Sponsorship

The city has countless attractions; they range from the cultural to sporting, and everything in between. What follows is a list of some of the places that the membership of DCAC and the Wetskins consider of interest. Think of this as a shortlist of Washington’s must-sees.

The Monumental Core

The "Monumental Core" is the center of the federal city, with the National Mall, the Capitol, Smithsonian museums, and national monuments and memorials (http://www.nps.gov/nama/). Smithsonian Metro (Orange/Blue Lines) is the most central, but for the eastern and western ends of the Mall, other stations may be closer.

  • Be prepared to walk. The Mall from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial is two miles! Alternatively, rent a bike (see information above) or buy tickets for the Tourmobile ($25 for an entire day, http://www.tourmobile.com/tours.php) or one of its competitors.

  • Since the terrorist attacks in 2001, the official tour of the Capitol has been changed and is not that exciting, and often the waits are horrendously long.

  • The Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial on the far side of the tidal basin is often forgotten--don't! it's worth it! Also don't overlook the Vietnam Veterans Memorial--it is renowned as one of the best-designed memorials in the world and its fame is justified.

  • The view from the top of the Washington Monument is spectacular, but you must have tickets (which are free) for timed entry. These can be reserved online or picked up in person (be in line at 8:00 am, when the kiosk opens--most days all tickets are gone within an hour). See http://www.nps.gov/archive/wamo/pphtml/fees.html.

  • If you can't get Washington Monument tickets, an alternative is the tower at the Old Post Office a few blocks away (12th & Pennsylvania Ave., NW), where there's rarely a wait. Also free.

  • The White House. The best access point is to walk south from the Farragut North Metro stop (Red line). Despite what you may have heard, the White House IS open for tours, but you generally have to have tickets six months in advance! As an alternative, TV news crews set up on the northwest side of the White House grounds--you might catch a live newscast.

  • Arlington Cemetery--walk over the Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial, or use the Arlington Cemetery Metro stop (Blue line). Check out the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the John F. Kennedy/Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis grave site, and the Women in Service to America museum, or just wander amid the endless rows of immaculate white tombstones.

Museums

Smithsonian Institution: http://www.si.edu/museums/. On the Mall unless noted otherwise, and always FREE. As most people know (but some are still surprised to find out) the Smithsonian actually consists of nearly 20 different museums and attractions. They are located throughout the city, but concentrated along the National Mall. (And NOT ALL Washington museums are part of the Smithsonian.)

  • The Castle serves as the Smithsonian's Visitor Center, providing information about the institution and its museums.

  • The National Museum of the American Indian is the newest Smithsonian branch. Exhibitions so far have been of irregular quality, but the cafe is actually really good.

  • The National Air and Space Museum's main facility, on the Mall, is supposedly the most visited museum in the world. There is also a spectacular annex adjacent to Dulles Airport, but the only reasonable way to get there is private vehicle and parking is $12.

  • The Sackler Gallery & Freer Gallery focus on Asian art. The Freer is notable for its serene architecture.

  • The Smithsonian African Art Museum is part of the complex that includes the Sackler.

  • The Hirshhorn Gallery features modern and contemporary art.

  • The National Museum of Natural History has classic artifacts, including a great gemstone collection.

  • The Museum of American History is closed for renovations. A "highlights of the collection" exhibition is at the Air & Space Museum.

  • The National Portrait Gallery & Smithsonian Museum of American Art share a building that occupies the block bounded by F, G, 7th, and 9th Streets, NW (Gallery Place Metro station). Recently reopened after a complete restoration/renovation, including a spectacular new enclosed courtyard.

  • The National Zoo is at 3001 Connecticut Avenue, NW (midway between the Cleveland Park and Woodley Park/Zoo Metro stations on the Red Line). The giant pandas are the big draw, but there are all sorts of other critters, too.

There are numerous non-Smithsonian museums also. Some charge admission. A sampling:

  • National Gallery of Art: http://www.nga.gov/. Not a Smithsonian branch, contrary to popular belief, but an anchor of the National Mall. Don't miss the optical-illusion Roy Lichtenstein sculpture in the Sculpture Garden across 7th Street from the Gallery. On the Mall between 4th & 7th Streets (Archives Metro). Free.

  • National Building Museum: http://www.nbm.org/. A favorite of the gays, the NBM has exhibitions on architecture, engineering, and construction. Housed in the magnificent 1880's former Pension Building, which features a spectacular interior space. 401 F Street NW, between 4th & 5th (Judiciary Square or Gallery Place Metro). Free.

  • National Museum of Women in the Arts: http://www.nmwa.org/. Just what the name says. Expect luscious Georgia O'Keefe paintings and Louise Nevelson installations--housed in a beautiful former Masonic Temple. At 13th & H Streets NW (Metro Center metro). Admission.

  • International Spy Museum: http://www.spymuseum.org/. Rather pricey "edutainment"--not a museum, really--but a lot of fun. Across from the FBI Headquarters, 800 F Street NW (Gallery Place or Archives Metro). Admission charged.

  • Phillips Collection: http://www.phillipscollection.org/This is the oldest museum of modern art in the United States. Top-rate Impressionist and early Modernist art in a residentially-scaled facility. At 21st & Q Streets NW (Dupont Circle Metro). Admission.

