I have traveled to and worked in Washington DC over 30 times in the past 11 years. When I travel for work, I am the sort to take full advantage of the privilege. I’m a lifelong, unashamed, relentless tourist. DO ALL THE THINGS! I was recently back in DC, and took my son Max with me on his first trip there. Exploring DC with him, and showing him all the “places I go when I’m not at home with you,” was really special. It really made me realize how many “favorite places” I have in that city. I am often asked by my students and friends for DC travel ideas, so I decided to put it here in one easily shareable post.

WHEN I PREFER TO GO

I’ve traveled to DC in every season, but my favorites are spring or fall, which is thankfully when most of my work occurs. It’s a literal (and figurative) swamp in summer and cold in the winter. The other perk of the spring? The cherry blossoms – and if you time it right – the kite festival. The National Mall is a National Park, and runs a “bloom watch.” Of course, this is a busy time in DC, but with good reason. It truly is just lovely – but do take allergy meds. I once did a run along the river from Georgetown to the Capitol and then couldn’t open my eyes for several hours due to my spring time allergies. Anyway, coinciding with the bloom is the Kite Festival. I am in DC for work not leisure, so it was serendipity that I was there over this event. It is one of my most joyful memories from solo travel. I felt as free as the kites.

THINGS I DO IN DC (THAT ARE NOT CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, OR NETWORKING)

Further in this post I will detail my favorite museums, restaurants, and spots, but for now, these are the activities in DC I recommend:

• Walk the monuments at sunset and at night. It’s safe and so gorgeous. I love to start all the way at the Supreme Court or Capitol and make my way to the Lincoln Memorial. The lighting adds to the grandeur and it’s a little less busy and hot.
• Smithsonian Museums. Free, huge, and fun. Each trip I try to sneak one in, and often strategize and plan ahead for which one. Because they’re free, you can guiltlessly do “drive by” visits and go see just a few rooms or things. I’ll talk more about them individually later, but for the museums on the Mall, it’s so fun to walk between them too. Eat at one the stands on the Mall and sit on the lawns. There is a metro stop that drops you right there.
• All the other museums! There are so many museums in DC. Exploring there is one of my favorite things to do. I usually just open google maps and explore around my hotel on each trip. I tend to target art or science spots.
• Book shops. One of my travel ticks is finding a local bookstore in every city I travel to. DC is no exception and is plentiful – especially if you get out to the surrounding neighborhoods. A personal favorite is Politics and Prose at the wharf.
• The river. I love Georgetown, the wharf, just looking at the Potomac from anywhere in DC. This fall Max and I kayaked and it was so cool. We used Boat in DC and took off from the Keytown Bridge. A great activity for traveling with a pre-teen too.
• Pokemon Go. Hear me out. I’m a nerd, my family are nerds, and augmented reality games are just fun. DC has so many thousands of Poke Stops and Gyms, and it’s a fun way to engage with the history and the map.
• Shop. Is DC a fashion hub? Absolutely not. But there are so many professionals working overtime to look the part, that there are Nordstrom Racks on like every corner. Half of my work wardrobe was purchased in DC.
• Tours. Admittedly, I very rarely go on tours in DC because my tourism is being fit in between work obligations. However, I have gone on a few good ones. Max and I took a great Ghost Tour of the Supreme Court and Capitol this fall. It’s a fun way to get a guided experience and learn some fun facts. I have never done any of the bus/driving tours (well, not true, did one in 7th grade) and frankly those don’t really appeal to me. I just used viator to find it, and have good luck booking through them.
• Rooftop bars. Ok, I like these everywhere, but with the monuments and ornate government buildings, DC rooftops are fun. I’ll mention restaurants and bars later, but a personal favorite is the Crimson View in Chinatown.

WHERE I LIKE TO EAT

I like to eat and I like it be either (a) very delicious, or (b) an experience. I’m here for vibes. I’m also here to break bread with friends. Meal planning for bigger parties in a city is a WHOLE THING in terms of splitting checks and managing reservations but worth it every time. I also love to eat alone and explore new restaurants on my own. Bring a book. You got this.

