What's up my dudes? My family is planning a trip to DC in mid-July. I know the weather is going to be hot and swampy but that doesn't bother us. Our big goal is to see a few museums and soak it all in. Lodging is already taken care of and I know a lot of the museums have timed entry, so I'm wondering what recommendations you guys can give that are relatively family-friendly since we'll have a baby. In no particular order, we want to see:
>Air and Space Museum
>Natural History Museum
>Library of Congress
>National Mall
>Presidential memorial buildings
>stop by the Treasury for a refund
Natural History is probably the best and they somewhat recently finished remodeling the dinosaur exhibits. Air and Space is eh. The National Mall is one big stretch that runs from the Lincoln to Washington Monument. Then you have all of the Smithsonians between Constitution and Independence with Congress at the other end. Holocaust Museum is worth checking out even though it isn't a Smithsonian.
For the monuments I'd break them up. Start at the White House and then walk south. Going up the Washington Monument is overrated so just cross over Constitution and take a look. Then you can walk west to the WWII, then the reflecting pond, Vietnam, Lincoln, and Korean. If you're up for walking then you can hit MLK, FDR, and hit the Jefferson. Then you can either cross the basin and walk over to the Wharf to grab or beer or head back up to the mall.
Where in the city you staying?
>Where in the city you staying?
Some apartment building called Boston House, not far from Dupont Circle. The maps indicate its basically up the street from the White House
Yeah that's easy then. Really good bakery named Un je ne sais Quoi about one block west. You're right next to the red line so if you don't want to walk you can take that down to Farragut North and hop off at Farragut North two blocks north of the White House.
Is public transportation pretty reliable and easy to traverse with a baby? Should I carry a small blade or something?
It's easy, just slightly more time consuming. Most stations only have one or two elevators from platform level to street level. If you're fine with one person holding the baby and another holding the stroller, you can just go down the escalator like everyone else. In general the metro is quite safe and clean compared to NY. We have a lot of people who skip the fare right now and will do annoying shit like play music on the train but it isn't bad. Just stay off the green line. Just buy some SmartPasses and load some money on them. You can load them on your phone if you don't to carry the physical card.
Yes, just don't go after dark. Ubers are cheap enough in the US.
This. If you love your family and own life just don't go outside at night. Unless you want to be culturally enriched.
Just stay in NW.
DC is pretty tame
If you don't venture out of the safe zone with all the monuments. Just don't get on the wrong train and find yourself in PG county.
It's fine during wagie hours, (morning rush, lunch, leaving work); at least it was in 2017 when I was working there.
Check out the U Street area. It's pretty nice.
Is the east side of DC worth seeing?
I like the Eastern Market, but there's not much else there unless you want to see a baseball game. Also,
is correct. The Air and Space Museum outside of the city is better. I still like the one on the Mall though.
Beyond the National Arboretum, no.
The Air and Space Museum in the National Mall kinda sucks. Go to the Udvar-Hazy Museum in Chantilly - that's where they've got the Blackbird and Space Shuttle.
How easy is that to get to if you aren't driving?
I lived outside of DC for 20 years. I was sick of the museums. I do like the Lincoln memorial. The best museum in the city, by far, is the National Gallery of Art. My two favorite things in the area were the Great Falls of the Potomac and eating good seafood on the water. Go to Mike's crabhouse or Cantler's.Downtown Annapolis is definitely worth driving 30 minutes for. The Bay Bridge is also really impressive.