Washington DC Trip on a budget

[BiggerPiggyBank]

Re: Budget101.com : Washington dc trip on a budget

all of the smithsonian museums are free. there’s enough there to keep anyone
busy for years. the most kid friendly are natural history (the insect museum
rocks), american history, air & space (all on the mall within easy walking
distance from the subway’s smithsonian station) and the zoo (not on the mall but
also within easy walking distance of the subway, can’t remember the station name
for that one.) their website with lots of detailed information — https://www.si.org.

you can get subway passes for a rate that might be a better deal for you than
buying regular fare cards. you can find more information and advance ordering
at https://www.wmata.com.

all the various monuments, the capitol, archives and such are free too.
definitely visit the washington monument. the others are cool too but might be
a bit dull for the kids, depending on their ages.

you can go see the capitals for a really good deal if they’re in town. more
info can be found at https://www.washingtoncaps.com.

there’s also the holocaust museum (also on the mall,) depending on the age of
your kids. i haven’t been there but i’ve heard it’s pretty intense. you’ll
need to get advance tickets if you want to go there.

(not free)

the spy museum is a fairly new one, haven’t been there yet. i’ve heard
advance tickets are highly recommended there. it’s near the gallery
place/chinatown subway station.

(not free)

if you’re willing to drive a bit there’s mount vernon (not free.)
https://www.mountvernon.org

union station is a very cool building to check out and there’s a food court
there if you want a little more variety than you’ll find in the museums.

you’ll be there during the cherry blossom festival and hopefully the trees
will be blooming. definitely take a walk around the tidal basin to see them.

go to arlington cemetery to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the
unknown soldier. it’s really something special. (there’s also a subway stop
there.)

go to hains point to see the statue there, it’s a huge guy coming out of the
ground, it’s very cool and makes for a nice outside trip. that does take
driving so it might not work if you’re doing the subway thing.

or visit the sculpture gardens at the national art musem and the hirshhorn.
also on the mall and free.

take a ride on the subway to rosslyn to ride on a really, really long
escalator if you just need to sit down for a little bit.

another awesome place to just see is the willard hotel. it’s just around the
corner from the white house. it’s a beautiful, awe-inspiring place.

for restaurants there’s a zillion in the city. most of the ones i know are
around the gallery place metro stop. fuddrucker’s is a burger place that’s
definitely kid friendly and has great burgers.

there’s also espn zone if you
want to pay too much for nothing special food and then pay even more to play the
dozens of games in their lower level. they must have every sports arcade game
there is. (not one of my favorite places but kids love it.) there’s the
melting pot, never been there myself but i’ve heard it’s fun.

everything there
is fondue. there’s a mongolian barbeque place somewhere around there too but i
can’t think of the name. eating on a budget in the city can be pretty tough.
you might have better luck eating in takoma park.

i’d definitely do some research first to be sure of hours and such. and try
to plan around rush hour. the subway is crazy crowded during rush hour.

if you
plan to use the subway i’d give the map a bit of a study. it’s not a horribly
complicated system but it could save you some time if you have an idea of where
you’re going before you get into the station. some of them are huge and can be
a bit overwhelming.

i definitely would use the subway though. trying to drive
and park in the city just isn’t worth the trouble.

have a great time! it’s an awesome city.

lori.

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