Washington D.C — the capital of the US, and home to some very iconic, famous landmarks, and the President of the United States. If you can get over the latter of those, Washington is a totally awesome city, and a place that stole my heart with the sheer amount of history, culture, award-winning chefs, and a vibrant arts scene.
The thing that surprised me the most, is how calm the city is. Bearing in mind it’s the capital of the United States, it didn’t seem as intense as cities such as NYC, Chicago and Philadelphia — the roads aren’t as busy, the buildings aren’t so high, and no one seems to be in too much of a rush to get from A to B.
Stay
I stayed in three hotels during my time in D.C. All very different styles to each other, and all had very different price points.
The Willard Intercontinental
I’m very lucky to stay in some very swish hotels for my job, but this one was another level! My bedroom view was of the Washington monument and Lincoln Memorial, we were within spitting distance (tempting) from The White House, I had two HUGE beds, and the hotel lobby was so posh, I felt totally out of place every time I stepped in!
1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW. washington.intercontinental.com
The Avery Georgetown
Based in the Georgetown area of D.C, this was a small guest house with lots of charm. You can read more on my stay here,
2616 P St NW. www.averygeorgetown.com
The Line DC
Possibly THE coolest hotel I’ve ever stayed in (it’s up there with The Hoxton hotels) I won’t go into too much about it now, as there’s a separate post incoming. Located in the Adams Morgan area of the city, in an 110 year-old church.
1770 Euclid St NW. www.thelinehotel.com/dc/
Eat
There are so many good places to eat in the city, you could spend a good week just eating your way around.
Federalist Pig
Two words: BBQ MEAT. Go hungry, and ready to tuck into some seriously good BBQ. I’m still thinking about the ribs we ate (separate post incoming).
1654 Columbia Rd. NW. federalistpig.com
Unconventional Diner
The name says it all really — this place is not your average diner. During the day, it serves up pastries, sandwiches and a few main dishes. But, at night, the chef gets more playful, especially with snacks. The tastiest of the lot: an assemble-it-yourself PB&J with foie gras custard, dehydrated peanut butter, grape jelly, and triangles of white toast, the fries with their ‘sexy sauce’, the fried chicken and the cheeseburger were the dishes that went down a treat on our table.
1207 9TH ST., NW. Unconventionaldiner.com
Blagden Alley
Now this is a place I really wish we’d had more time to explore! Blagden Alley is a system of interior alleyways with a booming commercial core of craft cocktails and coffee, street art, and some of the city’s most popular new restaurants. Tiger Fork, The Dabney and Supra all come highly recommended. We grabbed cocktails at Columbia Room — a perfect pre-dinner spot.
See
The Smithsonian
This is a rather large category as the Smithsonian is made up of several museums and galleries throughout the city — depending on how long you’re there, I recommend choosing a couple of favourites rather than trying to squeeze them all in. Highlights for me were: African American History Museum, Natural History Museum, and the American History Museum. There’s something for everyone within the Smithsonian and, best of all, most of these museums are free to visit.
www.si.edu/
Memorial’s
The Lincoln Memorial was my favourite place to visit during my stay in D.C. It’s such a beautiful and powerful memorial. It’s also very central, and if you’re able to, walk down to the Washington Monument, via the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, and the World War II Memorial. If you have the time, walk across to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. I think I’ve said the word ‘memorial’ enough. You get the picture.
The US Capitol Building
Another highlight was going on a tour of the US Capitol Building. You can book in advance, or queue up inside, which is what we did. Go early and get on to the first tour if you can (8:40am) it’s fascinating, and the building itself is beautiful. Plus, the tours are free — yes, you did read right!
There you have it — Washington D.C. A city that totally blew my socks off, and has something for everyone. I can’t wait to head back there at some point to do more exploring.
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