Alexandria
Eminently walkable, Old Town Alexandria offers a glimpse of early America through its 4,000 historic homes and businesses. Many visitors begin their tour at the Ramsey House Visitors Center, near the center of Old Town. One highlight is The Athenaeum art gallery, a Greek Revival structure where legendary Civil War Gen. Robert E. Lee once banked. Don’t miss Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate.
Arlington - Pentagon
The road to Arlington passes by the solemn Lincoln Memorial and leads to hallowed ground: the Arlington National Cemetery. This resting spot includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the graves of John F. and Robert Kennedy. Arlington County is home to other symbols of US military might, including the Pentagon and the US Marine Corps War Memorial, better known as the Iwo Jima Memorial.
Bethesda
With the National Institutes of Health and the National Naval Medical Center, healthcare is a major industry in Bethesda. But this Maryland city also has a creative bent. Art galleries, dance studios, and theaters radiate from Wisconsin Avenue, the main artery of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District. Sculptures grace many downtown squares.
Capitol Hill
Lawmakers handle the nation’s business at the US Capitol, where Freedom peers across the land atop her perch on the rotunda. Many members of Congress live in the brick row houses near the Capitol complex. Across the street, the Supreme Court—the third branch of government—interprets the law. Nearby, the restored Union Station is a transit terminal and dining hotspot.
College Park
As its name suggests, College Park is a college town. Many locals are affiliated with the University of Maryland, a colonial, red-brick campus set amid 1,250 acres of rolling greenery. Nearby, the College Park Aviation Museum operates on the grounds where Wilbur Wright taught military aviation. The National Archives’ local research facility contains Richard Nixon’s presidential materials.
Downtown Washington D.C.
Downtown DC is awash with culture. The Smithsonian Institution museum complex flanks the National Mall. The Washington Monument bisects the Mall, just south of the White House. Federal agency headquarters house bureaucrats of varying stripes. Moneyed and powerful lobbyists help create (and quash) laws from K Street. Chinatown and the Washington Convention Center lie east of downtown.
Dupont Circle
Mid-rises and mansions grace the leafy streets of Dupont Circle, where independent cafes and shops thrive. With a number of gay bars and businesses, this area is DC’s main gay neighborhood. Foreign flags fly high on Embassy Row, the stretch of Massachusetts Avenue from the Circle to the National Zoo and National Cathedral. At night, locals head north to Adams Morgan for drinks and live music.
Fairfax
History buffs will appreciate Fairfax, once caught between Union and Confederate forces. Monuments to this Civil War heritage include the Fairfax Museum, the Confederate Cemetery, and the Blenheim estate, where stationed Union soldiers wrote poetry on the walls. Nearby, the National Parks Service preserves the Manassas National Battlefield, the site of the Civil War’s first major land battle.
Georgetown - Foggy Bottom
Georgetown is DC at its most cosmopolitan. Here, Beltway bigwigs hold court at fine restaurants along M Street, a bustling shopping thoroughfare. Twentysomethings network at its trendy bars. Georgetown University dominates its west side, while rival George Washington University takes a chunk of Foggy Bottom. That area includes offices to major law firms, corporations, and the World Bank.
Ronald Reagan National Airport
Situated across the Potomac River in Virginia, the Ronald Reagan National Airport is the closest airport to downtown DC. Visitors can take a car or hop on the Metrorail to get to the capital or its area suburbs. The hotels and office buildings of Crystal City rise near the airport. Neighboring Pentagon City is home to two upscale developments, The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and Pentagon Row.
Tysons Corner
Tysons Corner is all business when it comes to shopping. This area features more than 400 retailers in two shopping centers: the Tysons Corner Center and the Tysons Galleria. Already one of the nation’s largest business districts, Tysons Corner is poised to grow as more office buildings, retail space, and homes will be built over the next decade.
Washington Dulles International Airport
With Metrorail service years away, visitors must travel by road to and from Dulles International Airport. Dulles is next to Chantilly, Herndon, and Reston—DC suburbs home to major corporations. The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is on the airport grounds. Its artifacts include the space shuttle Enterprise and the Enola Gay, used to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
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