Washington, D.C.

Understand

History

Washington, D.C., is a city born of politics, by politics, and for politics. It wasn't the first national capital: Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Annapolis, Trenton, and even New York City all tried their hand at hosting the national government. For a time, it seemed like Philadelphia would stake a claim as home to the federal government. However, Congress soured on the "Cradle of Liberty" after disaffected American soldiers, with the tacit sanction of the Pennsylvania government, chased the legislators out of the city to Princeton. That incident made clear that the nation's capital would need to be independent from the then-powerful state governments and that the southern states would refuse to accept a northern capital. Three of the nation's founding fathers, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, agreed in 1790 to a compromise location for a new national capital on largely uninhabited land along the Potomac River in the Mid-Atlantic. This was made famous in the musical Hamilton with the song The Room Where It Happened. The exact location was left up to George Washington, who carved a diamond-shaped federal district out of land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, which happened to be near his plantation at Mount Vernon. The new territory also included two existing settlements: Georgetown, on the Maryland side of the Potomac, and Alexandria, Virginia, at the district's southern tip.

The French-born architect Pierre L'Enfant was charged with planning a new federal city on the north side of the Potomac, next to Georgetown. L'Enfant's plan, modeled after some of the leading cities in Europe, envisioned large parks and wide streets, including a grand boulevard connecting the "President's House" to the Capitol building. However, L'Enfant was an eccentric and fought bitterly with the commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. President Washington eventually dismissed L'Enfant, but the problems didn't end there. Issues with financing and a lack of skilled craftsmen slowed the construction of the city. The commissioners relied on African slaves lent from nearby plantations to complete construction. The federal government finally moved to the new capital in 1800, which by then had been named Washington in honor of its founder, though he still preferred to call it the "Federal City." British forces invaded the city during the War of 1812, burning and gutting the Capitol Building, Treasury, and White House, although they were all rebuilt shortly thereafter. Things didn't get much better for the new national capital. When he founded the city, President Washington thought that a flourishing trade would help support the capital, but the idea was short-lived. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal was built in 1831 to bypass the treacherous rapids of the Potomac River and move goods from the western territories along the Ohio River all the way to Georgetown, where they could then be loaded onto ships. However, the canal was unable to compete with the more efficient Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which was completed around the same time as the canal. Alexandria suffered disproportionately, since the government's plans favored the port at Georgetown and all government buildings were, by law, built within the City of Washington. The economic stagnation, combined with fears that the federal government would ban Alexandria's thriving slave trade (and it eventually did), caused Congress to return all the District's land that had been donated by Virginia. The 1846 "retrocession", as it is now known, spoiled the city's fine diamond shape, leaving under federal control only the land that had been donated by Maryland.

Washington's compromise location on the border of North and South proved precarious during the Civil War. Caught between Confederate Virginia on one side of the Potomac, and southern sympathizers in surrounding Maryland, President Abraham Lincoln established a network of forts surrounding the capital, which were put to the test in the Battle of Fort Stevens, a minor diversionary attack in July 1864. As the center of war operations for the Union, government workers, soldiers, and runaway slaves flooded into the city. Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation. After the war, some members of Congress suggested moving the capital further west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider such a proposal. In 1871, Congress created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia charged with modernizing the capital. Sewers and gas lines were installed, streets were paved, and the town was transformed into a modern metropolis. However, the high cost of the initiative (and alleged cronyism) ultimately bankrupted the District government and later public works projects could not keep up with the city's growing population. By the early 1900s, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital had become marred by slums and randomly placed buildings, including a railroad station on the National Mall. A plan enacted by Congress in 1901 beautified Washington's ceremonial core, re-landscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new city-wide park system, finally developing the city into L'Enfant's intended grand design. The New Deal spending of the 1930s under president Franklin Delano Roosevelt led to the construction of even more federal buildings, memorials, and museums. With the start of World War II, government spending in Washington increased, a trend that has continued over the decades. The end of World War II saw the establishment of the modern international finance system, and Washington D.C. became home to the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. In 1957, Washington became the first major city to have a majority African-American population; the city's population exceeded 800,000. The March on Washington and the I Have A Dream speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 were major events in the civil rights movement. After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, riots broke out at the intersection of 14th St and U St and 1,200 buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Many businesses were forced to close and thousands of jobs were lost permanently. The influx of crack cocaine marred the District in the 1970s and 1980s. Government services and the public school system went into disrepair. The expanding suburbs, with excellent schools and lower crime and tax rates, became more desirable places to live for many. The population of the District fell below 600,000, shrinking the tax base. The arrest of Mayor Marion Barry on drug charges in 1990 also hurt the city's reputation. In 1991, D.C. led the country in homicides and many of the buildings destroyed in the 1968 riots still remained in rubble. Several government agencies, including the Patent and Trade Office, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), moved their offices to the suburbs. A wave of change began in the late 1990s. The construction of the Capital One Arena and the nearby Metrorail station in 1997 led people to return to the East End for the first time in years. Further revitalization efforts in the late 1990s, supported by President Bill Clinton and Mayor Anthony Williams, made D.C. one of the fastest-improving cities in the U.S. The population again began to climb.

