Originally Posted by alien
Along similar lines, Mrs. alien and I are arriving DCA @ 11:30 AM on the 4th and departing DCA @ 8:30 PM. Our plan is to simply hop on the Metro, get off as close to The Mall as possible, walk around for about 5 hours, and return to DCA via the Metro. We are arriving on NW so I understand a shuttle is required to the terminals where the Metro stops.
So, the question is: Blue or Yellow Line and which stop would be most advantageous for The Mall?
The July 4 metro map:
http://www.wmata.com/riding/04JUL04_...p_brochure.pdf
You can walk from the NW terminal to metro in less than 10 min. all indoors. Go to US, and turn left. The shuttle is outdoors, and I am not certain of the path as they loop all over the place to get from one level to the next.