Where do you take your visitors when they come to D.C.?
Feb 18, 2006, 7:12 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Silver Spring, and Eastern Shore Md. USA
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Where do you take your visitors when they come to D.C.?
Hi. For the local DC area flyertalkers, I thought it might be helpful for visitors to our area to let them know where you take your visitors when they come to D.C.
Perhaps you can list places and events separately
So much to do and see, this is only a beginning.....
Events:
all of ones below are free:
Cherry Blossom Festival
Fourth of July Fireworks
Summer Service Band Concerts (given several times every week in various locations)
June Carter Barron Shakespeare Festival
September/October National Book Festival
National Christmas Tree Pageant
Places to see:
Smithsonian (downtown venues as well as Dulles)
National Gallery of Art, (particularly if there is a special show)
Capitol and if Congress is in session, visiting their rep or Senator and getting tickets to sit in the gallery
Library of Congress, including lunch in the Montpelier room
Drinks/lunch on the Hotel Washington rooftop restaurant in summer (lovely view and overlooks the White House)
Tour on the D.C. Ducks/ Tourmobile/ Trolley
Other key monuments: Lincoln, Washington, Vietnam Memorial, WW2, Holocaust, FDR,
Walking through Georgetown, eating there, going to clubs
One of the nicest things (and we residents are spoiled) most of these places are free as they have already been paid for by your taxes!
Please add to these lists....
Perhaps you can list places and events separately
So much to do and see, this is only a beginning.....
Events:
all of ones below are free:
Cherry Blossom Festival
Fourth of July Fireworks
Summer Service Band Concerts (given several times every week in various locations)
June Carter Barron Shakespeare Festival
September/October National Book Festival
National Christmas Tree Pageant
Places to see:
Smithsonian (downtown venues as well as Dulles)
National Gallery of Art, (particularly if there is a special show)
Capitol and if Congress is in session, visiting their rep or Senator and getting tickets to sit in the gallery
Library of Congress, including lunch in the Montpelier room
Drinks/lunch on the Hotel Washington rooftop restaurant in summer (lovely view and overlooks the White House)
Tour on the D.C. Ducks/ Tourmobile/ Trolley
Other key monuments: Lincoln, Washington, Vietnam Memorial, WW2, Holocaust, FDR,
Walking through Georgetown, eating there, going to clubs
One of the nicest things (and we residents are spoiled) most of these places are free as they have already been paid for by your taxes!
Please add to these lists....
Feb 18, 2006, 8:48 pm
#2
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Greater DC
Programs: UA plus
Posts: 12,943
One place that I like to take/send visitors to is a little off the beaten path - Hillwood Museum ... you need to make advance reservations (they're great at refunding if you can't make it); they have a fabulous russian art collection including a number of faberge pieces plus more; japanese gardens and they offer a tea in their cafe that's pretty good.
Experience the world of Russian imperial and French decorative arts displayed in the grand setting conceived by Hillwood's founder, Marjorie Merriweather Post, heir of the Post cereal empire. Surrounded by woodlands in the heart of Washington, D.C., the twenty-five acre estate boasts a variety of pleasure gardens
Feb 18, 2006, 9:13 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Silver Spring, and Eastern Shore Md. USA
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Originally Posted by GoingAway
One place that I like to take/send visitors to is a little off the beaten path - Hillwood Museum ... you need to make advance reservations (they're great at refunding if you can't make it); they have a fabulous russian art collection including a number of faberge pieces plus more; japanese gardens and they offer a tea in their cafe that's pretty good.
Feb 18, 2006, 9:37 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Programs: V-Flyer Black
Posts: 329
Well maybe not 'classly' but Hard Times Cafe and Five Guys, both in Alexandria. Also a drive by TC Williams because of Remember the Titians movie is cool.