What's inside

Virtually all of D.C.'s tourists flock to the National Mall—a two-mile long, beautiful stretch of parkland that holds many of the city's monuments and Smithsonian museums—but the city itself is a vibrant metropolis that often has little to do with monuments, politics, or white, neoclassical buildings. The Smithsonian museums are "must sees," but you haven't really been to D.C. until you've been out and about the city.

Suburbs

Many attractions, such as the Arlington Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Washington D.C. LDS Temple, as well as the area's best ethnic dining, and hotels with a slightly lower sales tax rate are just beyond the city borders—don't miss the Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, and Silver Spring.

Getting there

By plane

Washington, D.C. (WAS IATA for all airports) is served by three major airports. All three airports offer unlimited free Wi-Fi.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA IATA) is the closest and most convenient airport to D.C., 3 mi (4.8 km) south of the city in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River. However, there are no customs clearance facilities and therefore it can only serve destinations in the United States or airports in Canada and the Caribbean that allow U.S. customs pre-clearance. Moreover, due to the noise created by planes flying directly over a heavily populated area, the number of non-stop long-haul flights is limited. At Gravelly Point Park, directly north of the runway, you can watch planes takeoff and land, providing some great photo opportunities. To get to D.C. from the airport:

WMATA operates Metrorail service to/from the airport via the Blue and Yellow lines. The trip to the East End takes approximately 15 minutes and costs approximately $3. Hours of operation are generally M-Th 5AM-11:30PM, F 5AM-1AM, Sa 7AM-1AM, and Su 7AM-11PM Uber, Lyft, DCAcar and Taxis take approximately 10 minutes to Washington, D.C.

Getting around

Be prepared to walk until your feet hurt! It's no surprise that D.C. has been cited as the fittest city in the country; residents and visitors get a lot of exercise simply getting around the city! Even if you plan on taking public transportation or driving, you will often find yourself walking or biking for a large portion of the day. Most of the city's attractions, such as the museums and monuments along the National Mall, are located near each other, which makes driving or taking Metrorail between the sights either impractical or impossible. Therefore, make sure to wear good walking shoes and, especially during the spring and summer, wear comfortable and light clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, apply sunscreen, and carry a bottle of water. Also, when it comes to shoes, lots of government buildings have metal detectors at the entrances, and if your shoes have any kind of metal reinforcement they will set off the metal detectors, forcing you to take them off, have them inspected, and just generally take more time getting in and out of the building than you had to spend. During the summer, visit air-conditioned museums during the day, and save the monuments, neighborhood tours, and other outdoor attractions for the cooler early morning and evening hours.

City layout

The city is split into four quadrants of unequal size, which radiate out from the Capitol Building: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). The NW quadrant is by far the largest and SW the smallest. Addresses in the city always include the quadrant abbreviation, e.g., 1000 H Street NE. Take note of the quadrant, otherwise you may find yourself on the exact opposite side of town from your destination! City streets are generally laid out in a grid, with east-west streets primarily named with letters (A–W) and north-south streets named with numbers. The street numbers and letters increase as the distance from the Capitol building increases, and sometimes letters are skipped. The numerous diagonal avenues, many named after states, serve as the city's principal arteries. The grid has a few peculiarities that are a legacy from the city's foundation. The City of Washington originally occupied only a portion of the total area of the District. As a result, outside of what is now often called the "L'Enfant City", streets do not strictly adhere to the grid system. However, you will find that many street names were simply extended where practical and, past the letter "W", for east-west streets, two-syllable street names (e.g., Irving Street, Lamont Street) follow the single-letter streets in alphabetical order, followed by three-syllable street names. There is no "J" St. This is because, until the mid-19th century, the letters "I" and "J" were largely considered interchangeable. Following that same idea, "I" Street is often written as "Eye" Street, to distinguish it from the letter "L" and the numeral "1", and "Q" Street is often written "Que," "Cue," or "Queue."

