Washington by night, by foot

I%26#39;m planning a couple of days in DC in September and would welcome a little advice about seeing the sights at night. Would you recommend investing in one of the night time tours offered (by someone like Grayline) or would it be possible to use the Metro and do most of the stops yourself. I%26#39;m not opposed to tours, but would rather see the sights first hand than through a bus window.

Thanks in advance.

Washington by night, by foot

The monuments, evening bus tours typically make stops so they%26#39;re not merely ';drive-by'; ones. And you have other options in DC as well -- guided walking tours or on a Segway. Here%26#39;s a thread from earlier in the month for you:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28970-i40-k747195鈥?/a>

Washington by night, by foot

Thanks for that...

I had actually come across the earlier post and checked out the info. Unfortunately the walking tours finish before I arrive and the Segway tours need a pretty hefty deposit against a credit card (which I don%26#39;t have).

I guess my real question was one of safety, that is to say whether it would be safe to use the metro and walk from site to site after dark.

I wouldn%26#39;t advise doing walking the Mall plaza at night -- and since all the museums there are closed at those hours, there%26#39;s no compelling reason to be there then :-)

But the monuments are popular evening destinations, so there will undoubtedly be other folks around (unless it%26#39;s after 10:30-11 PM when tourist traffic thins perceptibly -- or if it%26#39;s a frosty evening). And the monuments are well-patrolled.

Here%26#39;s a very handy guide from the DC area Transportation authority which you can print out %26amp; bring with you; it includes a Metro map %26amp; a long list of the most popular sites with the name of the most convenient Metro station

wmata.com/riding/鈥nglish.pdf

Not yet as well known to tourists, but definitely a transportation plus are the DC Circulator buses operated under the auspices of the WMATA; originally established to provide more public transportation service to Georgetown, it has since added 2 routes which should appeal to even more visitors -- and it costs only $1 (exact change needed).

http://www.dccirculator.com

Take a look too at Cultural Tourism DC%26#39;s web site, especially the Events calendar before you leave home where one can often find free or inexpensively priced activities/programs, many intriguingly off-beat. And if you click on the Tours %26amp; Trails tab at the top of the home page, you%26#39;ll be led to a section which gives a number of self-guided itineraries -- the ';Insider%26#39;s Insights'; one to the Dupont/Kalorama neighborhood is especially good.

http://www.culturaltourismdc.org

HAVE FUN