Washington DC
I have a grandson and a friend coming to US in Dec. and the only ask to see the capitol especially the Smithsonian. Would you just toad in or find a tour bus?? Or some other option?
Forum Discussion
- Use the Subway...
sch911 wrote:
Use the Subway...
X2 the subway is your best choice.- We found the best way for us was to use the Metro. There are many stations with large parking lots and a day passes with unlimited use for a nominal fee.
DC Metro maps are available online, just choose a station close to where you are staying. - Lake Fairfax Park in VA is close to the silver line Metro and Cherry Hill Campground in MD has a bus that takes you to the Metro as well as tour buses.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes. Once you get off of the Metro you will be walking a lot to tour the various museums.
- The Smithsonians are comprised of multiple Museums in different buildings. We stayed in Cherry Hill RVP and rode in on the Subway to Union Station. From there we took the Duck Tour with our young GD, one day. Then on another weekend when DS and DIL flew in, we bought the 2-day Trolley Tour to see more from the street side.
Then we would get on and off at whatever Museum or Monument and walk a ways before seeing another Museum.
Cherry Hill is great because they have all the Subway maps, City Maps and people who can guide you ahead of time. - Metro subway is the only way to go. Parking anyplace within a several miles of the National Mall is impossible. You can literally drive around all day looking for a parking spot and never find one.
Most folks who go to DC more than once google the DC Metro map, and pick a station on the edge of the system along their intended route, then ride the rails. from there. Sometimes the second station in has better parking available. Metro goes within a block or so of every place you could possibly want to go.
Whatever you do, do NOT ever attempt to drive a large vehicle/camper/bus into that area. You will NEVER get back out again. - Our daughter spent about 7 years in the DC area starting in 1994, 1st at American University then another 3 years as our son-in-law worked in Arlington VA. We visited the city many times during her stay. We stayed at Little Bennett Regional Park out on I270 every time but one, when we braved the traffic across the top of DC on the Beltway to Cherry Hill RV Park, never went back, awful navigating traffic in the motorhome and way to noisy for us. We have driven to the mall several times and taken the metro after boarding at the Shady Grove Station many more times when wishing to visit The Capitol . We drove into American University 9 times out of 10 which was about 6 miles inside The Beltway on Massachusetts Ave.
- If you are RVing into the area Cherry Hill is my recommendation too. The Smithsonian is I believe 11 different museums. They require a lot of time to see. We have been there but not enough time. We plan on 11 days with the DGKs maybe next summer.
Darn Eagle Scout program and DGD's social life. Just kidding.