By public transportation

It is usually easier to use public transportation as opposed to driving in traffic and paying expensive parking rates. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the city's public transportation system. Information about all modes of local public transportation is available on goDCgo. Fares can be paid by credit card, mobile payment service or via a SmarTrip card ($2 cost), which can be purchased and refilled at any Metrorail station. Transfers between buses are free for 2 hours, while transfers between Metrorail and bus receive a $2.25 discount (the cost of the bus). Flat-rate Metrorail/Metrobus passes, good for an unlimited number of trips for 1 day ($13.50), 3 days ($33.75), 7 days ($60.75), or monthly ($72-216), are available for purchase at Metrorail stations. However, the passes are rarely a good deal for most tourists; the cost is usually more than you would spend by paying as you go. Note that there was a modest streetcar system from 2016 to 2026. A proposed trolleybus system may be implemented in 2027.

See

Most of the attractions in D.C. are on the National Mall, the West End, and Capitol Hill. While there are many maps on display throughout the city, the official National Mall map and the Library of Congress map are great to have handy. The National Mall is a unique park, filled with an intense concentration of monuments, memorials, museums, and monumental government buildings instantly recognizable to people all over the world. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, and the Holocaust Museum, are just a few of the top attractions on the National Mall. To walk down the National Mall is to thread the halls of world power in the modern era. Here the world's most powerful politicians and their staffs fill the grand neo-classical buildings of the three branches of US Government, making decisions that reverberate in the remotest corners of the world. The National Mall is larger than it looks, and a walk from one end of the National Mall to the other will take a while and may wear you down a bit. Plan ahead what you want to see and concentrate your activities in one section of the National Mall each day. The East End, just north of the National Mall, includes many more museums and attractions, including the National Portrait Gallery, the American Art Museum, and the National Archives, which houses original copies of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. The White House, as well as The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum and the Kennedy Center, are in the West End. The Capitol Building and the Supreme Court are on Capitol Hill. Another attraction here that shouldn't be missed is the Library of Congress, which has some of the most beautiful architecture that can be seen in the city. The free National Zoo in Upper Northwest is one of the nation's most prestigious zoos, and the National Cathedral is an awe-inspiring mammoth. Dupont Circle is home to much of Embassy Row, an impressive stretch of some 50 foreign-owned historic and modernist mansions along Massachusetts Ave, as well as several brilliant small museums, such as the Phillips Collection and the Woodrow Wilson House. The historic neighborhood of Georgetown is the oldest part of the city, full of beautiful old colonial buildings, the 200+ year-old Jesuit campus of Georgetown University that resembles a Harry Potter film set, restaurants along the waterfront, the C&O canal, and the infamous Exorcist steps. By car or bus, you can get to some of the capital's more far-flung and less-frequented attractions, such as the National Arboretum in the Near Northeast, or the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in eastern Anacostia. By taking the Metro red line to Brookland-CUA, you can visit the magnificent Catholic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in North America.

Views and panoramas

D.C.'s building height restrictions—no taller than the width of the street the building is on plus 20 feet—have resulted in a skyscraper-less downtown, giving D.C. a distinctly muted feel for what is actually the heart of a huge metropolis. The obvious downside to this law is that it limits the supply of housing and office space and tax revenues and results in very high rents. Since many buildings downtown are of the same height level, many rooftop terraces offer great views. There are several classic spots to get a look out over the city:

Old Post Office Tower (free) in the East End, the second-tallest structure in downtown D.C., offers great views in all directions. Kennedy Center Rooftop Terrace (free), in the West End, or Arlington House (free), in Arlington National Cemetery, provides a nice skyline somewhat removed from the city, with the Lincoln Memorial prominent in the foreground. Washington Monument (free), on the National Mall, though as a vista point its small, bunker-like ports covered with scratched plastic make it less inspiring than might be expected. Vue Rooftop Bar at the Hotel Washington, in the West End, just a block from the White House, has an 11th floor rooftop terrace, bar, and lounge with a view of the White House from above, close enough to make out the Secret Service overwatch. Meals and drinks are pricy. Top of the Gate at The Watergate Hotel in the West End is a rooftop bar with great 360-degree views.

