A day in Washington D.C.

A day in Washington D. C.

Before I moved to the United States of America, I made a bucket list of must - see cities, and of course I had to put the nation's capital - Washington D. C. on it. I visited it as a part of my Eastern USA road trip with my friends, and in this blog post, you can read more about my experience there.

And, believe it or not, one day is completely enough to see everything that Washington D. C. has to offer. Some of the people that I know, call Washington D. C. a very boring city to live in, and I can somehow understand why. It is a beautiful city, but it is so small that you can, like I said, see everything in one day. And you will not even have to rush to see all the sights.

One of Washington D. C. 's many cool buildings.

Best time to visit

Whenever you ask someone when is the best time to travel to Washington D. C., the answer will be in spring. And if you ask them why, the answer will be: ‘Because of the cherry blossoms. Now, try typing ‘cherry blossoms Washington D. C. ’ into google search. If your first thought was not something along the lines of ‘Oh, wow! ’/ ‘Holy! ’/ ‘So beautiful! ’, I owe you a drink.

But if you are unable to visit Washington D. C. in spring, do not lose your hope. The city is beautiful year round. It might be packed, because, after all, this is where the White House is, and some events or conferences might bring a big influx of visitors, but that is just a part of the experience of visiting the city.

What not to miss?

Despite the fact that Washington D. C. is a small city, it offers quite a few interesting sights. These were my favourites:

• National Mall and its several museums

National Mall is not a shopping center, as you might think when hearing the name. It is basically a long promenade, that stretches all the way from Capitol to the Obelisk. But the National Mall is not your regular, boring promenade. It is filled with several museums, and each one of them deserves a visit.

The ending (well, or the beginning - depending on your starting point) of the National Mall, with the Capitol building in the background.

If you are only staying in Washington D. C. for a short period of time, it might be a little hard to decide which museums to put on your must - visit list. Well, I am here to make your job easier. The museums that I visited and liked, were the National Air and Space Museum (with an actual moon rock in one of the exhibits! ), the National Portrait Gallery (equally interesting and funny. If you use Snapchat, try doing some face swaps with some of the portraits. Just do not laugh too hard - you are in a museum! ), National Museum of Natural History (enormous, but with very interesting exhibits), and National Gallery of Art (save at least a few hours for that one).

The best part about the Washington D. C. ’s many museums is the fact that most of them do not charge an entrance fee. You can donate some money if you want to, but nobody will pressure you into doing it.

• Obelisk and the reflecting pool

When you get closer to the obelisk, you will suddenly realize that it is much taller than it looks from the distance. And there is an elevator inside the structure that will take you to the top! Unfortunately, when I was there, they were renovating it, so it was not possible to see Washington D. C. from the top, but from what I heard, it is a must - do thing.

Isn't it beautiful?

The reflecting pool is basically just a big body of water, where you can see the monuments, reflecting in it, and you can take some pretty great pictures there. Just do not fall inside - you might scare one of many ducks that claimed the pool as their home.

A part of the reflecting pool.

• The Capitol

This is probably the most famous building in Washington D. C. other than the White House, and it looks exactly like the Capitol in Havana, Cuba. You can take a guided tour of the Capitol, but you have to sign up far in advance. The tour is free, but you have to go through detailed security screening prior entering it. I have done it, and I loved it. Our guide was very informative, and despite the fact that we had a designated time slot and had to constantly move because there were other groups behind us, the tour never felt rushed.

But it is not only the interior of the Capitol that is beautiful. It looks beautiful on the outside as well. And the big lawn in front of it is perfect for a picnic, or just for sitting down and admiring the Capitol and other famous Washington D. C. buildings.

The Capitol is one of the Washington D. C. 's most famous buildings.

• The White House

My first thought after seeing the White House for the first time was: ‘That’s it? But it is so small! ’ It is true - the White House looks much bigger on pictures. But the architecture is just beautiful. Just like the Capitol, you can tour parts of the White House. To do so, you have to contact your embassy, which will issue you a permit.

At this point, I would like to point out that, sadly, not all countries are able to tour the White House. When I contacted my embassy, inquiring the possibility of the tour, they replied that they are unable to accommodate my request because they are ‘busy with other things’ - that was their actual reply. Oh well.

• Embassy Row

This is another unique part of Washington D. C. The embassy row is exactly what the name implies - a street, filled with embassies from several countries from all around the world. What makes it interesting is the fact that some of the embassies are built in a typical architectural style of the country they represent. It is true that the Embassy Row is situated away from the strict centre of Washington D. C., but it is totally worth checking out.

• The Pentagon

The Pentagon is another one of the Washington D. C. ’s signature buildings. This monstrosity of a building is shaped like a pentagon, hence the name, and it is so big that it has its own postal code! If I worked in it, I am sure I would have some serious trouble remembering where my office is!

Of course you cannot really get an idea about how big the Pentagon really is just by looking at one side of it from the street. What I would love to do is see it from a bird’s eye view, but I assume that this is an impossible wish, since there are probably countless regulations regarding the Washington D. C. ’s air space.

To satisfy your sweet tooth cravings, head to Good Stuff Eatery and treat yourself to their signature ‘toasted marshmallow’ milkshake. It is delicious and it is not as expensive as you would expect a milkshake in the nation’s capital to be. You can choose between two sizes (big and small) and several flavours, including the key lime pie.

Food, drinks and accommodation on a budget

Washington D. C. is not the cheapest destination you can travel to, but since your stay will most likely be short, it should not break the bank.

Washington D. C. has some pretty amazing restaurants, if you are willing to spend a lot of money on food. If not, you can simply eat in one of many restaurant chains that the city offers. And that is exactly what me and my friends did - we ate lunch at Domino's Pizza, and put the money that we saved, towards an entrance fee in one of the museums.

Regarding accommodation, in this case, Hostelworld is better than AirBnb. Me and my friends stayed in a hostel that was situated only fifteen minutes away from the White House, and we paid a small fraction of the price that we would have to pay if we stayed any closer.

We were also looking at properties on AirBnb, but none of the options were suitable for us. The places were either too expensive or situated far away from everything, without an access to public transportation.

A few advices

First of all, avoid having a car in Washington D. C. if you can. The parking is non-existent, and you might find yourself driving in circles and looking for a parking spot for like half an hour. Speaking from my own experience. It is easier just to walk or take a (very limited, but effective enough) public transportation. If you plan on using public transportation, opt for the metro. You can buy a prepaid metro card and just load money on it instead of having to pay for every ride separately.

Secondly, book your accommodation in advance. As the nation’s capital, and a fairly small city at the same time, the cheapest and best accommodation options in Washington D. C. often get booked far in advance. So if you want to avoid all the stress related to finding a last minute room, do some research before you actually depart for your trip. Booking in advance also usually means cheaper prices, which is a good thing, especially in Washington D. C. (vacation in this city is fairly expensive).

And last but not least, pay attention to your surroundings. As the nation’s capital, Washington D. C. has a very high amount of police officers, but that does not mean you can let your guard down completely. And just in like any other major city, some parts of Washington D. C. are better avoided.

A short conclusion…

I can say that I was not as impressed by Washington D. C. as I thought I would be. I am not saying it is not an amazing city, and it should definitely be in your must - see list if you are travelling to that part of the United States of America, but I would definitely not travel across the ocean just to see it.

Photo gallery