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I planned for our Washington DC getaway months ago, as one of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2022 was to capture the beauty of its Cherry Blossoms… here’s what I learn: nature is unpredictable 🤣

Originally, the peak was expected to happen around the beginning of April, and when Alex – a photographer friend who lives in Washington DC – started to post pics of the blossoming on March 23, I knew we would have missed it since we booked our stay for April 9…

Note to self: next time I won’t plan any trip in advance if it depends on the nature’s whim 😁

Nevertheless, we had a blast!

On Saturday morning we left NYC on board of The Jet (starting at $99 one-way) and we had a first class travel experience – I highly recommend it! Luca came back by train ($135) on Tuesday morning, while I took a Best Bus ($35) on Tuesday evening.

What’s the best way to get to DC?

🚉 If you can plan your trip in advance, you might be able to find Amtrack tickets for as low as $29 for coach and $84 for business seats. The train is pretty reliable: it usually takes 3 to 3.5 hours to get to destination. Internet on board is not that reliable (in case you’re working remotely). We hesitated buying tickets right away, as we were still considering how many nights we would have spent in DC, and when we were ready to book our trip tickets to DC they were $175 to $375 one-way… Luca was able to get a $135 ticket on his way back, while I opted for the economy bus.

🚌 Economy buses start at $20 and there are so many options to choose from. Supposedly they also offer wifi (I was not able to connect on mine) and they are the best way to travel on a budget. Timing (4 to 5 hours) is not reliable as it all depends on the traffic.

🚐 The Jet, luxury bus, starts at $99 and it’s a first class travel experience. I loved it. WiFi is fast and reliable (even in tunnels!), there is 6 feet distance between rows, the motion-canceling hover seats are super comfortable and you get pampered by the bus assistant with in service complimentary snacks and drinks. Again, timing (4 to 5 hours) is not reliable.

🚗 You can also drive to DC (I personally like not to have to think about parking and avoid traffic). Renting a car in NYC and dropping it off in DC would cost from $110 plus gas.

✈️ Flying is a good option as well. A round trip flight could cost around $140 when booked in advance, and it only takes 1h 30min, however I personally don’t like having to travel to and from the airport, and having to wait for the check in and departure… at the end you’d end up spending around 4 hours traveling anyway 🙃

How to move around:

Walking is definitely great, and I’d highly recommend for you to download Capital Bikesharing: it’s $1 to unlock the bike, plus $0.05/min for a classic bike ride or $0.15/min for an ebike. Going around with a bike will save you so much time!

Scooters and mopeds are also everywhere: you can rent them anytime downloading one of the specific apps like Lime, Lyft, Bird, Bolt, Jump.

Public transportation: both subway and buses are a great option as well. We downloaded SmartTrip, created an account, added $10 to the card and we just had to tap our phone to pay for the trip – super convenient! It also happened that for some reasons the card didn’t work on some bus, and every time I showed the bus driver the app and the credit on the app they would let me on board anyway.

We relied on Google Maps to choose which opinion to go for. Most of the time we walked, used bikes and buses.

How to get the best out of your 3 days in Washington, DC – itinerary

If you love history, you will only get a sense of what Washington, DC has to offer. There’s so much to see that choosing where to start is quite challenging.

We stayed Downtown DC the first two nights – we booked a room at AC Marriott Downtown using the Marriott Bonvoy Reward program – and the third night at The Watergate Hotel.

For our next visit I’ll spend more time researching where to eat, this time I’m only listing places I loved.

Day One: White House and monuments around the Tidal Basin

We could only walk by the White House as the public tours of the White House began on Friday, April 15, 2022. Public tours are available from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, excluding Federal holidays or unless otherwise noted, and you’ll need to submit your request up to three months in advance (you’ll find all the info on the link above).

Walk from the Washington Monument to the Martin Luther King Monument around the Tidal Basin, stopping by Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial till you get to the Jefferson Memorial – beautiful at Sunset.

You can experience the cherry blossoms through the Artechouse DC installation. I usually go to all their NYC shows and I didn’t make it to DC… I saw videos of the PIXELBLOOM installation and it looks spectacular!

We had dinner at Bindaas, very good (and trendy) Indian restaurant in Foggy Bottom.

Day Two: sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial, NMAAHC, Library of Congress and the US Capitol

Wake up at 5am and go to the Lincoln Memorial: we did it and it was so worthy!!! Few people were there before 6am and it was such a magical experience…

Walk around the Lincoln Memorial reflective pool, World War II Memorial, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial before breakfast – I’d suggest Tatte Bakery – so good!!!

Luca an I went to DC before, and already visited the American Art Museum and the National Air and Space Museum (closed at the moment). This time we went to the National Museum of African American History & Culture and we LOVED IT.

It’s the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture and it’s incredibly powerful. Plan to go there as it opens, at 10am, and start from the History Galleries, level C3 to C1.

Visit the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library, before it closes (at 5pm) and get to the United States Capitol before Sunset. The Capitol Visitor Center is not accepting tour reservations at this time but you can enjoy its magnificent architecture, stunning rotundas and history!

Since we were staying at The Watergate Hotel for our third night, we had dinner at Farmers Fishers Bakers… great food, great drinks and amazing vibes! I’d HIGHLY recommend it!!! Make sure to make reservations ahead of time to secure a table – or you can sit at the bar (first come first serve).

Day Three: Watergate, Georgetown, City Center, and Murales

Explore the Watergate area. If you’re staying at the Watergate Hotel and the Scandal room is not booked, you can ask the front desk to give you a tour of the room: it’s fascinating!!!

Walk or Bike along the Georgetown Waterfront Park in the morning and head to Georgetown.

Start visiting Georgetown University. From there, you can then check the Exorcist’s House and Stairs if you’re a movie’s fan (I skipped it). Take an Insta-worthy pic in front of Call Your Mother Deli (open everyday from 7:30am-2pm), and explore the charming neighborhood – full go instagrammable houses 💕🏠

I unexpectedly ran into a very dear high school friend, Lidia – we were in the same theatre company back then! She is now a professor at Georgetown University: you can only imagine how great it was connecting! Last time I saw her, is when she visited NYC with her cousin years ago and I totally forgot she lives in DC! She took me to Patisserie Poupon for a quick lunch and delicious pastry! Lidia says their cappuccino is great too 🙌

Some Instagrammable spots to check: the Watermelon House at 1112 Q Street NW, Blagden Alley‘s LOVE murales, and City Center‘s pink lanterns installation (each season there’s a different installation).

Bucket list for my next time in DC, that you can include in your visit

Brooklynite actress with an American Passport and an Italian heart

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4 Comments

  1. This is a very informative article Laura. Your itinerary is very comprehensive and I love that you included the different means of transportation and you list down your future points of interest of the city. I would love to go back again just for the museums 🙂

    Reply

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