  • Newseum: http://www.newseum.org/. Just-opened museum of the news media and First Amendment, with all the flash you'd expect from a $25 million facility. At 6th & Pennsylvania Ave NW (Archives Metro). Admission.

  • U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/visit/. You'll need at least two hours for the permanent collection tour, and bring tissues, especially for the part on treatment of gays, lesbians, and other "social deviants." On Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW (15th Street, SW) just south of the Mall (Smithsonian Metro). Free, but with timed-entry tickets, which go quickly in the summer. Highly recommended.


Some Other Notable Attractions

  • The Kennedy Center: http://www.kennedy-center.org/. Designated as the memorial to President Kennedy, the Kennedy Center is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington Opera, and hosts plays, dance, and other such entertainments. The "Millenium Stage" (http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/) has FREE performances most days.

  • Live theater. Most people don't realize that Washington is a big theater town, second only to New York in the U.S. for number of productions annually. See http://www.washingtondc.com/theater/ for a listing of theaters. Among the most prominent are two really good Shakespeare troupes (the Shakespeare Theatre in its big new Harmon Center, and the Folger in a small, Elizabethan-style theater) and two outstanding modern/experimental companies (Studio Theater, located in the heart of gay Washington at 14th & P, NW, and Woolly Mammoth Theater downtown).

  • U.S. Botanic Garden: http://www.usbg.gov/. Located at the eastern end of the Mall, the Botanic Garden has a wealth of plants. A butterfly garden opened last year and has lived up to its name.

  • Nationals Park (baseball stadium): http://mlb.mlb.com/was/ballpark/newstadium.jsp. Brand-new, just opened! A great place for baseball, and also interesting as a place to see the forest of cranes transforming the formerly semi-industrial area into a new urban neighborhood. Trivia fact: The new playing field occupies the very spot where most of Washington's famous gay strip clubs used to stand (one such club is expected to re-open soon on a new site not far away).

  • Verizon Center: http://www.verizoncenter.com/. Downtown arena--couldn't be more convenient--that's home field for the Washington Wizards (pro men's basketball), Washington Mystics (pro women's basketball), and Washington Capitals (pro hockey) teams. Also hosts concerts.

  • Kettlers Capital Iceplex. http://www.kettlercapitalsiceplex.com/. Suburban, but Metro-accessible (Ballston Metro, Orange line) public ice skating rink.

  • Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Outdoor concert venue in Northern Virginia, accessible via special shuttle bus from Metro. http://www.tickco.com/venue_schedules/wolftrap_farm.htm


Special Tours

  • DC by Segway: http://www.citysegwaytours.com/washington/. A fun, new way to overcome the expanse of the Mall.

  • DC Ducks: http://www.dcducks.com/. Using amphibious former military vehicles, these tours cover both land and water! A fun way to get an overview of Washington's sights.

  • Scandal Tour: http://www.gnpcomedy.com/ScandalTours.html. An only-in-Washington experience! An ever-evolving bus tour, although things get repetitive. For example, the Mayflower Hotel was already on the tour (it's where J. Edgar Hoover breakfasted with his "roommate" Clyde Tolson for decades) before Governor Spitzer made history in Room 871.


Outdoor Fun

  • Rock Creek Park: http://www.nps.gov/rocr/. A wild gorge that cuts through the city, with bike and hiking/jogging trails, horseback riding, picnicking and even fly fishing.

  • Great Falls National Park: http://www.nps.gov/grfa/. Big rocks and swirling whitewater like you'd expect in the western U.S.! Expert-level kayaking, hiking, picnicking. About 12 miles northwest of D.C., in Maryland.

  • C&O Canal Park: http://www.nps.gov/choh/. Over 150 miles of national parkland following the old Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, starting in Georgetown. In Georgetown, it's pleasant to walk or dine along the canal, but the canal boat trip is too authentic: extremely slow-paced. Further out, canoes and kayaks can be rented at Fletcher's Boathouse, for the canal or the Potomac River. Still further out, the canal cuts through Great Falls National Park (see above).

  • Paddleboats in the Tidal Basin. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=dca&ll=38.865057,-77.039137&spn=0.008063,0.025603&t=k&hl=en . A wonderful, alternative way to see the Jefferson Memorial and get a little exercise at the same time.

  • Gravelly Point: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=dca&ll=38.865057,-77.039137&spn=0.008063,0.025603&t=k&hl=en . For a picnic like no other--or just an unusual destination for a bike ride--go to Gravelly Point, located just north of National Airport on the Mount Vernon Bike Trail, Virginia side of the Potomac River. (You can also drive; the parking area is accessed from the northbound George Washington Parkway). You'll find people gathered there, day and night, to take in the thrill of being directly under the jets as they are taking off or landing. Few other airports offer such proximity, much less with attractive lawns and monument views. Especially effective when the jets are landing from the north, and at night.

  • Thompson Boat Center: http://www.thompsonboatcenter.com/. 2900 Virginia Avenue, NW, where Rock Creek meets the Potomac River. Rent a canoe or kayak and take in the sights from the Potomac River's waters. Consider crossing to wooded Roosevelt Island, then hiking to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial in the center of the island.