How To Use This E-Book
Getting Around the e-Book
This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Washington, DC, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.
The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Washington, DC, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Washington, DC are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Washington, DC. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
© 2016 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd
Table of Contents
How To Use This E-Book
Washington, DC’s Top 10 Attractions
Top Attraction #1
Top Attraction #2
Top Attraction #3
Top Attraction #4
Top Attraction #5
Top Attraction #6
Top Attraction #7
Top Attraction #8
Top Attraction #9
Top Attraction #10
A Perfect Day in Washington, DC
Introduction
A Brief History
Choosing the Site
Thinking Big
The British Light a Fire
Civil War Capital
Growth, Depression, and a New Deal
Transformation
Historical Landmarks
Where To Go
The White House
Around the White House
The Mall
The Capitol
Supreme Court
Library of Congress
Federal Triangle
Around the Mall
Old Downtown
Union Station
South of the Mall
North of the White House
Georgetown
Further Northwest
Museums
Smithsonian Museums
Arts and Industries Building
Freer/Sackler Gallery of Art
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery
National Museum of American History
National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of the American Indian
National Postal Museum
Museums of Asian and African Art
Renwick Gallery
Non-Smithsonian Museums
National Gallery of Art: West Building
National Gallery of Art: East Building
National Gallery of Art: Sculpture Garden
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Phillips Collection
Other Museum Highlights
Arlington
Excursions
Alexandria
Mount Vernon
National Arboretum
Monticello
Williamsburg
Annapolis
Baltimore
What To Do
Sports
Spectator Sports
Shopping
Where to Shop
What to Buy
Entertainment
Calendar of Events
Eating Out
What to Eat
Restaurants
Capitol Hill and Union Station
Downtown
Foggy Bottom & Georgetown
Adams Morgan & Dupont Circle
Alexandria
Baltimore
Charlottesville
Williamsburg
A–Z Travel Tips
A
Accommodations
Airports
B
Bicycle Rental
Budgeting for Your Trip
C
Car Rental
Children
Climate and Clothing
Communications
Crime and theft
D
Disabled Access
Driving
E
Electric Current
Embassies
Emergencies
G
Gay and Lesbian Travelers
Guides and Tours
H
Health and Medical Care
Hitchhiking
I
Internet
L
Language
Laundry and Dry-cleaning
Liquor (Alcohol) Regulations
Lost Property
M
Maps and Street Names
Money Matters
N
Newspapers and Magazines
O
Opening Hours
P
Photography and Video
Police
Public (Legal) Holidays
R
Radio and Television
Religious Services
S
Smoking
T
Times and Dates
Tipping
Toilets
Tourist Information Offices
Transport
Traveling to Washington, DC
V
Visas and Entry Requirements
W
Websites
Weights and Measures
Recommended Hotels
Capitol Hill and Union Station
Downtown
Foggy Bottom & Georgetown
Adams Morgan & Dupont Circle
Baltimore
Charlottesville
Williamsburg
Washington, DC’s Top 10 Attractions
Top Attraction #1
iStock
White House
Home to the President of the United States. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #2
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
The United States Capitol
The seat of the U.S. Congress. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #3
Getty Images
The National Gallery of Art
An excellent showcase for Western art from the Middle Ages to the present. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #4
Getty Images
The Washington Cathedral
The sixth largest cathedral on earth, built in Neo Gothic style. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #5
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
The Washington Monument
This white obelisk is a tribute to George Washington. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #6
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
The National Museum of American History
A fun and fascinating collection. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #7
iStock
The Zoo
One of the oldest zoos in the United States. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #8
iStock
Arlington National Cemetery
The nation’s war heroes have been laid to rest here. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #9
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
The John F. Kennedy Center
See a theater, dance or music performance at this modern center. For more information, click here.
Top Attraction #10
Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications
Mount Vernon
The plantation house of George Washington on the banks of the Potomac River. For more information, click here.
A Perfect Day in Washington, DC
9.00am
Breakfast
Enjoy an artisanal toast and crafted coffee at Slipstream (for more information, click here) or simply grab delicious coffee to go at Peregrine Espresso.
9.30am
First things first
Take a walk to the White House (advance reservations only – see online) to admire the magnificent state rooms and take photos. If you are not lucky enough to have a tour of the house, take a walk in the President’s Park and view it from the outside.
11.30am
Washington Monument
Cross Constitution Avenue and look up at the towering Washington Monument which at its 554 ft (169 meters) is the world’s tallest stone structure. Then walk to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at Wallenberg Place.
12 noon
Holocaust museum
In this unusual museum you’ll step into another era, paying homage to the victims of the Holocaust. Then, as it’s already past lunchtime, stop for lunch at a local cafe.
2.00pm
The Mall
Stroll down the green Mall for 1.2 miles (1.8km), visiting some of the city’s best museums along the way, including the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History and the National Gallery of Art.
4.30pm
Capitol Hill
Walk to Capitol Hill to see the impressive seat of Congress with spectacular views of the entire Mall. For a break from sightseeing, take the metro to Union Station where retail stores abound.
5.30pm
Best buys
Enjoy your shopping spree and then settle down to relaxed dinner at one of restaurants at Union Station’s Food Mall. Then as night begins to fall, take a cab (15 minutes’ drive) over to the Lincoln Memorial.
9.00pm
City of light
At night, the grandly illuminated Lincoln Memorial is a sight to behold, as are the Jefferson and Roosevelt Memorials standing tall over the Tidal Basin nearby.
10.00pm
On the town
Hit the 9:30 Club (815 V St. NW), arguably the best live music venue in Washington. Alternatively, buy tickets for one of the shows at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Introduction
The City and Its People
Washington D.C., although not one of the 50 United States, is truly the all-American city. In the best sense of the word, the nation’s capital belongs to the people, who look upon it as half-shrine, half fun-fair, and as such it has long been one of the most popular family vacation spots in the country. No visitor should miss this uniquely American experience.
In climate and flavor Washington is Southern, for it lies south of the Mason-Dixon Line, the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland that had traditionally separated the North from Dixie,
the South. It was the first modern city built from scratch to be a national capital. In 1790 George Washington himself picked the spot for the Federal City
that was to bear his name, and laid the cornerstone of the Capitol; but he died before Congress first met here, in 1800. Virginia and Maryland ceded parts of their state territory along the Potomac River for the site set aside as the District of Columbia –DC.
Broad avenues radiating like spokes from the Capitol and White House are lined with government buildings designed to impress. The architectural styles adopted over two centuries are a mirror of changing official taste, from Greek and Roman to contemporary steel and glass. There are no skyscrapers or industrial installations and there are plenty of open green