Do

Outdoor activities and parks

D.C. has the highest ratio of parkland to population in the country for a city its size. Many of these parks are crowded with soccer, football, rugby, kickball, baseball, and ultimate frisbee players. The National Mall may be the most famous park, but there are several other large beautiful parks in the city. The 2,000 acre Rock Creek Park, a national park, bisects the city north of the Anacostia River. The park is full of deer (who overpopulate, due to lack of predators), squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, birds, and even a few coyotes. The park includes paved biking/running trails that extend from Maryland to the Lincoln Memorial and connecting with the Mount Vernon trail in Northern Virginia. There are also plenty of hiking trails, picnic spots, a golf course, a variety of Ranger-led/educational programs, and kayaks, canoes, and SUPs can be rented for $22-$32/hour at the Thompson Boat Center on the Potomac River. There are plenty of nice outdoor spaces just beyond the park. South of Massachusetts Ave, you can take a path west out to the beautiful Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown, and then on to enormous Archibald-Glover Park, where the trails can lead you as far south and west as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and Palisades Park. Following the main trail along the creek all the way south will take you under the Whitehurst Freeway and down to the National Mall, where joggers avail themselves of the incredible path right along the Potomac beneath the monuments. Roosevelt Island is one of those gems just far enough out of the way that it is missed by most tourists. The Teddy Roosevelt Memorial is at the center of the island, which includes a couple fountains and several stone obelisks inscribed with his quotes. The rest of the island is a nice natural park of woods and swamp with a boardwalk in the center of the Potomac, with great views of Georgetown University on the northwest side and of the Kennedy Center on the east. What could be better befitting the "conservationist president" than an island park memorial? To reach the island, walk down the stairs at the Rosslyn side of the Key Bridge—which connects Rosslyn with Georgetown—then head east on the trail (the Mount Vernon Trail) to the footbridge to the island. Rosslyn is the nearest Metro stop. By car, you can access the parking lot just north of the Roosevelt Bridge from the northbound lanes of the George Washington Pkwy only. There are several other parks worth visiting, including the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Anacostia, the National Arboretum in Near Northeast, Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park in Columbia Heights, and the C&O Canal Towpath in Georgetown.

Events

Events DC, Free in DC, PopVille, 730DC, Washington City Paper, Washingtonian, and the Going Out Guide by the Washington Post are websites that will keep you up-to-date on current events in the city. Things to Do DC offers visits to embassies including cultural presentations by the ambassador and local food as well as scavenger hunts at the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo. Capital Hiking Club and Wanderbirds offer hikes in local parks on weekends, with transportation included.

Performing arts

D.C. has a bustling live music scene, most of which takes place at small and medium sized bars and clubs. More information on these venues is available in the Drink section of this article. The Kennedy Center, in the West End, offers a free 1-hour show every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 6PM on its Millennium Stage. Shows range from poetry to plays to music to dance and are always top-notch. Tickets are free and are available online or at the box office. The Washington National Opera and National Symphony Orchestra also both perform at the Kennedy Center, although these events are rarely free. Major concerts and gatherings are held at the 18,200 seat Capital One Arena in the East End. There are more intimate classical music concerts in various locations. Try the Dumbarton Concerts by Candlelight in Georgetown! In the summer, the weekly Jazz in the Garden on Friday evenings on the National Mall and the Sunday Drum Circle in Meridian Hill Park in Columbia Heights are both free events that are extremely popular with the locals and tourists alike.

Shopping

Souvenirs are easy to find at stands and stores near the National Mall and East End. However, these offerings tend to be tacky (shot glasses, magnets, t-shirts, etc.) The gift shops of the Smithsonian museums have unique but more expensive offerings and are great places to buy gifts. Eastern Market in Capitol Hill is a favorite Saturday or Sunday afternoon shopping destination for locally produced food and artwork. Even if you're not buying, it's a great time. Eclectic boutiques and vintage stores abound in Georgetown, Adams Morgan, Upper Northwest, and Shaw. However, prices are high; you are not likely to find many bargains. Art galleries are plentiful throughout the city and make for great browsing, although the prices are on the high side. Specialty book stores such as Politics & Prose, Kramers, and Second Story Books in Dupont Circle carry a nice selection of political humor-themed accessories.

Clothing and household items

Popular stores within the D.C. borders include Macy's, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Zara, and Guess, while Marshalls is the best bet for discounts. Upscale shopping dominates in Washington, D.C./Georgetown, the East End, and Friendship Heights. Expect boutiques from the all the big name international brands here as well as the smaller American designers. More unique and vintage shopping is available in Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights. Walmart and Target are the best bets for cheap groceries and household items.

