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Washington DC - tourist suggestions?

Hoping those of you who live here or have visited (or even just want to) could help me out with this.

My mom is coming to visit tomorrow for a week, and she's really excited to see the nation's capital for the first time in her life. I've lived here for 6 weeks and have done very little exploring so I'm afraid I'm not going to be the best tour guide. 

Does anyone have any suggestions beyond the basics? She loves museums, she's vegan, and she loves nature. We live in DC proper, but we have a car, and I think she'd love to see MD and VA, too. Oh, and she really likes old churches. And stone walls? I don't know why, but she has always had a thing for stone walls. 

Anything dog friendly gets bonus points because, and I quote, she "doesn't want [my] dog to feel left out." 

Thanks!!
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Re: Washington DC - tourist suggestions?

  • Avion22Avion22 member
    2500 Comments 5 Love Its
    edited November 2012
    1.  National Mall.   Everything's free, good way to kill a day.  Take the metro to Smithsonian.
    Ford's Theater is also really close to the Mall. 

    2.  National Zoo.  Also easily accessed by metro, but it's a little bit of a walk from both of two stops.  You can drive and park, but I don't remember how much it costs.  They have a white tiger!!

    3.  Arlington National Cemetary.   I think this is a must-do for all Americans at one point in their life.  

    4.  Georgetown.  No metros in Georgetown, but very pretty.   

    5.  Old-Town Alexandria is really cute, some neat shops and restaurants.   I also highly recommend "Dairy Godmother" -- an ice cream/custard shop in Del Ray (just outside of Old Town) that the Obamas have been known to frequent.   A quick drive down the GW parkway from downtown DC, and plenty of parking in Old Town and Del Ray.

    6.  National Cathedral?  If she likes churches, this could be right up her alley. 

    7.  There are about a million cool restaurants in the DC/VA/MD area.   Does she ever watch Top Chef?  The Voltaggio Brothers (from a few seasons ago) own "Volt" in Frederick, MD.  A friend of mine is the Sommalier there, and I've always wanted to go.  Definitely make reservations in advance!!!
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  • Great suggestions! Thanks! 

    @Kwith, we're within walking distance of the national mall, so we'll definitely do that. I went at night when I first got here with FI, but it was like 100 degrees and humid so the mosquitos were INSANE. My FI was trying to be romantic by suggesting we do it at night, but halfway through we were both like THIS IS AWFUL and then it started torrential raining. So I think there definitely needs to be a do over.

    So far the only restaurant I've made a reservation at (for with my mom) is Founding Farmers because most of the restaurants in DC don't seem to be too vegan friendly? (Unless, of course, they're a vegan spot.) I'm a vegetarian and have found it difficult to find restaurants. @Avion, I love Top Chef! I didn't know about the v brothers, but my FI is obsessed, so that might be a trip I make with him sans the vegan accomplice ;) 

    @Retread, I've been wanting to go to Alexandria! I've been wondering how much time to allow for that, though. Should we look up restaurants in advance, or just sort of wander around? Sorry if that's a silly question ;) 


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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_washington-dc-tourist-suggestions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:29abe453-6cf4-4613-8822-31c57dd1495ePost:ece09329-12f7-4d7d-8d6e-4f36dbb694d8">Re: Washington DC - tourist suggestions?</a>:
    [QUOTE]If you have a whole week, take a day trip to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.
    Posted by CMGr[/QUOTE]

    <div>I was thinking of that!</div><div>
    </div><div>FFIL is <em>obsessed</em> with it. My FI's parents live in NYC, and they still have a son in high school (FI is the oldest of 4), and he keeps being like, "Can we retire to Colonial Williamsburg yet???" FMIL is not pleased. For 3 years they lived 10 minutes from us in NYC, and FFIL never once came to visit. In 6 weeks he's visited us twice here in DC so that he can go to Colonial Williamsburg after. </div>
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  • Manassas Battlefield is also fun to do once.  And it's very dog friendly :)
    I french with my man
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  • Annapolis is beautiful for a day trip-I took my mom out there last weekend and she really enjoyed it.  It's very walkable and there are great restaurants--and it's very historic.  Not sure what the state house tour schedule is, but the one time I did it years ago, it was pretty neat.
  • Don't forget about Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington, which is about 15 minutes south of DC. There is a very long bike/jogging path that is next to the Potomac River and starts near Mt. Vernon; she might enjoy walking her dog along it. 
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_washington-dc-tourist-suggestions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:29abe453-6cf4-4613-8822-31c57dd1495ePost:1c1c083a-62d3-4dd6-bddf-90200416c3d7">Re: Washington DC - tourist suggestions?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Don't forget about Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington, which is about 15 minutes south of DC. There is a very long bike/jogging path that is next to the Potomac River and starts near Mt. Vernon; she might enjoy walking her dog along it. 
    Posted by FluffyGumDrop2[/QUOTE]