My other tip for us hapless midwesterners – you need reservations. You always need reservations. Maybe you get there and it was unnecessary, but just do it. Here is a list of restaurants I either hit frequently, get a kick out of, take students and colleagues too, or simply just recommend. There are so many missing here too; I’ll add over time.

• The Dubliner near the Capitol and Union Station. It’s an Irish pub through and through and definitely panders to that. There is often live music, the food is good, and the atmosphere is fun.
• The Old Ebbitt Grill near the White House. It’s a classic but touristy. It just feels so “DC” though; it’s worth it. I’ve ordered trays of oysters drunk at 2AM and had eggs benedict at 7AM. It delivers.
• GCDC Grilled Cheese near the White House. This is fast food grilled cheese. Quick, easy, yummy, kitschy.
• Farmers Fishers Bakers at the Georgetown Waterfront. Elevated comfort food and the Sunday brunch is unbelievable. Eat outside if you can.
• Nick’s Riverside Grill at the Georgetown Waterfront. It’s a hometown, cheaper, American style fare of your youth. Again, eat outside.
• Founding Farmers in Foggy Bottom. It’s just delicious and the atmosphere is A+. I dream of this apple mac n’ cheese. Yes. It has apples in it.
• City Tap House in Penn Quarter. This one is a chain, but in limited cities. Regardless, it’s delicious and convenient.
• Kaliwa at The Wharf. It’s pricey for the quality (it’s really good, but maybe not that good), but the setting, the decor, the vibe. I’m into it. Southeast asian food (but you can get french fries as a side, which still amuses me). Lots of speciality cocktails and mocktails too.
• Wok and Roll in Chinatown. Yep, sushi and karaoke. I’ve gone solo and did no karaoke and gotten a karaoke room with friends. The atmosphere is fun and the sushi is pretty good.
• The Kura Revolving Sushi Bar in Chinatown. Yes, yes, Kura is a chain, but robot waiters! a sushi train! It’s just fun and relatively cheap.

WHERE I LIKE TO LOOK AT THINGS: MUSEUMS AND TOURIST SPOTS

• The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the National Mall is one of my favorite places. They have an original Wright Brothers plan, amazing space exhibits, and a three story gift shop. It’s free, and I’ve never had to do the timed entry except for when it reopened after a lengthy closure. All this said, if you live in eastern Nebraska, the collection at the SAC Museum is bigger than here. There is another Air and Space Museum in Chantilly VA, which is a bit of a hike from DC, but gigantic. The collection there has to be 2x the size – plus a space shuttle! I recommend all three.
• The Smithsonian Natural History Museum on the National Mall is just eye candy. The animals, the ceilings, all of it. I particularly like walking the hall of human evolution. I’ve never had to do the timed entry.
• The National Portrait Gallery, near Chinatown, is relatively quick if you’re just looking for the famous portraits. If you explore each gallery, it’s huge. It’s also open later than the Smithsonian Museum’s on the Mall. I have often saved that one to tour around 5 or 6PM before going to dinner in Chinatown.
• There are way more Smithsonian Museums than I’m going to call out specifically here. Of course, of course, check out all the Smithsonian’s! Another few I list as favs: The American Indian Museum is gorgeous with awesome jewelry in the gift shop; I almost always walk through the Hirshhorn; The African American History and Culture Museum is so cool and interesting; and finally, the gardens and green house are beautiful and fun. When it’s cold I love to hit up the green house. All free!
• The Spy Museum. I never bothered to pay for this experience until I went with my 11 year old. Interactive mission through museum, crawling through air vents, loads of intel, an opportunity to show off my cyber red teaming knowledge – it was a perfect afternoon. There isn’t much for the real little guys, but great for older kids and grown ups!
• The National Archives feel surreal. Standing in the room with the Declaration of Independence is a real trip. I have always just walked right in without timed tickets, but I’ve also always done it first thing in the morning when it opens. No pictures allow here. Free.
• Now, this makes me sound insufferable. My work has led to my visiting Pentagon in a professional capacity 5 or 6 times, and my hosts have given me tours, so I’ve never done a public tour, but I believe they’re doing those again! It’s a wild, huge, and confusing complex with a fun photo op in the waiting area only (no pictures otherwise). I got to take Max with me this fall, which was so cool. Tip: never take a cab to the Pentagon. The only drop is at the front which is not where visitor control is. Easiest method is to metro in, which will drop you right where you need to enter.
• The NASA HQ lobby, information center, and gift shop (on Hidden Figures Way) is a quick stop if you’re not actually visiting someone’s office, but worth it. The gift shop is small and feels like a mall pop-up, which is to say, they have random stuff that the woman who runs it designed herself. There are also some interesting displays in the lobby.
• You can request a tour of the Capitol building from your state delegation, rather than one of the big public tours. They can’t always accommodate it, but being led around by an intern is kind of a kick. I’ve done them with interns of staff from Rep. Bacon and Senator Fischer’s Offices. The video before the tour is too long (and has its rose colored glasses on regarding US history) but its a neat building and tour.
• A few other places I’ve visited in the last few years, that were cool, but not calling out specifically: ARTECHOUSE (Art Tech House) DC was cool but small, Library of Congress is beautiful, FBI tour was cool, CIA tour (it’s another one with a drive) was neat and we saw the employee art show which cracks me up, State Department is so serious and intimidating, kayaking the Potomac (mentioned earlier), and the National Geographic museum was well done too.