Leesburg Premium Outlets in Leesburg, 17 mi (27 km) northwest of Dulles Airport and 40 mi (64 km) northwest of Washington D.C., has the best bargains in the area. Getting there by public transport requires taking 2 buses from the Innovation Center Metrorail station; however, it is a 1-hour drive from D.C. Potomac Mills is a humongous shopping mall in Woodbridge that contains over 200 stores. It is a 25 minute bus ride (Free) from the Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station. Tanger Outlet Mall at National Harbor is accessible by Metrobus from the Southern Ave Metrorail station. Fashion Centre at Pentagon City has over 170 generally high-end stores is adjacent to the Pentagon City Metrorail station in Arlington. Tysons Corner Center contains over 300 stores and is adjacent to the Tysons Corner Metrorail station in Tysons. Tysons Galleria is an upscale mall in Tysons. Fashion Centre at Pentagon City has over 170 generally high-end stores and is adjacent to the Pentagon City Metrorail station.

Eat

Washington has a little bit of everything, from really good ethnic takeout to lobbyist-fueled places that can run over $1,000 for a meal for two.

Fine dining cuisine

Most of the high end cuisine is available in the West End, the East End, Georgetown, and Dupont Circle—offering dining experiences ranging from steakhouses packed with powerful suits to Minibar by Jose Andres, a 12-seat restaurant offering a 30-course meal for $350 (excluding beverages, tax and 22% service charge). As a general rule, expect higher prices in popular tourist haunts such as Georgetown, Penn Quarter and Dupont Circle, while more exciting and innovative cuisine can be found to the east in Logan Circle, Adams Morgan and H Street.

Ethnic food

D.C.'s international might draws representatives from all over the world, and they all need ex-pat cafes and restaurants to haunt. Salvadoran cuisine such as the pupusa is common in Columbia Heights. Pupusas are thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, optionally fried pork, refried beans, or all sorts of other things, then topped with a tart cabbage salad and an Italianesque red sauce. Ethiopian food is a D.C. staple due to the city's large Ethiopian community. Ethiopian food is a wild ride of spicy stewed and sautéed meats and vegetables served atop a plate covered with a spongy bread called injera. You eat the dishes with your hands, using an extra plate of injera (similar to bread) as your sole "utensil"—rip off a piece of the injera and use it to pick up your food. It's proper in Ethiopia to use only the tips of your fingers in this exercise, and with good reason: you'll have a messy meal otherwise. It's also perfectly proper to feed your date, making this a fun cuisine if you know your date well. The best places to try Ethiopian food are in Shaw, which includes Little Ethiopia. Asian food is extremely popular in D.C. Generally more affordable than other cuisines, it is led by the flavors of Southeast Asia, especially Thailand. Cuisines less well known in other parts of the country such as Laotian, Burmese and Filipino are in abundance here. Popular places include Ramen bars and Korean BBQ places (which sometimes feature Karaoke and offer you the chance to grill your own meats tableside). Cheaper eats are available in the suburbs, notably Wheaton, Rockville and Silver Spring in Maryland and Annandale and Falls Church's Eden Center in Northern Virginia. Chinese food can still be found in D.C., though with much of the ethnic Chinese community having moved to the suburbs, most of the restaurants in Chinatown are tourist traps. While good to excellent authentic Chinese food remains available in the metropolitan area, the best Chinese restaurants are located in the suburbs, particularly near the Metrorail stations in Wheaton and Rockville. Check Washingtonian Magazine's annual "Cheap Eats" article on the web for reliable ethnic restaurant recommendations throughout the Washington Metropolitan area.

Drink

The legal drinking/purchasing age is 21 and it is strictly enforced in D.C. Be prepared to have your identification checked, even if you appear to be well over 21. Last call can be as late as 3AM, although many establishments will let you stay beyond that, especially downtown. It is rare but not unknown for nightclubs to stay open beyond 3AM though they may lock you in or stop serving alcohol. As in most American cities, drinking alcoholic beverages on the street is illegal. The law is flouted openly in many areas but bars will not generally let you take your drink even a step off-premise.

