And while you're down in that part of town, the American Visionary Arts Museum (and Mr. Rain's Fun House, the restaurant at the museum).

Perhaps the one site in American history most underrated in its importance to the future of the United States. The key to the War of 1812 and our continued freedom from England. Without a victory here, there might not be a USA. Where the Star Spangled Banner was composed. Don't miss it. ^

P.S. And I am not a "history buff".

If you at all athletic, I highly recommend renting a bike (Not one of the crappy red bikes...) and riding the C&O Towpath out for a ways. It's fairly flat and graveled, and provides some great views of the Potomac, particularly if you take the easy 20ish mile ride out to the falls. Cycling around the Mall at night is also quite scenic, and there are fewer tourists wandering about.

DC is a surprisingly good biking city, despite the crap drivers and utter lack of parking.

the newsium in DC is worth a visit.

Since Annapolis is nearby, does anyone have any tips/suggestions for that city?

annapolis? Naval Academy - walking the grounds and visiting the museum is a pleasant 1/2 day. Explore the streets between the capitol building and the harbor. Follow your eyes...

lunch? Chick and Ruth's Delly. 165 Main Street.

Baltimore? I'd pick the Baltimore museum of art over the Walters. Maybe it's because I really like the impressionism gallery there. What about the aquarium, and walking around the shops along the inner harbor? Do you like checking out some interesting neighborhoods? Charles Village, Broadway near Fells Point, Charles St. south of downtown, etc.

DC? The list is endless. Go see the monuments, and the museums. Google to see what the Smithsonian museums are. They are all free, as is the zoo. In addition to the Smithsonians, the Holocaust museum and National Gallery of Art are also free, and both very worth it. The Newseum and Spy Museum are not free. Some people walk along the horizontal axis of the Mall and forget to head south. Make sure to leave some time to go South, to the TJ and FDR memorials. Also, the MLK Jr memorial is very new and worth checking out. It's between Lincoln and FDR.

I'm joining this thread as a freeloader :)

Thing is: We (Mrs. Bruce and I) will be travelling around the east coast in mid september. We'll have two and a half days in DC, one day in Baltimore, and one day in Philadelphia. Oh, and we'll be travelling by train.

Now, the question about DC and Baltimore has already been asked, so let me add my own question:

Is there anything (which is easily reached by train) on the road between DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and NYC that you'd consider to be a must-see? Mrs. Bruce desperatly wants to visit Priceton, but don't ask me why..

Nothing that you will actually pass along the way, Lancaster is nice but it is a bit west of Philly you can actually take a train there though. In terms of Princeton, you can take a train to the campus via NJT. It is a connector train called the 'dinky' that runs from Princeton Junction to Princeton.

Nothing on the way. Lancaster is way out of the way.

Guided tour of historic Annapolis -- http://www.annapolis.org/index.asp?pageid=42

Wednesday night sailboat races -- http://www.race.annapolisyc.org/DesktopDefault.aspx

Dinner at Carrol's Creek or Harry Browne's

Annapolis is home of the Naval Academy. Most of the time it's open and you're free to walk about. No need to wait for a tour. Well worth the time, perhaps the best site in Annapolis. You can have great bay views too.

The Lincoln and FDR Memorials are particularly dramatic at night.

i thought the W&OD trail was paved, and ran all the way from the potomac to purcelleville, including bridges over i66 and i95.

the mt vernon trail runs beside the potomac from dc (va) to mt vernon. the trail does go through streets in alexandria(i think). there is a spur over the wilson bridge with great views of dc . do not continue into ft washington. there is no bike trail.

these guys maintain a list:http://bikewashington.org/trails/index.htm

Ben's chili bowl is a must in DC.