My wife and I are visiting Washington DC in September for four days during the week. This is a first time visit for my wife, and we are staying at the Jefferson.

Looking for thoughts on the best way to do sightseeing, should we consider a private guide or walking tours or what?

Finally, any thoughts on restaurants would be appreciated.
Thanks
Terry VDT

the hop on,hop off buss gets high reviews. a cruise down the potomac is also nice.

You might wish to reach out to the concierge at the Jefferson, as they're all members of Les Clefs d'Or and your questions won't be the first of the sort they've fielded. They'll also be well-placed to organize restaurant reservations.

Last year my wife's brother visited from Wyoming and brought his three boys. Since it was their first time to DC, we put together a list of Super Touristy things...kind of the highlights that most people want to see. This is the list I sent them. There is so much to do and you'll get a lot of recommendations. I really need to update this to include a few other hidden gems as everyone has their own opinions, but hopefully it helps. My favorite thing to do with out of town guests is the water taxi from Alexandria to Georgetown (prefer that direction over going Gt-Alx).

National Mall Area
The National Mall: Pictures of Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, Capitol, WWII Memorial - Please note, this does entail a bit of walking. Just to go between Metro stops from one end to the other is about 4 miles. This does not include any walking in between to visit the Museums and such.

Washington Monument � The monument is opening back up in May to go to the top. I am not sure the availability or details to do that. http://www.nps.gov/wamo/index.htm

Jefferson Memorial � This is a bit off from the mall, would add another mile to the trip http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc73.htm

Arlington National Cemetery / Tomb of the Unknowns � The closest Metro stop to the Lincoln Memorial is actually the Cemetery stop. It�s a short walk in the opposite direction. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/

Museum of Natural History � Dinosaurs are here, along with the Hope diamond (favorite of your Mom). https://www.mnh.si.edu/

Museum of American History � Next to Natural History, has the original Flag that Francis Scott Key wrote the National Anthem to. http://americanhistory.si.edu/

National Archives � Declaration of Independence and Constitution are kept here. http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/washington/

Air & Space Museum � Lots of planes and various exhibits including a lot of Lunar Moon items. http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/mall/

Tour the Capitol / White House** - This one requires some planning. You can arrange a tour through your Senator by following the link. In talking to some friends, if you want to go, it would be much easier for you all to arrange with WY senate than it would be for us through VA senate.
http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/publi...rvices.DCTours


Other Downtown Things
National Zoo � This is where the Pandas are (along with a lot of other animals). It�s off on its own, not near anything else. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/

Duck Boat Tour* - This would probably be pretty cool. It goes through downtown and also parts of the Potomac River. We have never done this, but could be replaced by doing Old Town � Georgetown water taxi (see below). http://www.dcducks.com/

Big Bus Tour* - Take a tour through the city in an open top bus. This would overlap with Duck Boat Tour. http://eng.bigbustours.com/washington/home.html

National Gallery of Art � Lots of art http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb.html

American Art Museum � More art but from Americans http://americanart.si.edu/

International Spy Museum* - History of spies and such. We did this one several years ago and was pretty neat. http://www.spymuseum.org/

Spy in the City Tour - Go deep undercover into the realm of espionage, intrigue, deception, and betrayal on this interactive two-hour bus tour. http://www.spymuseum.org/exhibition-...py-city-tours/

Ford�s Theatre � This is where Lincoln was shot. http://www.fordstheatre.org/

National Portrait Museum � I don�t think we�ve been here. http://www.npg.si.edu/

Washington Nationals � http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=was

Library of Congress � This is the largest library in the World http://www.loc.gov/

Supreme Court � This sits between the Capitol and the Library of Congress. http://www.supremecourt.gov/

Newseum* - A museum dedicated to News. It has part of the Berlin Wall and World Trade Center. It is the newest museum in the area. They currently have a Ron Burgundy exhibit. http://www.newseum.org/

Georgetown � This is old port for Washington. This has a lot of shops and many restaurants. This is also home to Georgetown Cupcake which is on a TV show. http://www.georgetowndc.com/

Pentagon Area
Pentagon 9/11 Memorial � Located outside of the Pentagon. http://pentagonmemorial.org/

Pentagon** - Have to arrange a tour in advance if there is space. May be able to get us in through my cousin but there might be too many of us to do that. Very cool to visit, every hallway is like a museum. https://pentagontours.osd.mil/

Air Force Memorial � Also just outside of the Pentagon http://www.airforcememorial.org/home

DEA Museum � Have never been here but it is fairly close to where we live. http://www.deamuseum.org/

Gravelly Point � This is a park at the end of National airport. The planes take off and land right above you and it also has some good views of the monuments. http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/mi...k,1028013.html

Alexandria
Old Town � Similar to Georgetown but with a bit more historical items. It is inverse of Georgetown in that it has lots of restaurants and many shops. http://www.visitalexandriava.com/abo...wn-alexandria/

Water Taxi* - There is a water taxi that goes back and forth from Old Town to Georgetown along the Potomac River. We have done this one and it�s pretty cool (only need to do one-way). This would overlap with the Duck Boat tour. http://www.potomacriverboatco.com/monuments-cruise.php

George Washington Masonic National Memorial* - We haven�t done this one yet but I�ve been wanting to. http://gwmemorial.org/

US Patent and Trademark Museum � Museum highlighting inventors http://www.uspto.gov/about/offices/opa/museum.jsp

Driving Trips
Air & Space Museum (Dulles) � My favorite museum, it is an expansion of the Air & Space museum from the Mall location. This one has less exhibits than the Mall one, however significantly more planes including a Space Shuttle, Black Bird, and Concorde. (If you go to the 1:22:00 mark in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen you see some good shots of this). It�s near Dulles airport, about 25 minutes away. http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center//

Baltimore Inner Harbor � National Aquarium* - The inner harbor houses the National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center, both pretty cool places to visit, along with several historical ships. This is about an hour north. http://baltimore.org/about-baltimore/inner-harbor

An emphatic suggestion for US citizens, check your LOCAL state representative and senator(s) websites for tour options. They are FREE of charge and scheduled based on availability.

A few years ago, I had a nice long DC stay and requested every available tour my congressman's office offered.

• The U.S. Capitol
• Department of the Interior Monuments Tour
• FBI
• Kennedy Center for Performing Arts
• Library of Congress
• Supreme Court
• White House Tour

These were not available during my stay:

• Department of State Diplomatic Reception Rooms (IIRC, was not offered 4 years ago)
• National Archives Tour
• Bureau of Engraving and Printing

This year, I'm only going to be in town for the day, requested and secured the all-day Monuments tour again. ^

The list by RICHoke is very useful. Thanks.

i would also add to this:

the National Botanical garden, the Renwick, and the Hirshhorn.

The current Renwick Wonder exhibit will be gone by September - not sure what'll be in there at that point.