Bars and dance clubs

Near downtown, Dupont and Logan Circle are probably the best neighborhoods to go if you are in town for just a brief period, full of locals of all ages, especially D.C. young professionals. U Street has lots of clubs and a thriving nightlife scene, and if you are European and looking for a good club, this is where you want to be. The larger Shaw neighborhood is well gentrified, though attracts a well to do, good-looking African American crowd, particularly at many of the city's brunch places which often double as nightlife venues as the evening progresses. Georgetown has classier bars and clubs and some very expensive restaurants, but is shunned by the hip, cool crowd. The nearby West End has some interesting locales close to its border with Dupont Circle. Adams Morgan, formerly the dingy alternative to Dupont, has become hipper, cooler and trendier today, especially with young residents and visiting cool kids. You'll find many of the city's best bars and new restaurants here. Columbia Heights also has lots of bars, as well as a sizeable cluster of Asian, African and Hispanic bars and restaurants. Nearby, Mount Pleasant is home to most of the city's Salvadoran population and its signature comfort food, the pupusa, as well as a growing hip, if you know you know bar and restaurant scene akin to Adams Morgan. Woodley Park, Cleveland Park and Van Ness (aka Forest Hills) attract a wealthier older crowd, with many decent restaurants and plenty of watering holes, including a couple of bars and pubs. Nearby is upscale Tenleytown, which is surprisingly sedate for a student area but remains popular with middle aged residents. Takoma Park lives up to its nickname as the 'Berkeley of the East' and is home to many bohemian, alternative haunts, albeit aimed at an increasingly mature crowd. Penn Quarter/Chinatown is a very touristy area with a plenty of good but pricey restaurants, many of which seem to be New York imports, although very few hip locals would be caught dead in this part of town. In Northeast, H Street and Petworth are the capitals of DC's cool scene, and many small music venues and cult restaurants can be found here. Brookland offers a quieter, more relaxed slice of DC life, largely around its neighborhood cafes, restaurants and bars oft overlooked by outsiders, and NoMa is the new yuppie epicenter of Washington, rapidly gentrified and with plenty of brunch spots to match, though still somewhat rough around the edges. In Southeast, Capitol Hill and Hill East mirror the scene in Woodley Park, with many decent watering holes aimed at a mature, well to do crowd, though Hill East is much more geared towards local residents. Further afield Navy Yard and the Wharf are the cities newest neighborhoods, a former warehouse zone turned waterfront condo site, recalling Baltimore's Inner Harbor with the prices to match. It covers multiple blocks and is controversial for having displaced many fisherman and long term residents on D.C.'s old waterfront. The downtown nightlife is lacking; many bars in the East End are tourist traps and the West End has relatively few bars despite the student population from GW University. However, bars and dance clubs are plentiful along 18th St in Adams Morgan, along 14th St and along U St in nearby Shaw, and in Near Northeast, and Waterfront. Several hotels in Georgetown include very classy popular bars. D.C.'s coolest clubs and bars are to be found along U Street, H Street and the larger Shaw area. Hipsters, cool kids and the young at heart congregate here from across the D.C. area and beyond. Complementing the above scene, is a more bar focused nightlife scene in Adams Morgan/Columbia Heights and Logan Circle respectively, the former being more hip and alternative and the latter far more upscale. Less fashionable, but slicker, are the dance clubs along Connecticut Avenue in Dupont Circle. Unlike the house/techno/hip hop/underground scene in Shaw and H Street, music genres played at clubs here include more mainstream top 40, R&B, hip hop, and Latin music. Many of these bars and clubs have a stricter door policy and dress code than U Street. Much of the audience at these clubs are suburbanites looking for a night out on the town rather than D.C. locals. U Street and Shaw also have many bars/clubs that cater to a gay crowd.

Pop and rock

There are several music venues in Shaw, Waterfront, and Capitol Hill that bring in internationally-known acts. The Fillmore Silver Spring, which also features international acts, is just outside of the city limits in Silver Spring, and is accessible by Metrorail.

Sleep

Hotels of all classes and price ranges can be found in many neighborhoods of D.C., as well as in the nearby suburbs. If you are coming by car, be sure to factor the cost of parking, which can be free in hotels outside the city limits but can cost over $35 per day in hotels in the downtown area. The hotel tax in D.C. is 15.95%, while the tax is 14.25% in the nearby suburb of Arlington, 13.00% in Bethesda and Reston, and 12.00% in Tysons Corner and most of Herndon. Hotels in the D.C. area are generally most expensive on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, when business travel reaches its peak, and cheapest on the weekend. The hotels of the East End, the business-centric West End, and charming Georgetown (which features many boutique choices) are the most popular accommodation options due to their proximity to the tourist attractions and top dining spots. Naturally, these areas have many brand-name options to choose from. If booking in these areas, be aware that the West End consists mainly of office buildings and is generally dead after dark. Georgetown is not accessible by Metrorail, although it is easy to travel to/from Georgetown by bus or a ride-hailing service. Better bargains may be had in the nightlife-centered districts of Dupont Circle, Shaw, Near Northeast, and Capitol Hill, all of which are a short metro or bus ride to, or, when the weather is nice, a nice walk to, the National Mall. These areas may actually be preferable because their nightlife options make a late night out more convenient. Moreover, it is easier to find street parking on the weekend. There are also many hotels of all classes located close to metro stations just outside the city limits in Arlington and Alexandria, Bethesda, and Silver Spring. If you are flying into or out of Dulles or Reagan, you may want to look into hotels in the nearby areas of Tysons, Reston, or Herndon, although the ride to D.C. via public transport can take up to an hour. These hotels are generally much cheaper than hotels in D.C., especially on the weekends. There are also many hostels in D.C.