WHERE I LIKE TO SLEEP

I’m all-in on my Hilton Honors points, but have stayed in a few places in DC that were particularly cool or special.

• Phoenix Park Hotel is above The Dubliner that I mentioned earlier in this post. It’s Irish themed as well, and fun. It’s near the Capitol, Union Station, and Georgetown Legal Center.
• Just once I got to stay in The Willard Intercontinental Hotel, which is a DC institution, terribly fancy, beautiful, and where I yelled at the lobby staff for refusing to offer me access to a refrigerator for my pumped breast milk (which they did eventually do). It’s pricey and above my pay grade 99.9% of the time, but definitely stop by for a drink on your way to The White House or keep an eye out for discount rates.
• Motto by Hilton in Chinatown has a basement bar and a killer rooftop bar. It’s across the street from the Chinatown metro spot, which is sort of a rough street, but safe. I’ve never had an issue there. Between the location, the bars, and the minimalist rooms – I love it.
• The Hilton brand hotels I typically book depending on where my work is centered: the Hilton National Mall & The Wharf, the Canopy at Embassy Row, and the Embassy Suites Convention Center. All of these have proven to be the quietest – which is typically my biggest complaint.

GETTING THERE

I am solidly on team DCA (Reagan National) for flying in and out. If you’re there for work or tourism you’re likely staying in the city center, and DCA is quick 15 minute drive. I often call it ‘Reagan’ and am swiftly told by locals it’s ‘National.’ When that is coming from someone who has lived there for many years, it’s funny, when it’s coming from an intern whose been there for the summer, it’s annoying. The other airport option is Dulles. Is Dulles bigger? Yes. Is Dulles occasionally cheaper? Yes. Do I have any desire to commute after getting off the plane? No.

From DCA you can easily take metro in, but the drive is quick enough that I am usually bougie (and getting reimbursed) and just grab a cab.

HOW I GET AROUND

The metro in DC is so easy and inexpensive. Google Maps will tell you what train and when, but you hardly need it to. There is an app you can use to pay, but I find it a little poorly designed. You can still buy the physical cards and load them at the stations. I also use ride shares a lot when getting around quickly. But, BUT, far and away my favorite way to move around DC is walking. It’s such a walkable city with a lot of personality, if you look for it. Not to mention the monument pathways. Whenever I can, I walk.