost touched on this subject, but you might want to plan your days so that you are away from the Mall at lunchtime. There aren't a lot of places to eat around there, except for the hotdog vendors on the street and the cafeteria style eatery which doesn't serve anything that really tastes like food - it looks like food, but it's not worth the money you'll pay for it. Here's an example: you could go to the Mall in the morning, do some sightseeing, then go to the area around Ford's Theatre to eat (the Lincoln House restaurant - more like a diner, Hard Rock cafe, etc.), and then go to Ford's Theatre or you could tour the FBI building - it's all on the same block. You're very near one of the art museums, too. At any rate I hope you have a great time - I'm sure you will!

Annie

FYI--The only other bowling alley in the District is at George Washington University in the Marvin Center (21st & I). I have fond memories as a student of consuming moderate amounts of alcohol and being required to perform vulgar hip movements at the foul line any time I bowled a strike.