Local customs

Most people in Washington have left-wing, cosmopolitan, secular and environmentalist values by American standards. This spares both domestic and foreign tourists from cultural clashes which might be imminent elsewhere. However, some strict rules of etiquette are almost distinctive in Washington DC.

On Metrorail

When boarding at the station, let those exiting the train step off onto the platform before boarding, and once aboard move to the center of the car. If you have luggage, move it as far out of the path of others as possible. Certain stations have escalators to cover the distances between platforms — walk on the left and stand on the right!

Business

People in Washington DC are punctual, so show up on time. The standard greeting is a firm handshake. Small talk and bringing up the subject indirectly are neither necessary nor expected. Most meetings get straight down to business. Similarly, salespeople, waiters and other service employees are usually less attentive than their colleagues in other states, to respect customers' privacy, except a short "hello" to entering customers. Customers are supposed to make eye contact with servers for attention.

Stay safe

Metropolitan DC Police Department presence in the city is predictably very heavy, especially in tourist areas and near government buildings. But they are only one of the dozens of law enforcement agencies operating in the city; in addition to MPD, the Capitol, Parks, and even the Metro have their own, independent forces (not to mention plenty of the Federal ones). In general, the often-traveled areas, such as the area around Smithsonian, the monuments, and the Kennedy Center, are safe to walk around, even in the evening. The areas east of the Capitol are generally less safe, but visitors can safely see attractions there if they stay aware of their surroundings. Although the number of homicides has ticked up, violent crime in D.C. is close to a generational low.

Homicides

The number of annual homicides has declined from 479 in 1991, when Washington was known as the "murder capital", to a low of 88 in 2012, and 186 in 2024. As a visitor, you are extremely unlikely to be the victim of a homicide; the vast majority of homicide victims in the U.S. are acquainted with their murderer long before the crime. The majority of homicides occur in the less-traveled parts of the city, such as Anacostia and the Northeast and Southeast, especially near public housing projects.

Muggings and robberies

Muggings are a problem in the nightlife-centered neighborhoods of Shaw, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Near Northeast and the area around the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station. However, visitors should not avoid these areas—on the contrary, it would be a shame to miss out on them—but visitors should be vigilant. In particular, avoid walking at night on side streets—stick to the well-lit main commercial strips, travel in groups, and maintain a basic level of sobriety. Be extra vigilant with your mobile phones; they are a very popular snatch-and-grab item around the Metrorail stations and on the trains.

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Virginia

Alexandria is south of Arlington, along the Potomac River, and a short metro ride away from DC. Old Town Alexandria features cobblestone streets, nearly 4,000 buildings dating as far back as the 1600s, and shops and good restaurants. The George Washington Masonic Memorial, dedicated to George Washington, is a must-see. Alexandria also includes Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The mansion overlooks the Potomac River and includes a huge museum dedicated to the life of America's first president. Annandale and Centreville are the D.C. area's Koreatowns, with some of the best Korean BBQ you'll find anywhere outside Seoul, many of which are open 24 hours per day! Arlington is directly across the Potomac River from D.C. and includes attractions such as the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Memorial, as well as Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, an indoor shopping mall. Accessible by Metro. Charlottesville, 114 mi (183 km) southwest of D.C., is home to the University of Virginia, as well as Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate and vineyard, Ash Lawn-Highland, the former home of President James Monroe. Falls Church is home to the largest Vietnamese community on the East Coast, and the food is magnificent! Fredericksburg, roughly halfway between D.C. and Richmond and accessible via Amtrak, was founded in colonial era as a "port city". The town was heavily contested in the Civil War and has a historic district with galleries, music venues, and fine dining. The downtown area and battlefields have been well preserved due to strong local commitment to historic preservation, providing a unique blend of old and new culture. George Washington Memorial Parkway is a scenic road that runs along the Virginia side of the Potomac River between Mount Vernon and Great Falls. Two trail networks for running/walking/cycling intersect the parkway: the 18-mile Mount Vernon Trail and the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, which runs between Theodore Roosevelt Island and Mount Vernon. Great Falls includes Great Falls Park, an 800-acre park along the Potomac River, 14 mi (23 km) northwest from Washington, DC. The park includes many beautiful hiking trails and the area's largest waterfall. Great Falls also has the area's most beautiful homes and is compared to Beverly Hills. Hampton Roads has the Norfolk Navy Station, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Virginia Beach, all about a 4-hour drive away. Leesburg is a historic city that includes Simon's Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets. Manassas is a quaint town near Manassas National Battlefield Park, which contains two major Civil War battlefields. McLean and Tysons have beautiful mansions and very large shopping malls. National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport, houses large air and spacecraft including an SR-71 "Blackbird" spy plane, a Concorde supersonic jet, and the space shuttle Discovery. Admission is free. Parking is available for $15/vehicle, or take the public bus from the airport. Reston offers some nice restaurants, shops, and bars with nightlife. Richmond, which includes a historic downtown, Confederate Civil War museums, and Carytown — a walk-able strip of trendy restaurants and shops — is a logical stop if you are heading south. Flixbus, Greyhound, and Megabus operate bus service to Richmond for around $15. Amtrak also serves Richmond. Shenandoah National Park is a 2-hour drive west on I-66. Woodbridge is the location of Simon's Potomac Mills, a humungous shopping mall that has the best discounts in the D.C. area.

