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Thread: What to see in Washington during cherry time?

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    What to see in Washington during cherry time?

    I am looking at visiting Washington with a bus tour and having three days to explore Washington for the first time. I believe it would be quite crowded at that time but I would skip the parade and visit points of interest instead. Definitely the Smithsonian but not sure which to focus on seeing. What else is a must do in your experience? I am comfortable walking but traveling on my own so need advice on what to avoid as well. TIA
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    I've been in DC the past two days with 5-6 hours of free time during the day and have enjoyed simply walking around the Mall and Tidal Basin.

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    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    The Smithsonian is so big that you will have to decide what you would like to see. I am trying to remember what we saw 20+ years ago and not much coming to me. We did enjoy seeing the Vietnam wall. The White House was closed. I would google what there is to do to help you decide.

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Googling doesn't tell you how far apart things are and whether they are worth focusing on when visiting for the first time. I tried and got frustrated. If I have to take a cab between places due to distance or lack of safety between?
    Here is one site but I have no idea of the distance between sites.
    http://what to see in washington dc in 3 days
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    OUr hotel told us to be out of DC by 5pm because it was not safe after that. So we started early each day and then came back to the hotel. We did take their metro around and it was very clean, bright, etc. I tried to click on the link you posted but could not get it to open.

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    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    So I looked and we also did the capital, national mall, monuments.

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    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    My hotel is in Georgetown, and it has been under an hour of very pleasant strolling to get to even the furthest sights from here. DC itself is rather small. It never took me more than a minute or two to find a cab if I needed one, and rates are cheap. At no time did I feel unsafe, except when I observed a backpack left unattended for 20 minutes outside one of the memorials - response time from Park Police after I called it in was about 2 minutes.

    People all seemed very friendly and happy.

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    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    If you are going during cherry blossom time, it might still be a little chilly. A really nice respite is the National Botanical Garden. Its adjacent to the capital. The conservatories are lovely and humid. As others have said it all depends what you are interested in. We did the National Gallery of Art (5 minute walk from capital), then got back in the car and parked near the water and walked around and looked at a bunch of memorials (FDR, Martin Luther King, Lincoln).

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    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    We've been several times in the last few years and would recommend going straight to the mall. Just about everything a tourist may wish to see is within a 5 minute walk from its perimeter.

    I'd especially recommend spending a little time at each of the monuments, then Arlington National Cemetery which is just across the river from the Lincoln Memorial, the National Archives, Natural History Museum, National Art Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and the National Aquarium. For lunch, I'd recommend one of the food courts on the mall, they have the best hotdogs ever.

    You could easily spend 3 days exploring all the features on this map:

    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

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    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    For lunch we've mostly been feasting at the food trucks along 14th on the Mall. Cheap and decent.

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