District of Columbia · United States
Where to stay in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. is a city in District of Columbia, United States, home to about 690,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- DCA5 km · Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- Currency
- USDUnited States dollar
- Time zone
- America/New York
- Language
- Carolinian, Chamorro, Hawaiian
About
About Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington, is the capital city of the United States, and its only federal district.
Washington, D.C., is a city born of politics, by politics, and for politics. It wasn't the first national capital: Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Annapolis, Trenton, and even New York City all tried their hand at hosting the national government. For a time, it seemed like Philadelphia would stake a claim as home to the federal government. However, Congress soured on the "Cradle of Liberty" after disaffected American soldiers, with the tacit sanction of the Pennsylvania government, chased the legislators out of the city to Princeton.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Washington, D.C.
See
Most of the attractions in D.C. are on the National Mall, the West End, and Capitol Hill. While there are many maps on display throughout the city, the official National Mall map and the Library of Congress map are great to have handy. The National Mall is a unique park, filled with an intense concentration of monuments, memorials, museums, and monumental government buildings instantly recognizable to people all over the world.
Do
D.C. has the highest ratio of parkland to population in the country for a city its size. Many of these parks are crowded with soccer, football, rugby, kickball, baseball, and ultimate frisbee players. The National Mall may be the most famous park, but there are several other large beautiful parks in the city. The 2,000 acre Rock Creek Park, a national park, bisects the city north of the Anacostia River. The park is full of deer (who overpopulate, due to lack of predators), squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, birds, and even a few coyotes. The park includes paved biking/running trails that extend from Maryland to the Lincoln Memorial and connecting with the Mount Vernon trail in Northern Virginia.
- A Capitol Fourth
- Around the World Embassy Tour
- National Cherry Blossom Festival
- Blossom Kite Festival
- Shakespeare Free for All
- Smithsonian Folklife Festival
- Library of Congress National Book Festival
- Otakon
- Washington Auto Show
- Washington DC Travel & Adventure Show
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Washington, D.C. to stay in
Virtually all of D.C.'s tourists flock to the National Mall—a two-mile long, beautiful stretch of parkland that holds many of the city's monuments and Smithsonian museums—but the city itself is a vibrant metropolis that often has little to do with monuments, politics, or white, neoclassical buildings. The Smithsonian museums are "must sees," but you haven't really been to D.C. until you've been out and about the city.
Hotels of all classes and price ranges can be found in many neighborhoods of D.C., as well as in the nearby suburbs. If you are coming by car, be sure to factor the cost of parking, which can be free in hotels outside the city limits but can cost over $35 per day in hotels in the downtown area. The hotel tax in D.C. is 15.95%, while the tax is 14.25% in the nearby suburb of Arlington, 13.00% in Bethesda and Reston, and 12.00% in Tysons Corner and most of Herndon. Hotels in the D.C. area are generally most expensive on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, when business travel reaches its peak, and cheapest on the weekend.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Washington, D.C.
97 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata; the 40 best known are shown, by the number of Wikipedia editions that cover them. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
All 97 hotels in Washington, D.C., with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; July is the wettest, with about 106 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Washington, D.C.: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), about 4.8 km from the city centre in a straight line; Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD, 37 km) and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI, 45 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Washington, D.C. (WAS for all airports) is served by three major airports. All three airports offer unlimited free Wi-Fi.
Getting around
Be prepared to walk until your feet hurt! It's no surprise that D.C. has been cited as the fittest city in the country; residents and visitors get a lot of exercise simply getting around the city! Even if you plan on taking public transportation or driving, you will often find yourself walking or biking for a large portion of the day. Most of the city's attractions, such as the museums and monuments along the National Mall, are located near each other, which makes driving or taking Metrorail between the sights either impractical or impossible.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
DCA · Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
IAD · Washington Dulles International Airport
BWI · Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Washington, D.C.
Eat
Washington has a little bit of everything, from really good ethnic takeout to lobbyist-fueled places that can run over $1,000 for a meal for two. Most of the high end cuisine is available in the West End, the East End, Georgetown, and Dupont Circle—offering dining experiences ranging from steakhouses packed with powerful suits to Minibar by Jose Andres, a 12-seat restaurant offering a 30-course meal for $350 (excluding beverages, tax and 22% service charge). As a general rule, expect higher prices in popular tourist haunts such as Georgetown, Penn Quarter and Dupont Circle, while more exciting and innovative cuisine can be found to the east in Logan Circle, Adams Morgan and H Street.
Drink
The legal drinking/purchasing age is 21 and it is strictly enforced in D.C. Be prepared to have your identification checked, even if you appear to be well over 21. Last call can be as late as 3AM, although many establishments will let you stay beyond that, especially downtown. It is rare but not unknown for nightclubs to stay open beyond 3AM though they may lock you in or stop serving alcohol. As in most American cities, drinking alcoholic beverages on the street is illegal. The law is flouted openly in many areas but bars will not generally let you take your drink even a step off-premise.
Stay safe
Metropolitan DC Police Department presence in the city is predictably very heavy, especially in tourist areas and near government buildings. But they are only one of the dozens of law enforcement agencies operating in the city; in addition to MPD, the Capitol, Parks, and even the Metro have their own, independent forces (not to mention plenty of the Federal ones). In general, the often-traveled areas, such as the area around Smithsonian, the monuments, and the Kennedy Center, are safe to walk around, even in the evening. The areas east of the Capitol are generally less safe, but visitors can safely see attractions there if they stay aware of their surroundings.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Washington, D.C.: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Washington, D.C.?
Washington, D.C. has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; July is the wettest, with about 106 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Washington, D.C.?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), about 4.8 km from the city centre in a straight line; Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD, 37 km) and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI, 45 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Washington, D.C.?
United States dollar (USD).
Nearby
Destinations near Washington, D.C.
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.