Maryland

Annapolis is 32 miles east of Washington DC, along Route 50. It is the Maryland state capital and home to the Naval Academy. Its historic district has numerous shops and restaurants along the Chesapeake Bay waterfront. It is a good place to take a boat trip. Baltimore is easily accessible using the MARC train ($7, 1 hour). The Penn Line is the only MARC train line that operates on the weekends. If you are only going for the day, the last train back to D.C. is around 9PM; however, Greyhound Bus and ride-hailing services are viable alternatives if you can't make the last train. The Inner Harbor is home to the National Aquarium, the U.S.S. Constellation, and great restaurants. During the spring and summer, Camden Yards is a good place to see a baseball game, and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum is near the ballpark. The South Baltimore, Midtown and Fells Point neighborhoods also have many popular bars and restaurants, especially in Little Italy. From spring to fall, you can take a water taxi from the Inner Harbor to historic Fort McHenry. Bethesda is accessible using the Red Line Metro and features almost 200 restaurants with food from all over the world. Bowie is accessible using the MARC train and is home to the Bowie Baysox minor league baseball team. Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park features several hiking trails as well as Great Falls, the most impressive waterfall in the area. The park also offers kayaking and rock climbing. It can be accessed from the Maryland and Virginia sides off of I-495 or via a 13-mile scenic hiker-biker trail from Georgetown. College Park is a vibrant college town just outside the D.C. city limits that is home to the main campus of the University of Maryland. Eastern Shore (Maryland) is a great place to charter a boat for the day or eat Maryland's famous crabs. Ellicott City is 14 mi (23 km) west of Baltimore and 29 mi (47 km) north of Washington DC. It is known for its historic district which contains a number of buildings dating back towards the 1800s, in addition to restaurants, boutiques, and antique stores. Frederick, 40 mi (64 km) northwest of Washington DC and accessible via the MARC Train, is a charming city, dating back to the mid-18th century. It is a major antique center with many shops, eateries, galleries and antique dealers and there are also several Civil War sites nearby including the Monocacy National Battlefield. Greenbelt includes the NASA Goddard Visitor Center, which is a great attraction, especially for kids. Kensington hosts an amazing annual Christmas light display at its massive Mormon Temple visible from the Beltway, which looks a lot like the Emerald Palace of Wizard of Oz fame. Antique Row is also worth a look. Largo includes the Six Flags America theme park, featuring roller coasters and a water park. National Harbor, accessible by MetroBus, includes the Tanger Outlets at National Harbor, the Marriott Gaylord National Convention Center, and the Capital Wheel, a 180-foot Ferris wheel.

Ocean City is a 2- to 2.5-hour drive away on US 50, and has entertainment, beaches, shopping, and dining. Potomac is home to the Glenstone, a contemporary art museum featuring architecturally strikingly pavilions nestled among beautiful rural landscaping. Silver Spring is accessible using the Red Line Metro and features the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre, the Fillmore Silver Spring concert venue, along with plenty of restaurants and retail, and upscale parks. Takoma Park, a bohemian Victorian suburb, is accessible using the Red Line Metro and has eclectic shops. Wheaton is accessible using the Red Line Metro and has some of the best ethnic dining in the entire metro area.

More pictures of Washington, D.C.

From this destination's category on Wikimedia Commons. Each photograph is credited to its own author under its own licence.