Washington D.C.

If you go wandering around/exploring, avoid South East. Also, drink some DC Brau, if you're a beer drinker.

You gonna have a rental car? The Udvar Hazy center is awesome but it's a bit out of the general DC area.

Szeth_sl said:

You gonna have a rental car? The Udvar Hazy center is awesome but it's a bit out of the general DC area.

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A bit?

Are you gay? If so, go to JRs. I'd recommend wondering around Dupont Circle and the neighborhoods around there. Might as well make it as exciting as possible. =-po

If you have money to blow The Monocle is really good for lunch.http://www.themonocle.com/

Kuriin_sl said:

Are you gay? If so, go to JRs. I'd recommend wondering around Dupont Circle and the neighborhoods around there. Might as well make it as exciting as possible. =-po

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I've been to DC for a conference very near Dupont Circle twice and never noticed anything especially swishy. Then again, I work in midtown Atlanta. I might just be desensitized.

I will say that I love the Adams Morgan area nearby. I'm straight, and found lots of interesting bars and nightlife. I hear crime is a problem though.

Dupont is the gayer area, but, it's very mixed. I haven't lived in Maryland in several years, but, that was one of the more exciting areas to go to in DC. When I say exciting, I just mean there's a very eclectic crowd.

Ben's Chili Bowl, Georgetown on M street for shopping/food/walking around, U street at night for a more laid back night life than Dupont/Adams Morgan, monuments for....whatever it is people seem to get out of them (I've never understood the draw, the Washington monument looks ugly as hell right now too).

I walked like two miles to Ben's Chili Bowl last time I was in town. Totally not worth it, imo. I think nostalgia must be a big factor in their popularity.

Heylel_sl said:

I walked like two miles to Ben's Chili Bowl last time I was in town. Totally not worth it, imo. I think nostalgia must be a big factor in their popularity.

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Probably... I think it's worth it to check out. Never had a half smoke before, and it was very interesting.. but you can also just get those from street vendors. The chili is pretty good though.

http://www.hillcountryny.com/locations.dc

Because my Texas upbringing has instilled the love of brisket, shiner bock, and blue bell ice cream in me for life.

Be careful on Saturday with the Metro system if you end up on some kind of schedule to see the stuff you're interested in. There's widespread track work every weekend and it shits up the whole system without fail - basically be prepared to lose an half an hour to an hour each time if they're working near the stations/lines you need. The trains have to single track and it's laughably bad, sometimes they close entire stations and you have to route around them with shuttles and shit. Should be ok if you're just doing the museums on the national mall.

Heylel_sl said:

I walked like two miles to Ben's Chili Bowl last time I was in town. Totally not worth it, imo. I think nostalgia must be a big factor in their popularity.

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I see Ben's as more historically representative of DC's culture than the monuments, the food itself is nice but probably not worth the trip alone. Maybe my recommendation should be to read the Wikipedia page for Ben's and then decide if it's interesting enough to visit

I would recommend instead never coming to DC ... ever.

People who have spent time in/around DC or grown up/lived in the mid-Atlantic and did countless school field trips and other visits have an easy time saying "the monuments are meh!" But really if you've never been to DC you should see at least Lincoln Memorial and Wash. Monument (yeah its covered in scaffolding now I'm afraid). The Korean and Vietnam war memorials are nearby and actually pretty moving. Jefferson Memorial is cool too. I actually think all this stuff is just as cool to take in after dark now when the summer and full on mid-Atlantic humid heat is upon us.

And then the museums.

There's a lot to take in as a tourist, its really a great tourist city unless you are super jaded about our nation and its government and history. Even so there's some great art and history to absorb without the whole nation's capital aspect.

If you go to the White House there's a place right down the street called the Renwick Gallery which is totally free and worth doing if you enjoy art and museums at all. Old Ebbitt Grill also nearby there if you want a second "say I've done that" traditional DC restaurant choice.