WASHINGTON DC

Washington DC, the proud capital of the world’s superpower, showcases the achievements of a nation. A city that seeks to preserve memories in its myriad memorials and monuments, libraries and museums. DC is a grand city outlined harshly against the stark reality of suburbia where vast open spaces rub shoulders with crowded ghettoes, where the higher echelon of power politics and crime rub noses.

And all the while, the city of Washington DC throbs on…the sedate Capitol Hill, the historic areas of Georgetown, Dupont Circle with its artistic culture, the hip-hop of Adams-Morgan and the all-too-real ghettoes. If you arrive in Washington by train at Union Station, you are immediately confronted by the inescapable aura of power. The immensely impressive buildings are culled in Greco-Roman style. You instantly pick on the cues that the city’s fathers had in mind when they envisioned DC as a city of splendid vistas. The grandeur of the wide avenues and posh residential areas belie the ever-prevalent poverty of the homeless.

And if these images of Washington DC haunt you, there is the other side of the city, the learned, cultured side that inevitably triumphs and leaves you with memories of grandness.

Best Time of Visit:

D.C. is a popular place to visit from mid-March through mid-June, and again from mid-September through early November. Visitors will find the highest hotel occupancy rates during these months, as well as during the business week (Mondays through Thursdays). The hot, humid days of July and August and seasonably cold January are D.C.’s low seasons.

High season: March to mid-June, mid-September to early November, low season: July to mid-September, January to February,shoulder season: late June, November to December

Min Days Required: 3 days

Places of Interest: 

White House

Smithsonian Institution

Washington Monument

Smithsonian National Zoological Park

Lincoln Memoria

Climate:

Spring and fall are very pleasant, with low humidity, comfortable temperatures, and plenty of sunshine.

Summer months are hot, humid, and sticky. While winters are generally mild, plan accordingly, as the city often gets several snowstorms each year.

Currency: US Dollars

Things to carry:

Good walking shoes, light summer clothing or warm woollens depending on the season.

How to get there:

Air:

The world’s premier national capital is the destination of many national and international flights and is served by three airports : The Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia is 20 miles west of the city; the Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport, Maryland is 25 miles northeast and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Virginia, 4 miles from downtown.