Washington DC, District of Columbia Reviews and Ratings

my 11 year old son chose DC as our vacation destination for a week. We stayed at the Mayflower which was wonderful. The public transportation was great. We had the best time. We didn't get to see everything, but we saw alot. Between history lessons and the "National Treasure" moment it was great. We got to see old friends, ate great food, saw national treasures you get to see once in your life if you are lucky, and took a great boat ride to Mount Vernon and spent a nice day there. Hope to go back again some day to see it all again.

I was in d.c. in may .My Mother wanted to go for a mother's day trip so we booked hotel and flight a week after so we would'nt fall into any extra rush. My mom had a blast it was her first time and a second for myself . We did a tour of the capitol area , w the Lincoln memorial,saw Jefferson Memorial as well as FDR's . We saw alot of things along that line .The museums are excellent and the buildings are absolutely gorgeous . I would definitely recommend a trip to our nation's capitol .It has to be second to none!!!!

I have been a "native" Washingtonian for 15 years now. I regret is that I did not get here sooner. If I can offer some advice; The Smithsonian never ceases to amaze. I have heard Europeans say D.C. is the greatest art museum city on earth - 7 of the 19 various museums of the Smithsonian are art galleries. The good news is that in the last 10 years or so, what used to be a rough part of downtown (sometimes called "old downtown", or "eastern downown) is back with a vengeance. The new Verizon arena opened, and began a renaissance in a huge part of downtown. There are now tons more restaurants (including a Wolfgang Puck), and many museums. These mostly will charge. The International Spy Museum is fascinating. The coup de grace hit this week with the new $450 million Newseum. It is huge and fascinating. Right on Pennsylvania Avenue, it has a roof top deck open to the public with views to die for. Our zoo is beautiful and right off a subway stop. Our new little baby Panda is a riot. He , drives his mama insane, and the crowds howl with laughter. Our Metro is spotless and relatively cheap. It is also very very safe. D.C. has all the problems other big cities have. That said, I've never had problems, I would say that if you drew a ring about 150 miles in any direction around D.C. you would enclose about 90% of the country's history. These places are an easy drive - Montecello, Jamestown the 1st English settlement, now 400 years old, years before Plymouth. In fact, when the Mayflower hit, Virginia had 11 settlements going strong. Harpers Ferry is an easy drive, or in fact you can take a MARC commuter train there. Annapolis is incredible & considered a suburb. There are battlefields all over, Mannassas, Gettysburg. Oh, and Yorktown where we won the revolution. -- If we seem a bit cold, please understand some tourists snap at us. We try to help when they're clearly lost, but they "don't need help!". We try. So come visit !!!

I have been traveling to DC regularly for the past 20 years, and I don't think there is a city in the country that can match it for great museums, a treasure trove of professional theatres, amazing art galleries and bright, connected people. Because of it's place as seat of the national government, it draws the brightest minds in the country, many of whom regularly partake of the free art and history museums, and have caused a boom in professional regional theatre. Many of these venues are located within a very reasonable walk of each other, and staying somewhere along the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor will afford you days and days and nights and nights of museums, American history, fine art, performing art, and some fine dining as well. . .

The DC reviewer should check carefully... From the National Arboretum website... Is there a place to eat on the Arboretum grounds? Currently there is no food service available on-site, but you may bring a picnic lunch when you visit the Arboretum. Picnic tables are located in the National Grove of State Trees designated picnic area.