Best area to stay in Washington DC ?

Question

Looking at :

Choices:

1. DuPont Circle Area
2. White House / Capitol Hill
3 Georgetown

Please comment on pros/cons of each. Thanks

Answer 1

You must be rich--- you picked the three most expensive neighborhoods!

I'd pick DuPont.

All three are safe although Capitol Hill can have some rough blocks; choose carefully there! None have any street parking so you will have to either get a place with a parking space ($$) or just Metro everywhere. You can get Zipcars easily in DuPont (a rental car that you get at a stand instead of the airport). It's easy to get a cab in DuPont, hard in Capitol Hill unless you're right on Penn, and iffy in Georgetown (a lot of cabs avoid the area because they don't want to deal with the traffic or the drunks).

All three have plenty of shops, bars and restaurants but Capitol Hill has a smaller selection, and Georgetown is looking rather corporate these days. The funky old boutiques and neighborhood bars are all gone, and there's overpriced chains taking over. The charm is all gone but the traffic and crowd-control problems are still there. DuPont is very vibrant with independant businesses, cafes, fine dining, shops, boutiques, you name it.

Answer 2

I love the Capitol Hill area myself. But it's not close to the White House! If you are going to see the memorials and museums, the Capital, etc. and want to be close, the Capitol Hill area is the place to be. They are all right there, and there is lots of security. Georgetown doesn't have a metro stop, so it would require you to do alot more walking or to take the bus. I don't know that much about the Dupont Circle area, as there really aren't that many tourist type things that got us over there.

Answer 3

Dupont- fair amount of nightlife. Metro is right there. Many embassies nearby. Not too far from the "sites" of DC.

White house/capitol hill. These aren't really close to each other. White house is downtown, while capitol hill is a bit of a walk. Both are quiet at night but good locations to check out the tourist sites. If you go in wrong direction from capitoal hill, you're in bad neighborhood. Downtown DC at night might be a little sketchy too, but it isn't bad as it used to be.

Georgetown- cool neighborhoods to walk around. hilly. Metro doesn't go there, but buses do. Fair # of upscale restaurants and bars.

Personally I'd go with dupont.

Answer 4

all those locations are great, but try looking in arlington, va. its just across the river, and the hotel tax is not as much as in dc. and to get to dc, you can just take the metro or walk.

Answer 5

capitol hill
transportation is harder in georgetown.
dupont is ok, my 2nd choice.
kind of depends on what you want to do.
daytime tourist or nightlife or what?

Answer 6

it is so bad there id not give any advice