Traveling to DC

My wife and I are heading out there at the beginning of May. After pricing hotels, I am wondering how anyone can afford to live there. We finally found a nice place in Alexandria, with the intention of taking public transportation to see the museums, etc.

Anybody know if this is a good or bad idea? Has anyone been there recently? And does anyone have any other advice on keeping the trip from cleaning out the savings?

I was there last week and I used to live there. Old Town Alexandria is gorgeous. The rest is meh, but if you are near the metro (subway) you''re all set. Definitely take advantage of the metro - it is safe, easy to use, and clean. It doesn''t go everywhere (like Georgetown) but it goes most places.

Have you been there before? There is a ton to do of course...but it can be exhausting.

There is more than enough to see in DC, but if you''re in the mood to catch a movie some night when you need to rest your feet a little, there is the best old style HUGE screen theater at the Cleveland Park metro stop (about a block north) called the Uptown. I went and saw ROTK there last week and my head is still spinning.

Have fun!

[edit] Oh, and depending on what you''re into, if you''re interested in funkier nightlife and restaurants (including the nation''s largest and best selection of African restaurants) check out the Adams Morgan neighborhood. Take teh Dupont Circle metro exit and walk up Connecticut, hang right onto Columbia Rd. and then take a right onto 18th st. Meskerem has the best Ethiopian food I''ve ever had -- order the fish, just don''t ponder too much what PART of the fish you''re eating. It''s awesome.

Thanks for the advice. It''ll be my first time there since I was a little kid.

My only requirement on the trip is a couple of days of Smithsonian related activity (Air & Space Museum, Natural History Museum). I like the sound of Mekerem, we may have to head there.

I absolutely agree with hubbinsd on the metro. That is one city that seriously has the mass transit thing down. And clean, no less!

"Nameless" wrote:

My only requirement on the trip is a couple of days of Smithsonian related activity (Air & Space Museum, Natural History Museum).

Did you know the Air & Space Museum now has a satellite location out at Dulles Airport in Virginia? Heres all the info.

I still haven''t had a chance to go out there since it opened, but the couple of friends that have made it out there said it was simply amazing.

"hubbinsd" wrote:

Take teh Dupont Circle metro exit and walk up Connecticut

teh Dupont Circle is teh awesome! !!!!lol omfg h^x0r!!!!

"Sanjuro" wrote:
"hubbinsd" wrote:

Take teh Dupont Circle metro exit and walk up Connecticut

teh Dupont Circle is teh awesome! !!!!lol omfg h^x0r!!!!

Thanks, I just ruined my pants laughing.

Anyway, I''ve lived here almost all my life so any specific questions I''m here for ya. Old Town Alexandria is great, and there''s a metro there. Take that like everyone else says. The rest of Alexandria sucks a big one, don''t bother. Arlington isn''t bad, either. I live and work right near Dulles, and haven''t even seen the new museum yet but I hear it is indeed incredible. Shame on me.

A couple tips for the area:
- Always take small bills/change to the metro, as the machines only give change in the form of coins. 20 dollar bill = pocketful of change.

- DO NOT end up in Southeast DC. This includes anthing along the southern part of the Metro Green line. Green line = bad news.

That''s all I can think of now, meh.