Mothers and Daughters Trip to DC in early Spring

(3) Mothers, (4) Daughters taking a trip to DC in late March, early April for a long weekend. What should we make sure we see? Where is the best place to stay? Ages between 25-55. We will have a lot of fun together. Also need some night life stuff to enjoy. We are planners and love to research things in advance.

Mothers and Daughters Trip to DC in early Spring

As far as where to stay, look for a hotel in the District that%26#39;s near a Metro station. What price range are you looking at? It will help to know in order to give you more specific suggestions. Depending on the weather, the cherry blossoms may be at their peak when you%26#39;re here. If that is the case, then keep in mind that it will be crowded and hotels will be more costly. So if they are in bloom, be sure to take a walk along the Tidal Basin to see them. Otherwise, visiting the Mall and seeing the monuments and memorials is a must. If you want to tour the White House, get in touch with your rep or one of your senators%26#39; offices for tickets. Take in one or more of the Smithsonian museums (www.si.edu).

Mothers and Daughters Trip to DC in early Spring

If it falls within your budget, I recommend checking out the O Stree Mansion -- http://www.omansion.com/contact/ -- for a place to stay. It%26#39;s in a residential neighborhood near Dupont Circle and has a variety of rooms and suites to accommodate groops. All of the rooms are different and are very uniquely decorated. The food here is also excellent. The rooms start at $250 a night, but they may work with you if you are reserving several rooms.

In addition to the usual tourist stuff in DC, maybe you could look into spending an afternoon or a couple of hours at a spa. The spa at the Mandarin Oriental hotel is wonderful (and expensive), but there are others in the area that are not quite as pricey. Also, check into what may be at the Kennedy Center during your time in DC. Their calendar page only posts up to January right now, but check back closer to your visit -- http://www.kennedy-center.org/.

I just double checked and the Kennedy Center does have performances listed for the end of March/beginning of April. Both the ballet and opera have performances at the end of March and the symphony at the beginning of April. Check it out if that%26#39;s something that may interest your group!

All of your suggestions have been wonderful and worth investigating. If we can stay right up to or under the $300 mark for a room that would be great. The group really enjoys broadway musicals and such so we will need to look into the opera house. The spa suggestion is also a great idea for a bunch of women, thank you!

If you like Broadway musicals, you should also check out the websites of the National Theater and the Warner Theater in DC. Both are located downtown and are really easy to get to. They tend to have more of the touring Broadway shows than the Kennedy Center.

You may also want to consider the Hotel Monaco. It%26#39;s within walking distance to many of the museums, monuments, theaters and dining options. The hotel itself has a good (not inexpensive) restaurant (Poste) and if the weather cooperates, they have a large outdoor atrium/bar area that is quite nice. Happy planning!

To add to the Kennedy Center stuff, the Millenium Stage has a free performance every night at 6:00 pm. The schedule of performances is listed a few weeks in advance as they book the performers.

Also, Shear Madness runs just about every day in the KC Theater Lab and is always a fun show.

When is the Cherry Blossom Festival for next year? Do we want to be in town for the festival or plan around it?

March 31 - April 15, with the Parade on Saturday, April 14

nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/鈥?/a>

Cherry Blossom time is a fun time in DC. It%26#39;s a nice time to visit if you plan ahead (as you%26#39;re doing) and you don%26#39;t mind the crowds.