Washington D.C. - things to visit
 

At the end of the month I'm going on a family trip to D.C. Obviously we're already seeing the monuments, Arlington, Supreme Court, Smithsonian, and we have private tours to the White House, Capitol, and PENTAGON (having a family member high-up in the military is pretty awesome)!

Anyway are there any other things that we should check out... maybe places that aren't very well known? Restaurant recommendations? Things NOT to see?

We need stuff to do at night, mostly.

U Street, NW between 10th and 18th or so
Georgetown (Wisconsin Avenue and M Streets, NW)
Adams Morgan (18th Street and Columbia Road)

All great neighborhoods where you can dine at night.

I don't know how long you'll be there, but the Kennedy Center is pretty cool to visit. They have a show called Shear Madness that's really funny...it's sort of like a murder mystery with audience involvement. I thought it was really fun. I think it's still running right now but I'm not sure. I'm sure they have a website on it.

The International Spy museum and the Holocaust museum are both amusing. I could easily spend a whole day shopping in Georgetown. Eastern Market is entertaining on the weekends, but there was a fire there recently so I'm not sure what kind of shape it's in. I actually prefer the monuments at night - the crowds aren't as bad and it's pretty.

Good places to eat:
Matchbox - in Chinatown (pizza and the best mini-burgers you'll ever eat)
Georgia Brown - Farragut North (southern food)
Ceiba - Farragut North (Latin American - on the more expensive end)
Cakelove - U Street (delicious cupcakes)
Nooshi - Dupont Circle (cheap Thai food)

Fun bars (I know you'll be with family, but they all serve food):
Local 16 - U Street (lounge with a huge rooftop deck)
Reef - Adams Morgan (3-story lounge with a rooftop deck)
Buffalo Billiards - Dupont Circle (big sports bar)
Smith Point - Georgetown (I think you can usually get in even if you're not on the list, you just may have to pay...it's been a while)
Old Ebbitt Grill - Downtown (get oysters and sit at the bar)

Uhh...I'm sure I'm leaving off a million things. More later, maybe.

The Spy Museum is AWESOME but allow yourself a few hours - when we were there we didn't allow ourselves anywhere near enough time!

If your family drinks/enjoys good beer, definitely check out the Brickskeller. Its in NW, and has something like 900 different beers. Its a comfortable bar, good to go if you want to get a table, and food and whatnot, but our servers are always great at recommending new ones to try - its one of my favorite places to go drink/get dinner.

I like it, but it's been so crowded every time I've gone - what time do you usually go?

We always use it as a starting point, so around dinner time...6 or 7pm on a Saturday. The last two times we had a group of 6, and they let us make reservations...not sure if they do for smaller groups too, I didn't make them, our friends made them. Worth looking into though, they have some delicious brews ;)

The Improv is pretty cool.

The monuments are awesome after dark, especially the Vietnam (?) Memorial. Or whichever one has all the statues of soldiers standing in the park.

I think you're thinking of the Korean War Memorial...one of my favorites too. :)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...armemorial.jpg

You MUST do the zoo. Absolutely must. It's such a great attraction to visit. My brother is graduating from American this weekend and my brother and my sister in law are taking my nephew to the zoo while they're there.

LOL that sounded so bad, even though I know you didn't mean it that way. We're visiting the Holocaust museum for sure. :)

As for the zoo... we didn't plan on visiting it because we're kind of zoo snobs, since the San Diego zoo is supposed to be the best.

I also cosign on Spy Museum, but you do have to allocate time if you want to do it right.

I would spend a day/evening in "old town" Alexandria. Great walk down towards the river, cool shops and great restaurants. I don't know what the night life (if any) is like there, I haven't been past about 11.

Bars I like (but I haven't spent serious time in DC in a year):
Cap Hill-
Capitol Lounge (lots of staffers)
Hawk and Dove- Famous, again, lots of staffers
Lounge 201- I went to a couple of lobbyist-sponsored things there, and it was a good time.

I like Old Ebbitt as well

Gtown
Garrett's- laid back, but multi-level so it can get annoying to move around. I always liked it though, mostly because it was like 200 yards from my apt. Used to be a great place to get Foggy Bottom Ale, but they don't make it anymore.
Rhino is good for sports
-Also, McFadden's is good for sports, its in Foggy Bottom on Pennsylvania, couple blocks from M.
Mr. Smiths- girls love the piano
Sequoia- hit or miss, i like it but some don't. Its right on the river.
The Tombs- I liked it, but it can be unbearably crowded. Its a classic place though, very popular w/ students.
The Guards- I don't think I've been (probably have, but don't recall) but its pretty popular, maybe someone else can help
Daily Grille- This is a chain and could go under restaurants, but we used to drink here early before going other places. Its a pretty classy but young crowd, a lot of LA's and such.

Restaurants (not necc the best places to eat, just places i liked)
-Tortilla Coast (Cap Hill)- Pretty good mexican and good margaritas
-10 cent wings at Capitol Lounge (cap hill)
-1789 very well known, somewhat expensive. I know some people who think its overhyped, but I liked it (I liked all the Clyde's places I went to)
-The Occidental- also fairly expensive, but great pictures on the wall and great food
-Five Guys- If you've never eaten there, you need to. Burgers and fries, great stuff
-For delivery pizza, Pizza Movers is pretty good and cheap, I lived off it.
-Steak, the only true beef place I've eaten at in DC is Capital Grille, which was excellent. Expensive and a chain, and although not prime beef the dry-aging is worth it.
-Bullfeathers on the Hill, we ate there for lunch a lot, might be another consideration after your Capitol tour (right beside the office buildings). However, I think the food court below Cannon office building is good, and many visitors like eating down there.
In Alexandria, I got good italian at Il Porto
I'm not big on greek, but my sister and mom like Athena Pallas which I think is in Arlington near Cheesecake Factory, if I recall correctly.

When I went to DC, I enjoyed the following the most: the monuments at night, the National Gallery of Art, the Pentagon tour, the FBI tour, and the special congressional tour you could go on if you got a ticket from one of your state's U.S. senators. Not sure if you can still do the latter three (especially the pentagon tour, but it sounds like you've got a VIP), but I'd try if you can. It was pretty cool to go onto the floor of the senate and house chambers and sit in the chairs.

I didn't make it to the Library of Congress, but I hear it's not to be missed.

I've taken my kids a couple times in the past few years, but when I was 17 on my first big trip to DC, my favorites were the National Cathedral, Arlington Cemetary and Mt. Vernon. I also liked the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Our favorites on our recent trips were the Moonlight and Monuments tour out of Union Station, the Spy Museum and visits to the White House, Senate and House chambers (we had great tours because one of our Senator's chief of staff teaches my daughter's Sunday School class and our US Rep lives down the street).

Of course, with teenagers, shopping in Georgetown was probably the top attraction, even though we have every one of those stores here. We rode the metro to GWU and walked.

No help w/restaurants, I never remember the names of anything.

I love DC. If I hadn't gotten married right out of college and my husband already lived here, it would've been my first choice.

My next trip, I'm leaving the kids at home and I'm going to spend as much time in every art museum as I wish and never eat anything off of a tray...it's white tablecloths all the way! :D