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I'm being sent to DC for a month and a half class. I'll be staying at a hotel in Arlington and was wondering if there were any Jatraqueros in the area.
I'm also taking suggestions for activities.
Posts: 1156 | Registered: Jan 2004
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You might be able to score a tour of the White House. But the tour consists only of three rooms on the ground floor due to the recent security precautions.
*shrugs* It's still kind of neat. They have most of the presidential portraits and some antique furniture on display in the rooms. Mostly, it's just cool to say you've been to the White House.
Obviously, I would also suggest some of the major landmarks (assuming, of course, that you haven't been). You can check out the Vietnam Wall, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument. Since you're going to be in Arlington, that would be a necessary trip too.
If you can make it, I would suggest you plan at least a week to spend at the various components of the Smithsonian. You really need a lot of time to see it all. Also, the Library of Congress is neat.
Depending on your connections, you might be able to take a tour of the Pentagon. That was really interesting also.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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Required statement to all visitors to DC: stand on the right, walk on the left on the Metro escalators.
I'm in the area, and I know there's a few other Jatraqueros around. Where are you going to be staying in Arlington?
Obviously, there's all the tourist-y things to do - everything Smithsonian, the military monuments, walking around the different neighborhoods (Georgetown, Chinatown, U street). Any good handbook to DC will be able to tell you about all of these.
Other than that, well, I haven't been in the area long enough to tell you much. There's a couple of good parks within driving distance. We went to Great Falls National Park today, which is close enough to be a nice place for a morning run or an afternoon hike. There's also Shenadoah National Park which is a bit further out - about a 2-3 hour drive, depending on traffic - but absolutely gorgeous.
Finally, for great food in the region, I really, really recommend Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide. He's an economist at George Mason University, but loves food and lists great reviews. I haven't been lead wrong by him yet.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Go to the Smithsonian air and space museum, it is awesome. Truly, it inspires awe. I only had about 30 minutes free, and only got to stand in the main atrium but it was enough to get me gawping like a tom-fool... For me, to see the Spirit of St. Louis hanging from the ceiling was incredible.
I would also recommend a trip to the Lincoln Memorial passing the other memorials on the way. The Vietnam Wall is a very discreet monument, but all the more powerful for being so.
On a more mundane note, I would recommend Georgetown as a great place to grab a beer - assuming that sort of thing is on your agenda...
Coincidently, I'll be in DC during the first week in June - but as it's on business and for less than a day* I don't think I'll be able to meet up for a pint (or whatever) - sorry!
* Madrid to Houston on the Tuesday, Houston to DC on the Wednesday and Home to Spain via Germany on the Thursday. On the brightside, it's too short to get really jetlagged (I hope...)
Posts: 892 | Registered: Oct 2006
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Obviously there's the uber touristy stuff in DC, much of which is perfectly awesome. I was just there this past summer for the fourth or fifth time, and I love the museums and monuments.
But there's a lot of cool nearby stuff too. There are a couple different tourist companies that let you take a guided day trip to Gettysburg NMP. Gettysburg is another place I've been a few times. Read up on it a bit before you go so you know the players involved and have an idea as to how the battle played out, it'll make it more enjoyable. Fredericksburg NMP is just south of Arlington I think, maybe an hour drive or so?
For some things you might want to do, get tickets in advance, like if you want to go to the top of the Washington Monument to look out from the viewing deck. I forgot to get tickets and by the time I remembered, it was a couple weeks until our trip and they were already sold out. You have to get there at some ungodly hour in the morning to hope and pray that they have extras or cancellations ready to first come first serve customers. Just get them online, it's fast and easy and much less of a hassle if you do it now.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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If you're going to Fredericksburg, plan for an all day excursion. The 'Burg is 60 miles south of DC, and while most of the historical attractions are within walking distance, there are a LOT of them.
Depending on what time you leave and what time you return, your travel time is likely to be between 1-2 hours ONE WAY.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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If you go to the Smithsonian or National Gallery, get lunch or dinner at Jaleo. Every time we go downtown we mean to try another restaurant, but we just can't pass up the yummy tapas.
Posts: 834 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I am a tree person - the National Arboretum is my favorite place in DC. It might also be my favorite because it is the only place I can get to by car without paralyzing fear of getting lost :X. On foot the city makes sense, on the metro it makes sense - in the car, not so much.
Posts: 1676 | Registered: Jul 2000
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I'll be staying at the Virginian Suites. I think. I've heard that it's in a relatively centralized location.
What I've gathered from the responses thus far is that if I do nothing else, I MUST go to the Smithsonian.
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Maybe this is obvious, but--keep in mind that the Smithsonian encompasses over a dozen different museums (including several that aren't in DC). Don't even think of trying to see them all in one day.
My favorite Smithsonian museums are the Freer and Sackler galleries.
Posts: 650 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Oh. I'm sure I'd heard that it was a conglomerate before but I was still carrying around the mental image of one ginormous museum. Thanks.
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Well, some of them are connected underground, which is either kind of cool or extremely confusing, depending on your perspective and orienteering abilities.
I would also second visiting the Library of Congress, and add the US Botanic Gardens, the Holocaust Museum, and the Textile Museum to the list of cool places. Oh, and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, which many people miss, on account of it being on an island rather than on the Mall. You can walk there from Rosslyn metro.
Posts: 650 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I used to live just across the street from the Virginian Suites! It is a very good location, with about a 7 minute walk to the Rosslyn metro (altho the Virginian has a shuttle if you're, um, lazy), and just down the street from the Iwo Jima memorial and Arlington Cemetery.
The Rosslyn neighborhood (all the different sections of Arlington County are named, often according to the closest Metro stop) is pretty "downtown-ish", with lots of tall office buildings. There's a fair number of fast food eateries that are open at lunch, but most places close down once the business people have cleared out for the day. However, the Rosslyn Metro is on both the blue & orange lines, so you can get into DC very quickly.
You're also not that far from the Courthouse & Clarendon metro stops (in VA), which are a bit more lively neighborhoods. Clarendon, in particular, has a number of great restaurants and pubs, if that's your sort of thing. Prices are cheaper than in DC, too. The walk between Rosslyn & Courthouse has some good places to eat.
Are you coming with a car? If not, then your options for groceries are going to be a little 7-11 type store (independently owned) that's just a block away, and a Safeway which is near the Rosslyn Metro. If you do have a car, then I'd suggest going to either Giant's (best price) or Whole Foods (tasty organic food), which are located near the Clarendon Metro. They've both got much better selection than the Safeway.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I'll second the arboretum. The Bonsai gardens in there are amazing. I love the Capitol Columns and the Asian Garden too. You really need either a car or a bike though to get around the arboretum, unless you really, REALLY like walking.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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If you have any location-specific questions, feel free to ask. We stayed in that area for almost a year, and completely loved it - only moved out because we wanted to buy a place with a yard. I have a bunch favorite restaurants in the area that I can recommend too.
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