Washington DC - where to stay?

Try staying at 1600 pensylvania.

 

Are you white?

If so, Virginia.

 

We went for Thanksgiving and stayed at the Palomar near DuPont Circle. We enjoyed it and mass transit is the way to go.

 

Fairmont near M St NW is nice. I've stayed there a few times.

 

I'd probably just stay away. Life is too short as it is.

 

DC has the best mass transit in the world if you ask me.

 

When going to DC, I hear its best to stay as far from it as possible. JK. Virginia is supposed to be nice.

 

You could try a hotel.

 

mass transit

lots of good places to stay, but if you're going mass transit, you may want to avoid Georgetown since it's a good walk from a metro (subway) stop (~15 min walk--not bad, but not right there either)

dupont is a good rec. or somewhere around there

 

Definitely go to the Exorcist stairs in Georgetown Here's me:



anyways, the metro is pretty straightforward. Plus with all the taxis you should be fine, so really no need for a car. Hotels around Crystal City are pretty good. Restaurants, I really don't go to the expensive high end restaurants but instead go to the hidden gems that are not to expensive. So I guess I recommend going to Kabob Palace in Crystal City and the Main Avenue Fish Seafood area, they pack a wallop!

 

i'd recommend in staying at woodley park near the zoo. there are a couple hotels that are right next to the metro station. i've lived in the area for a few months. it's a very nice neighborhood and the metro can pretty much take you where ever you want.

 

if you plan to take the subway, i'd recommend buying the all-day tickets that let's you use the subway as often as you like for something like $7 or $8, or else you will have to pay for each ride which may end up costing more than $8. the subway routes can get a little confusing, but each station should have maps to help you get around.

i went to the last cherry blossom festival and there are so many things going on that week. definitely check out the blossoms around the jefferson memorial. there is a walkway near a big lake with cherry blossoms lining the whole way. also, you can ride in paddle boats on the lake. there's a parade, an outdoor japanese cultural festival, and an indoor performance headlining the cherry blossom festival.

call your local house of representatives office and ask to schedule a tour of the capitol and a white house tour. those fill up really fast so do that asap. check out some of the museums off of the Smithsonian metro. there's art, science, history, and aviation museums there. the natural science musuem was one of my faves. arlington memorial is also a good trip to take. They have the gravesites of the kennedys and watching the changing of the color guards.

as for food, if you get out of the gallery place/china town or columbia heights subway stops, there are restaurants everywhere. be sure to check out the famous ben's chili bowl on U street. dc also has jumbo slice pizza which is always fun to try. there is also this huge seafood market near the waterfront that sells fresh seafood like seasoned crabs to just eat on the waterfront-i'd definitely recommend checking that out. i think it is off of waterfront SEU, can't really remember.

if you're into the night scene, adams morgan has a lot of good bars and U street has several night clubs. during your trip, it would probably be a good idea to stay away from anacostia lol

 

Priceline to stay in a 4 star in Crystal City. Most likely you will get the Hyatt for $50 a night which is a steal for DC. Crystal City is safe and close to most anything. The hotel has a shuttle that will take you to the metro station. They may want to put you in floors 1-10 that looks away from the sites since you pricelined but if you ask nicely they may/will give you a higher floor that overlooks the river and airport (you can't hear the planes) - and off to the left is the capital building. The only bad thing is that they charge you to park ($25 a day?) + valet tip. Still a good deal though.

 

If you encounter a freak spring snowstorm in DC, whaterver you do, don't throw a snowball at a cop.

 

I'm not saying it sucks because it doesn't but the world?? Have you been outside of the US?

 

Arlington/Crystal city is the best option here. A short metro ride away from all the cherry blossom stuff and a very safe area (plus there's an underground mall thing connected to a lot of the hotels.. kinda cool).

 

Having family in Arlington, everytime I come to VA i get some tendoori chicken from there. It is really good stuff.

 

Chystal City is soulless... a monument to traveling Pentagon contractors and scared white people. If you're going to DC, stay in DC.

I used to live on Capital Hill, so I always stay there when I go back... usually at the Capital Hill Suites on the corner of 2nd and C Streets SE. It's a nice little hotel 2 blocks from Metro and right across the street from the Library of Congress Madison Building. Within walking distance are the Jefferson Building, Supreme Court, Capital, Union Station, and a host of smaller attractions like the Frederick Douglas House. You can even walk to the Smithsonian museums and the National Archives. I like to hit my old haunts, including a legendary bar, The Tune Inn (just around the corner on Pennsylvania) and the Hawk and Dove (same area), where slutty GOP interns used to hang out.

(Since 9-11 though, it's not as fun because they have the Capital grounds closed down pretty tight... you used to be able to walk all over the place at night and one of my favorite spots to view the Mall and city was from the top of the steps where the presidents get inaugerated... with the monuments lit up it was great.)

Dupont Circle area is another good place, as you are close to transportation and the restaurants are better than Capital Hill. The Thai places in DC are amazing and if you go to Chinatown (the Portrait Gallery is one of my favorite Smithsonian museums), check out Tony Cheng's Mongolian BBQ. Awesome.

Woodley Park is also OK for similar reasons.