    <div>ha yes, she would enjoy it - but the dog is mine. She is worried about MY dog being left out which is why it's so funny. </div>
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  • It is depressing, but I would recommend the Holocaust Museum as well.  It is really well done and really informative. Just try to have something fun planned afterwards.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_washington-dc-tourist-suggestions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:29abe453-6cf4-4613-8822-31c57dd1495ePost:0ea7795a-6efa-4da1-a9f5-f1f312d64626">Re: Washington DC - tourist suggestions?</a>:
    [QUOTE]It is depressing, but I would recommend the Holocaust Museum as well.  It is really well done and really informative. Just try to have something fun planned afterwards.
    Posted by rsanna[/QUOTE]

    <div>Haha, my mom has already requested this. Good for me to know that it might be a downer, though! (Not sure why that didn't occur to me before...)</div>
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_washington-dc-tourist-suggestions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:29abe453-6cf4-4613-8822-31c57dd1495ePost:0acbd893-4689-46e1-9f0b-6b25e4925467">Re: Washington DC - tourist suggestions?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Washington DC - tourist suggestions? : Haha, my mom has already requested this. Good for me to know that it might be a downer, though! (Not sure why that didn't occur to me before...)
    Posted by emeejeeayen[/QUOTE]
    <div>
    </div><div>I had gone my freshman year in college with a group of classmates.  To cheer ourselves up, we walked all the way to the Lincoln memorial and back to Union station. But it was well worth it.  It was really powerful and I got choked up many times. </div>
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  • As someone who lives in the D.C. area, I echo a lot of the requests that have been given.

    Monuments at night one of my favorite things to show people, especially the Korean War Memorial.  Seems so much more alive at night

    All of the government owned museums are free (ie Smithsonian, Holocaust) as well as free to enter the zoo or the supreme court, national library, or other federal government buildings

    Any of the museums not owned by the government (ie Spy Museum, Newseum, Museum of Crime and Punishment) all have an entrance fee.

    If your mom wants to see the White House from the Inside, one of you would need to contact your congressman for tickets, as they do not have daily open to the public tours.

    If she likes old churches I know there is St. Matthew's Catholic Church in NW.  This building is on the National registry of historic buildings, as well as being the church that the Kennedy family attended when JFK was in the White House.

    Obviously there is also the National Cathedral. 

    Annapolis is fun for a day, although I have a feelling it is now going to be much chillier to be walking around Annaplis than it was when I went in the summer.

    I would also recommend since you want something to do to include the dog you take a trip to Great Falls, located in VA.  The waterfalls are beautful and lots of people bring their dogs.

    Here  http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/best-bets/vegetarian-friendly,89828.html is a list of D.C. area restaurants known for being vegetarian and vegan friendly.  I have been to two on the list.  The first, Busboys and Poets is fun.  There are locations in DC, MD, and VA.  They do serve meat but have veg and vegan options, and their food is good and seems to be more natural than other places.  The other place I have been on the list is Nando's Peri-Peri, which is more of a Peruvian food place located near Chinatown.


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  • In DC, Founding Farmers is AMAZING. Seriously, unbelievably, delicious. Same goes for Busboys and Poets. Their fallafel is the best.
    In Old Town, Pat Troy's 'Ireland's Own' is a pet friendly restaurant. They have a patio where the pups are welcome. They even have a dog menu with stuff like lamb stew.  It might be a little chilly, but if you go-that's the place to eat with your pup.

    The zoo is awesome, but there is one hill that is freaking killer.

    Natural History Museum. Check out the elephant in the atrium. Don't bother pushing the "To hear me, push button!" button. I don't think they've worked for 20-30 years.

    If you like quaint small town shopping and you're able to get a little further out of town, consider visiting Historic Occoquan (Exit 160 off 95S, about a 30min-1hr drive outside of the city depending on traffic). They have the best little shops there. If you do go, make sure to have a sit down at a little restaurant called C0ck and Bowl. It's owned by a couple of friends of mine. They specialize in moules (muscles) with 10 different sauces, and really good belgian beers. Last time I checked, they carried around 50 different imported beers and a ridiculous number of wines. Put it this way: their food menu was one page front and back, the beer/wine menu was 30 pages long. They also have a pet friendly patio, but can't remember if they keep it open in November or shut it down for the winter.

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