Harrys is Arlington. National Geo. The Mayflower hotel. Gravally Point near National (and it will never be Reagon National, sorta silly when you think about it)
Harrys is Arlington. National Geo. The Mayflower hotel. Gravally Point near National (and it will never be Reagon National, sorta silly when you think about it)
Feb 19, 2006, 12:31 pm
#5
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Good ideas and a follow-up question
Originally Posted by PimpNumOne
Well maybe not 'classly' but Hard Times Cafe and Five Guys, both in Alexandria. Also a drive by TC Williams because of Remember the Titians movie is cool.
Harrys is Arlington. National Geo. The Mayflower hotel. Gravally Point near National (and it will never be Reagon National, sorta silly when you think about it)
Harrys is Arlington. National Geo. The Mayflower hotel. Gravally Point near National (and it will never be Reagon National, sorta silly when you think about it)
What about a splurge event--(special experience that is usually not cheap)? Anyone have any suggestions?
Last edited by silver springer; Feb 19, 2006 at 12:32 pm Reason: typo
Feb 19, 2006, 5:49 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 143
Local institutions:
1) Tastee Diner on Wisconsin Ave. across from Chevy Chase Chevrolet (I spent many a weekend night here during high school, sopping up gravy fries served by my fave blue-haired waitress).
2) Ben's Chili Bowl. A must.
3) The Uptown Theater on Connecticut Avenue. Coolest movie theater I've ever seen.
1) Tastee Diner on Wisconsin Ave. across from Chevy Chase Chevrolet (I spent many a weekend night here during high school, sopping up gravy fries served by my fave blue-haired waitress).
2) Ben's Chili Bowl. A must.
3) The Uptown Theater on Connecticut Avenue. Coolest movie theater I've ever seen.
Last edited by lombardo; Feb 19, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Feb 19, 2006, 8:43 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Texas no longer - now SFO
Posts: 217
As a teen visiting Washington, I enjoyed checking out the scene in Woodley/Cleveland Parks, Old Post Office Tower, Georgetown, Einstein statute and associated fun facts, and many of the other areas previously mentioned. Of course, if you can get a White House tour, particularly West Wing, do it.
Feb 20, 2006, 8:47 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 4,677
Originally Posted by MMMinTX
As a teen visiting Washington, I enjoyed checking out the scene in Woodley/Cleveland Parks, Old Post Office Tower, Georgetown, Einstein statute and associated fun facts, and many of the other areas previously mentioned. Of course, if you can get a White House tour, particularly West Wing, do it.
Feb 20, 2006, 9:14 am
#9
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Arizona
Programs: MSP raised, Elite since age 17
Posts: 4,723
> Iwo Jima, specially at night, overlooking the monuments
> Air and Space museum. Surprised nobody has mentioned it yet!
> I especially like the view of the Capitol from Pennsylvania Ave. SE/ Eastern Market area. Some restaurants around there, including an OK Cuban place off 8th St. SE
> Nightlife in Dupont and Adams Morgan
> (Not-too-authentic) Mexican food in an interesting building at at Lauriol Plaza-- 18th St. near T St. NW. Very popular with the young professional crowd.
> Salvadorean food. It's all around DC. A different experience for folks who haven't tried it.
If riding the metro, the Yellow line between L'Enfant Plaza and the Pentagon has a great view of the Jefferon Memorial, National Airport, the Washington Monument, and the Potomac River.
> Air and Space museum. Surprised nobody has mentioned it yet!
> I especially like the view of the Capitol from Pennsylvania Ave. SE/ Eastern Market area. Some restaurants around there, including an OK Cuban place off 8th St. SE
> Nightlife in Dupont and Adams Morgan
> (Not-too-authentic) Mexican food in an interesting building at at Lauriol Plaza-- 18th St. near T St. NW. Very popular with the young professional crowd.
> Salvadorean food. It's all around DC. A different experience for folks who haven't tried it.
If riding the metro, the Yellow line between L'Enfant Plaza and the Pentagon has a great view of the Jefferon Memorial, National Airport, the Washington Monument, and the Potomac River.
