Wonderful Washington!
It took around 40 minutes to take us from the airport to our stop at ‘Foggy Bottom’ and a further 10-minute walk to the hotel. We stayed at The Melrose Georgetown Hotel which we found to be a great base for exploring the city. Our room on the 8th floor was very spacious and well-appointed and due to our late evening arrival, we dined in the hotel bar and found the food to be very good.
The following day we had a tour of the Capitol building booked which was very informative and we got to see the amazing domed ceiling and hear about its history. Tickets to the Capitol building are free but do need to be booked well in advance. From here we took the underground tunnel to have a look at the Lincoln Library, another very impressive structure.
The weather was glorious during our visit, and we took the opportunity to enjoy a walk along the Mall which is lined with museums, most of which are free to access but require advance bookings. We took a detour off the Mall to the Museum of the Bible which we found to be very informative and had a number of interactive exhibits.
We continued our walk along the Mall to the Washington Monument, the war memorials and watched the sun set from the Lincoln Memorial. To finish off the day we had booked dinner in the Old Ebbitt Grill which has a bustling atmosphere and is very close to the White House, food was delicious but quite pricey!
The next day we headed for Arlington National Cemetery which was only 2 stops on the metro from our hotel. We took a hop on hop off tour, where the onboard guides were very informative. A visit to the tomb of the unknown soldier is not to be missed but make sure to time it with the changing of the guard which happens every hour on the hour. This evening, we walked about 15 minutes from our hotel into Georgetown which has a small town feel with lots of boutique style shops and eateries. We dined at Martin’s Tavern which is an American style bar restaurant venue, and the food was delicious.
The next day we made a beeline for Founding Farmers for breakfast, the queue was huge, and we hadn’t booked but it was worth the wait especially for the beignets which we had on the side of our main breakfast which was delicious. We took an Uber out to Tanger Outlets, about a 30-minute drive from the city centre and approximately $30 each way. There is a large choice of outlets here with something for everyone, needless to say we didn’t go home empty handed!!
Sadly, the following day our trip came to an end, and we made our way back to the airport for our return flight home but we both agreed we would come back to Washington DC. As cities go it felt very safe, the metro system was clean, easy to use and never overcrowded. Lots of museums to choose from most of which are free to enter. We felt you could really do a lot without having to spend too much.
If you would like help to plan your next trip, please do get in touch!
