It appears that aside from the aforementioned 9, other must-visits are:
10. National Archives Museum
11. National Museum of African American History
12. Embassy Row
Restraunts (all taken thanks to Forumlurker's helpful inputs):
1. El Rinconcito
2. Amsterdam Falafelshop
3. Zenebech
4. Roaming Rooster
5. Levains (for cookies)
6. China Boy
7. Reren
8. Capital Doner
9. Whichever good restraunts show up on Google Maps and are near where I am at mealtimes.
Also, if the trip is to be a short one, which of the above 9 options would you say I prioritize? I would think that I'd start by cancelling Jefferson/Madison/Monroe since it is far away from all the other sites. However, I fear given how long it will take to properly visit each location, I might well be hard-pressed to do even the other eight. I would say the Smithsonian, White House, Mt. Vernon, the Capitol and LOC are musts, and that the two other museums and SCOTUS might be lower-priority. But those who have been there, I'd love to know which places you consider the most important to see and which you would say can be skipped if necessary / are overrated.
I'm not sure if/when it is even happening yet, but it might be. The exact number of days is not yet certain and is what I'm trying to figure out, but it won't be a long enough trip to do all that you said. I would say somewhere from 4-6 days total. I would love it if you could let me know what you'd consider the top things to see and do during the that time (also how long each particular stop might take), because clearly, there is a massive amount to do in DC and not all of it will be possible this time around. Forget whatever I said - you appear to be one of the forum's resident experts on DC, along with the other posters who actually live there, so if possible, just let me know whatever you think can work in 4-6 days, how long each place might take, and what you think is the most important to visit right now and what can be pushed out to later. (Sorry if I'm asking for a lot - but I really value input from someone who has been in DC for so long!)
I'd say 1-2 hours for the Holocaust Museum. LOC is fascinating, so I'd budget more time for that.
Good to know. My biggest concern is not missing out on anything major. I will be able to go to DC as well later on, so this time, the goal is to do whatever is top priority (asking Forumlurker on that), and spending the appropriate amount of time in each place. When I do go to the Holocaust Museum (which might end up getting pushed out to a later trip) and the LOC (which I think might end up happening on this trip, depends paritally on what Forumlurker thinks), I will be sure to spend at least an hour at the Holocaust Museum and as long as necessary in LOC (which, I'd agree, is a big one - it's the biggest library in the world!).
Okay so for one I’m not really an “expert”, I’ve been here for a few months but there are several atlas posters who have been here longer, so I’d listen to them over me if they disagree with something I say. And don’t apologize about asking for this, I love planning trips and when I was younger I wanted to be a travel agent, you are fulfilling a lost childhood dream
As for time…it honestly really depends. Take a museum: It’s a lot different to guess time for a guy who reads every single sign carefully and looks at every single little detail in every exhibit vs someone who just wants a more general understanding and reads the main parts/a few details he’s more interested in. I can try to average but just keep your own pace in mind, really any attraction takes as long as you want it to.
Here is what I would reccomend for the National Mall Area which is prolly where you’ll spend much of your time, although I would reccomend at least spending one day beyond here unless you are really pressed for time.
Essential:
Capitol/Supreme Court .5 hours (last I check it wasn’t open for yours so you’ll only be getting photos from outside which is why time is so short, still go, it’s on the way and it’s awesome to see anyways, like have you been to DC if you haven’t stor-seen the the capitol?)
White House .5 hours (see capitol)
Washington Monument 15 minutes (unless you wanna go up it, I wouldn’t think it’s really worth it since it’s almost always a long line, but your call)
Lincoln Memorial 15 minutes
Highly Recommended:
Library of Congress 2.5 hours
National Museum of American History 3 Hours
Air and Space Museum 3 Hours
American Museum of Natural History 3 Hours
Jefferson Memorial 15 minutes (walk to it looks long but it’s only about 20 minutes from the Smithsonian metro, I was literally there today and timed it lmao)
Reccomended:
Museum of the American Indian 2.5 Hours
(I could go on for hours about this one, f**k the haters this is a hill I will die on)
Vietnam Vets Memorial 15 minutes
Korean War memorial 15 minutes
WW2 Memorial 15 minutes
MLK Memorial 15 minutes
Holocaust Museum 2 Hours (Yes it’s sad, it’s important to see if you can…but you’ll definitely feel different once you leave)
National Museum of African American History and Culture 2.5 hours (Tbh this is why I say it depends in terms of museums, one time I spent only a couple hours at most here and was fine, then I went back a few months later and somehow spent over three and a half hours and still wasn’t finished, it really depends on person, how much you wanna see, mood, etc)
National Gallery of Art 2.5 Hours
Mid-Priority
National Archives Museum 2 hours
American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery 2 hours
Postal Museum 2 hours
Chinatown Gate (Friendship Archway) 15 minutes
Holodomor Memorial (if visiting Postal Museum) 15 minutes
FDR Memorial 15 minutes (yeah Republicans may have got our airport for now, BUT WE HAVE THE MONUMENT AND WE WILL TAKE B- it’s a nice area to walk)
International Spy Museum 2.5 hours (pretty cool but it costs money which is bulls**t, great for kids)
Fords Theater 0.5 Hours
Decent restaurants in area:
(I tried to make these all within 20 minutes walking one way of the National Mall, there are a bunch of chains as well if you don’t wanna go too far as well. The food trucks you’ll see along the mall are okay as well afaik, they are prolly the closest. It’s just a bad area for food lmao.)
US Department of Agriculture Cafeteria
(People look at me weird when I say this…but shockingly it’s open to the public and honestly probably the best you’ll find on the mall itself, better/cheaper than any museum cafeteria but that’s a low bar lmao)
Matchbox
China Boy (cash only)
Luke’s Lobster
Rasika (if you are loaded with money to waste)
GCDC
Founding Farmers (a lot of people like it idk)
Teaism
General tips:
1. If you wanna maximize time do museums in the day and the monuments in the evening or night. This works especially well for summer. I would dare say the monuments are better in evening and night.
2. Use the back or side doors (back meaning on constitution Avenue instead of on the mall itself) for natural history and American history to avoid as much line
3. Best time for museum lines is a bit after opening, so the people who wait early go through but it’s still early enough that it isn’t as bad
4. I am not counting things you walk like the actual mall itself or scenic areas/smaller monuments you might stop by if you are waking to a big one like say…the Jefferson monument, those are harder to plan, you’ll see them tho if you want. Give yourself time for this
5. Don’t get museum fatigue. I would NOT recommend you do go to all the museums I listed, these are just options with priority. Think about what YOU want to learn about the most, and pace yourself. It’s much better to see only one or two museums but actually appreciate it than rush through a bunch but not really care for. I tried “ranking” but in all honesty it’s so subjective, make a decision based on what you want, not what one guy in DC thinks.
6. For a scale of reference, the entire mall end to end takes about 45 min-1 hour to walk nonstop.
7. This one is obvious but if there is a rainy day, yeah that’s the museum day
