Staying at the Fairmont on M Street

My husband and I will be arriving in D.C. on 8/28. We%26#39;ve never been before and would like advice on places to go - attractions, restaurants (budget-friendly), shopping, and nightlife. We have all day Monday as tourists, then the evenings of Tuesday through Thursday. Any must-sees? It will probably be the only time I get my husband there!

Staying at the Fairmont on M Street

Well, You are staying in the ';West End'; area of DC. You can walk right up to Georgetown which has shopping, dining, entertainment all there. Just about a 3-5 block walk up M Street.

There aren%26#39;t many attractions in Georgetown. You could do the C%26amp; O Canal boat tour right off of Thomas Jefferson Street. Just go right up M and make a left on Thomas Jefferson. You have Water Street/K Street with restaurants and a nice Movie theater.

-The Kennedy Center is accessible by a shuttle bus at the Foggy Bottom Metro Station. You could walk over there as well about a 4 block walk across Pennsylvania Avenue.

-The Phillips Collection is at 1600 21st Street, NW. You could walk, I walked from 1120 20th Street to Georgetown before and it wasn%26#39;t too bad. So if you like walking this is nice. And when you get into the Phillips Collection it%26#39;s always cold and would be perfect for after your walk. This place isn%26#39;t free, It%26#39;s about $12.00 p/p but I think it%26#39;s worth it if you like Museums and Art.

-You are near Dupont Circle as well. A quick cab ride up to some nice restaurants and evening entertainment.

-';THE MALL'; area with all of the free museums and exhibits (except Holocaust) is a quick train ride from Foggy Bottom Metro Station to the Smithsonian Station. You have all of the Smithsonian Museums, Holocaust Museum all right there in this area.

-Shopping you could go to Pentagon City Mall, get on the train at Foggy Bottom (BLUE LINE ONE NOT ORANGE) and get off at Pentagon City exit for the mall. Lots of Shopping here. Also there is Pentagon Row which is nice just outside of the mall.

-You could get on the train at Foggy Bottom (BLUE/ORANGE LINE) and go to Metro Center and take the train to Shady Grove/Grosvenor and get off at Friendship Heights. Lots of shopping and dining here. You have a few discounted department stores to choose from (Filenes Basement, Stein Mart, Tj Max,) and a few others. Cheesecake Factory is also located here (another one in Clarendon/Orange Line Metro also another nice area for dining and shopping)

-Your hotel has a few restaurants right there for you as well.

Also try Kinkeads at 2000 Penn (Pennsylvania Avenue). It%26#39;s walking distancec from there as well. They may be a little expensive but for a nice night out with your husband you should splurge just at least one night.

-Charlie Chang%26#39;s is right there on ';Eye'; or ';I'; street this is a nice Chinese Restaurant with Excellent service and good chinese/cantonese food.

-Lots of little corner bakeries or bagel shops and little places to get breakfast, you will have to decide.

-Bistro Francais is on M Street, just up and on your left. French food and good. Prices are reasonable as well.

';K'; Street has a lot of restaurants, probably the better out of the Legal Seafoods is on K street and next door is Prime Rib is good as well. Also Thai Kingdom is a nice little thai restaurant (try the white pepper shrimp and mango dessert)

If you want more let me know. Others will give you some options as well.

Staying at the Fairmont on M Street

It really depends on your interests. Since you%26#39;ll have the evenings free and it stays light out late, you may want to save the monuments for the evening and check out the Smithsonian Museums during the day on Monday. You can narrow down the choices at www.si.edu.

You should at least see the White House and the Capitol from the outside - unless you want to wait in line at the Capitol on Mon. morning and try to get last minute tickets. (WH tours must be scheduled in advance through your Congressman or Senator.)

With limited time, you may want to take a quick trip to the top of the Old Post Office Pavilion Bell Tower for a free, birds-eye view of the city, rather than go to the top of the Washington Monument.

The Holocaust Musuem and the National Archives are also popular stops. It%26#39;s a good idea to get advanced tickets to the Holocaust Museum if you can.

As for nightlife, there are lots of things to do, again, depending on your interests. There are bars, lounges, walking tours, live music, etc. For restaurants on a budget, I%26#39;d recommend Meiwah near your hotel for very good Chinese food.

Georgetown is good for shopping and a quick walk from your hotel. I think some of the stores are open late during the summer (like til 8 pm maybe?) Georgetown Park (a small mall) is open til 9 pm Mon-Sat. There are also tons of restaurants. Being from Texas, you probably wouldn%26#39;t want BBQ, but there%26#39;s Old Glory if you want that. There%26#39;s also Pizzeria Paradiso for great pizza. Bistro Francais serves well-priced, decent french food.

Again, depending on what kind of ';scene'; you want, there are several bars in Georgetown.

Hope this helps!

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