Feb 20, 2006, 9:40 am
#10
Join Date: Nov 2005
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A few more
>The Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial steps, is a great view over the city;
>The Einstein Statue at the National Academy of Science, sort of tucked away just north of the Linconl Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, across Constitution Ave from the mall. The stautue reflects all the sound back to you, and you can climb into hos lap for a Kodak moment;
> Statuary Hall in the Capitol - visitors are often amused by which "leader" of their state is there;
>National Arboretum, especially the old Capitol Columns, which add a touch of the surreal to the intown bucolic;
> I take some guests on a death and destruction tour -- Watergate, Tidal Basin - site of Wilbur Mills and Fanny Fox's wet fling, Ford Theater, Surratt House on H Street in Chinatown (recently a chinese restaurant) where Booth and co-conspirators plotted,
>And for Silver Springer and neighbors, I always drive visitors out of town on Beach Drive, which feels like a country road, but eventually explodes with a great view of the Mormon Temple, aka the Martian Embassy.
>The Einstein Statue at the National Academy of Science, sort of tucked away just north of the Linconl Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, across Constitution Ave from the mall. The stautue reflects all the sound back to you, and you can climb into hos lap for a Kodak moment;
> Statuary Hall in the Capitol - visitors are often amused by which "leader" of their state is there;
>National Arboretum, especially the old Capitol Columns, which add a touch of the surreal to the intown bucolic;
> I take some guests on a death and destruction tour -- Watergate, Tidal Basin - site of Wilbur Mills and Fanny Fox's wet fling, Ford Theater, Surratt House on H Street in Chinatown (recently a chinese restaurant) where Booth and co-conspirators plotted,
>And for Silver Springer and neighbors, I always drive visitors out of town on Beach Drive, which feels like a country road, but eventually explodes with a great view of the Mormon Temple, aka the Martian Embassy.
Feb 20, 2006, 9:49 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2004
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good idea about Beach Drive!!
Originally Posted by EdinMD
>The Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial steps, is a great view over the city;
>The Einstein Statue at the National Academy of Science, sort of tucked away just north of the Linconl Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, across Constitution Ave from the mall. The stautue reflects all the sound back to you, and you can climb into hos lap for a Kodak moment;
> Statuary Hall in the Capitol - visitors are often amused by which "leader" of their state is there;
>National Arboretum, especially the old Capitol Columns, which add a touch of the surreal to the intown bucolic;
> I take some guests on a death and destruction tour -- Watergate, Tidal Basin - site of Wilbur Mills and Fanny Fox's wet fling, Ford Theater, Surratt House on H Street in Chinatown (recently a chinese restaurant) where Booth and co-conspirators plotted,
>And for Silver Springer and neighbors, I always drive visitors out of town on Beach Drive, which feels like a country road, but eventually explodes with a great view of the Mormon Temple, aka the Martian Embassy.
>The Einstein Statue at the National Academy of Science, sort of tucked away just north of the Linconl Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial, across Constitution Ave from the mall. The stautue reflects all the sound back to you, and you can climb into hos lap for a Kodak moment;
> Statuary Hall in the Capitol - visitors are often amused by which "leader" of their state is there;
>National Arboretum, especially the old Capitol Columns, which add a touch of the surreal to the intown bucolic;
> I take some guests on a death and destruction tour -- Watergate, Tidal Basin - site of Wilbur Mills and Fanny Fox's wet fling, Ford Theater, Surratt House on H Street in Chinatown (recently a chinese restaurant) where Booth and co-conspirators plotted,
>And for Silver Springer and neighbors, I always drive visitors out of town on Beach Drive, which feels like a country road, but eventually explodes with a great view of the Mormon Temple, aka the Martian Embassy.
Rock Creek Parkway is amazing to me that it exists in the middle of the city. This obviously brings up the zoo, right off the parkway. Also the Kennedy Center which has a great backstage tour, free 6pm entertainment and a nice restaurant and views from the roof.
VJ--I thought I covered Air and Space when I listed Smithsonian venues in DC and Dulles. Air and Space is part of the Smithsonian, but people may not know that.