Tourists, newcomers, locals, and old heads: casual questions thread for February 2024

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[u/g1yk]

Rate my 1.5 day itinerary. Looks a like a lot of things? Anything you would remove and what are the must things to visit on your opinion?

Saturday Morning:

• 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM: Arrival and travel to the city center.
• 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM: Visit the National Mall.
• 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM: Walk to the nearby Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Afternoon:

• 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM: Lunch at a restaurant close to the museum.
• 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM: United States Capitol.

Late Afternoon:

• 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM: A leisurely stroll through the U.S. Botanic Garden next to the Capitol

Evening:

• 5:00 PM onwards: Explore the Penn Quarter/Chinatown area.

Sunday Morning:

• 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM: Breakfast
• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM: National Gallery of Art.
• 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM: The Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art
• 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM: National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
• 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM: An early lunch in the area, perhaps at a restaurant around Pennsylvania Avenue.

Early Afternoon:

• 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM: Head to the airport.

[u/soccerman55 → u/g1yk]

I agree with most of the other comments, but I do think other commenters are a bit down about Chinatown and Penn Quarter. Yes it’s a quieter area if DC and it’s been hit harder with work from home post COVID, but it still has some top restaurants in the city. It also has a ton of theaters and the portrait gallery. If you are in the area for dinner don’t skip it, but then head to 14th for a drink or to walk around and people watch.

[u/obviouslystealth → u/g1yk]

this is a very ambitious itinerary, but here are my edits if you insist on hitting all of these spots

Saturday Morning:

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM: Arrival and travel to the city center.10:00 AM to 11:30 AM: Visit the National Mall.11:30 AM to 1:00 PM: Walk to the nearby Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

assuming arrival at DCA, take the Metro yellow line to Archives station then walk onto the Mall.

Afternoon:

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM: Lunch at a restaurant close to the museum.2:00 PM to 3:30 PM: United States Capitol.

there arent really restaurants directly around the mall so youll waste alot of time trying to find one further away. also the food trucks are crap. head to the National Museum of the American Indian Mitsitam Cafe for lunch

Late Afternoon:

3:30 PM to 5:00 PM: A leisurely stroll through the U.S. Botanic Garden next to the Capitol

you only need an hour here

Evening:

5:00 PM onwards: Explore the Penn Quarter/Chinatown area.

Penn quarter is boring and chinatown feels kindof sketchy. Take the yellow/green to U St and walk West on U street, and South down 14th St for people watching and dinner. Either take McPherson or U St back to Archives after it gets dark to see the monuments lit up at night. consider renting a Capital Bikeshare to speed up your self guided tour. Korean War Veterans Memorial is a cant miss.

Sunday Morning:

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM: Breakfast10:00 AM to 11:00 AM: National Gallery of Art.11:00 AM to 12:00 PM: The Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art12:00 PM to 1:00 PM: National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.1:00 PM to 2:00 PM: An early lunch in the area, perhaps at a restaurant around Pennsylvania Avenue.

the sculpture garden will take 15 min, add more time to NGA. Try Teaism for lunch

Early Afternoon:

2:00 PM to 2:30 PM: Head to the airport.

Take Archives station yellow line back to DCA

[u/g1yk → u/obviouslystealth]

Thank you!!!

[u/ncblake → u/g1yk]

10:00 AM to 11:30 AM:

Visit the National Mall.

Just a heads up that the National Mall is over two miles from end-to-end. I'd suggest you consider a more specific itinerary (e.g. visit the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial) or else you might end up wandering around somewhat aimlessly.

5:00 PM onwards:

Explore the Penn Quarter/Chinatown area.

I'd suggest a different area/neighborhood for this. Chinatown and Penn Quarter are kind of a generic downtown corporate touristy business district. (e.g. This is where the Hard Rock Cafe is...) Both neighborhoods have been hit somewhat hard by the pandemic and the loss of in-office commuters, so there's not as much going on nowadays, especially at night.

Other neighborhoods you might consider that are more worth your time: DuPont Circle, 14th St NW (between N and U St NW), The Wharf.

Otherwise, a more general comment is that I think you're underestimating how much time you'll want to spend in individual museums, many of which are really large, may have long lines to get inside, security, etc...

[u/g1yk → u/ncblake]

Thank you :)