What is the "must see" things to do in the Washington DC area?

Question

My husband and I are traveling with my parents to DC in late October this year. I wanted to hear some of the best things to do and see. We are particularly interested in historic and civil war things. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Of course the Smithsonian and the rest of the Mall/Capitol area, the monuments, Arlington, etc.

Out of all the museums, I would suggest: The Holocaust Museum..!!! It is something to experience, at least once. On a less global impact scale, the Museum of American History and Museum of Natural History are my two favorites.

Don't waste your time on the Zoo, unless you are obsessed with the baby panda - it's not much speak of.

Maybe see a show at the Kennedy Center.

In the surrounding area of course, there are places like Mt Vernon, the Manassas/Bull Run battlefields, and so on. If you don't mind a drive, Oatlands is about 45 minutes outside of the city (66west to US15north, about 5 miles on right after you cross US50), Monticello is about 2.5 hours (US29South and follow the signs once you near Charlottesville) and UVA has some beauty and history as well. There is Richmond and Appomattox (1.5 hours and 3 hours, down 95 to Richmond and down 95 to 64west to 15 south to 60 west and follow the signs to Appomattox). Of course there is Williamsburg, which is about 2 hours if you take back roads that run parallel to 95 and then cut diagonal to Williamsburg.

The other direction, 2.5 to 3 hours (66west to 15 north across the state lines and west on 30 for a few miles, then follow the signs.) is Gettysburg in PA. (ETA: a shorter way from the city is 270 north to 15 north... sorry, from where I am the way I gave you is shorter, but from the city, 270 is...!)

Going west, there is Harper's Ferry in WV.. thats about an hour and a half (take 7 west or US50west to where they cross 340, and take 340 north just into West Virginia. Follow the signs to old town.)

A lot of it depends on your time frame, and how much you want to stay in the city versus travel around it.

Have fun!

Answer 2

You should definitely visit the entire capitol mall area. The Lincoln memorial is amazing and the Vietnam is very touching. Also the WW2 and Korea are a must see. If you're interested in the civil war there is an exhibit on display at the American history museum that you should definitely see but i think it may be closed by then. The building is undergoing renovations from Fall 06 to 2008. You should definitely go see all the Smithsonians but don't waste your time going to the spy museum it wasn't really that good and the lines are long. I haven't been to the Holocaust museum yet but from what I hear it's really a good museum but really sad too. If you want to get tickets to go inside either the Capitol building or the Washington Monument I recommend you show up at the building at least a half hour before it even opens the lines will be that long. Although it may not be as bad when you go seeing that it is late October. Another thing you want to see is the National Archives it's amazing to look at the documents that founder our country. For my last piece of advice use the metro system don't drive. We stayed at the Hyatt in Bethesda which is located right over the Bethesda Metro station I recommend just purchasing all day passes for the metro they only cost like 6.50 a person and they are well worth it.

Answer 3

The WWII monument is very impressive and quite touching. It sits between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Also, as others have said, the Smithsonian Museums are a must! Try the Washington DC tourism site www.washington.org for other suggestions. There's an African American Civil War monument listed, and under the details for that monument is another website, afroamcivilwar.org, that I didn't check out.
When my husband and I travel, we check out the travel channel and food network websites. Sounds bizarre, I know, but they often do shows on little known places or top ten sites and can get you off the beaten path to some very cool areas that you might miss otherwise.
This site also specifically listed some "cultural and heritage" tours that seemed to focus on the civil war and related events. It also seemed to be a little easier to navigate than the first one.
http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/

Oh, and a side note. You can still go up the Washington Monument if you choose, but you must have tickets. Call ahead. We assumed you could just get in line when you went and they were booked for the day when we arrived.

Have fun!

Answer 4

All of the monuments and Smithsonian museums in Washington are free and excellent. The American History Museum may be of particular interest. But all of the Smithsonian museums are great. The closest civil war sites that I know of are Antietam in Maryland and of course Gettysburg, PA (which is roughly a 1.5 or 2 hour drive north of DC). There are also several in Virginia, but again they're a bit of a drive outside of DC. Once you get past the DC traffic though it's not a bad drive though. The National Archives is also worth seeing for history. The Korean War, Vietnam War and FDR memorials are all great as well.

Late October is a great time of year to be in DC - it's past the peak tourist season and the weather should be cool but good for sightseeing.

Answer 5

You should at least drive past all the monuments and spend a day or more seeing the Smithsonian museums. If you have time for a day trip leave early and visit Harper's Ferry in West Virginia and then go to Antietam (2 famous Civil War sites).

The Manassas battlefield is also interesting and after visiting that you should go for a leisurely drive through Loudoun County. Start by going west on 50 into Middleburg, make a right on 626 (Foxcroft Road) then turn right onto 611/690 then take a left on to 734 and drive through Airmont and Bluemont at the end of the road take a right on 7 and take business route 7 in to Round Hill, turn left on 719 and when you come to the stop sign take a right towards Hillsboro and slow down to take in one of the prettiest views in the county. At the end of the road turn right and go through Hillsboro (lovely little town) and stay on rt 9 for a while, take a left on Clark's Gap Road and follow the signs to Waterford. When you are done have a lovely dinner in Leesburg. The route I just gave takes you through many Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields and most of the towns that you will see are at least 200 years old if not older.

You should go to the National Zoo and see the Panda cub and if you can, head up to Baltimore to the National Aquarium.

If you'd like some more information about some other historic things I think that you can send me an email using the contact button in my information.

Answer 6

As you know this area is so rich in America's history. I'm originally from Virginia and always recommend this site to folks coming to the area: CivilWarTraveler.com. There is a section called the Civil War trails which covers all the historical sites in this neck of the woods: Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland etc. It's very comprehensive with maps and such so you plan your own itinerary. Alot of fun. Stop by Ford's Theater on 10th Street NW between E and F streets. It is still a live, working theater and a historical site with a museum downstairs dedicated to Lincoln's assassination. Very interesting artifacts. Don't know how old your folks are, but the WWII Memorial is beautiful and very moving. Have a great vacation.

Answer 7

There's about a million different memorials to visit (Vietnam Mem., WWII Mem, Iwo Jima Mem., all the Smithsonian buildings, the Hircshorn Art Museum ,the National Gallery, all the various monuments down on the Mall, right outside DC, there all kinds of Civil War battlefields in Va. & Maryland, very close to DC. There's the Georgetown section of DC, very artsy,many beautiful townhouses. One word of caution, Be very careful touring the Mall & Capitol Hill, especially after dark. Many folks get a nasty suprise by being in the wrong place & not paying attention

Answer 8

The Smithsonian is a very nice museum, and you should definately make time for it if you are interested in history. Another very nice museum was the Holocaust museum. It was somewhat depressing, but everything is just presented in a fascinating way. Definately take a look at all the memorials in the area too. The Licoln, Jefferson, and Washington memorials, as well as the War memorials. Have fun in DC!!

Answer 9

If you like Historic, visit Monticello - The Jefferson home. Yes the Smithsonian is great, but don't pass up the FBI, The US treasury, The monuments like Washington, the Lincoln Memorial, the Roosevelt memorial. You may really enjoy Ford theater where Lincoln was shot. The hall of statues in the capitol is nice too. Union station has great artwork. It is all like walking into the past.

Try these places: www.washington.org
www.dcvisit.com

If you like the answer, 10 points are always good :)

Answer 10

I currently work in DC. Here are some things I would recommend:

Holocaust Museum
Native American Smithsonian (its the newest one)
FDR Memorial (which is outside)
Vietnam Vet Memorial

There are also the monuments which are basically in the same area as the smithsonians.