Itinerary Help

Hi again-

I need to ';ax'; some of the must-sees from our itinerary....our six days that we don%26#39;t want to overschedule.

Anything on this list that pops out as a MUST-DO?

Or a MISS-IT...it%26#39;ll be okay?!

Thanks in advance:

National Cathedral

National Archives

Library of Congress

Supreme Court

Int%26#39;l Spy Museum

Ford%26#39;s Theater

Botanical Gardens

Hishhorn Sculpture

Zoo

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Newseum

Nat%26#39;l Portrait

We will probably only be able to add six to eight of these in on top of what we%26#39;ve already scheduled.

Thanks so much!

Itinerary Help

Need more info;

Are there kids coming? Ages?

What are your interests?

Itinerary Help

Without the additional info the previous poster asked for, I would potentially recommend that you skip the National Cathedral. It%26#39;s a beautiful place but you can spend a lot of time just getting there since it%26#39;s outside of the main tourist areas. Everything else on your list (except the zoo) is much closer together.

I would also skip the Botanical Garden...it%26#39;s OK but not great. However, it%26#39;s on the Mall near the Capitol and it%26#39;s free, so if you were in the general area and had a few minutes, you could easily stop in. But I wouldn%26#39;t call it a must-see.

Hope this helps!

Sorry about that...I%26#39;d posted two posts back to back, thinking that they%26#39;d be read together. I didn%26#39;t realize they bump up as they are responded to...

Anyway- We have no children yet. Husband has not been to DC before. He%26#39;s a ';history channel'; sort of guy so he%26#39;ll eat it all up! I%26#39;ve been several times...mostly on business. The above listed suggestions are places I%26#39;ve never been...or it%26#39;s been a long time.

I will also add- the ';must-do%26#39;s we already have are Air and Space, American History, tour of the Capitol, Folger%26#39;s (husband is a Brit Lit teacher), Arlinton, Monuments, afternoon at Tidal Basin.

I would also suggest that the National Cathedral could be an ';OK to miss';. Instead, I would highly recommend going to the Supreme Court. If the court is not in session, they run lectures Mon.-Fri. every hour on the half-hour. The lecture was filled with very interesting information, and to be able to sit in the courtroom was a ';must-do'; opportunity.

Whew, I%26#39;m tired just reading that list, LOL!

Now here is a different opinion about the Cathedral. We were going to skip it, but our friends wanted to see it. It is right on the Old Town Trolley tour line, so we stopped, and both DH and I were *very* glad we did. We had seen lots of British cathedrals, but this one is quite beautiful and well worth it. :-) I should have my photos up within a day or two on my review.

Why the zoo?

National Archives is a must-do!

I see you are new to TA; have you looked down the list of ';Things to Do'; in DC? Near the top of this page, on the left hand column, click on the link Things to Do. That will take you to the list of reviews on the attractions. Scroll and read the reviews about the ones you%26#39;re interested in.

I seem to remember reading that the Spy Museum was very disappointing.

Good luck and have fun reading!

Like those who said above, it really depends on your interests. Definitely take the time to read the reviews on the site here, as they can help guide you to what%26#39;s good and what%26#39;s not.

One thing to consider: Most museums and sites are free, but the Newseum and Spy Museum are not, and the entrance fees are quite hefty (in the 20 dollar range).

Personally, I would say the National Archives and National Portrait Museum are must sees, so I wouldn%26#39;t cut those out of your itinerary.

';A picture is worth 1,000 words, yes';?

Just added these pics so should give you a good idea if the National Cathedral is of interest to you:

tripadvisor.com/ReviewPhotos-g28970-d143751-鈥?/a>

Library of Congress was fabulous. (Didn%26#39;t get to do the guided tour because of timing but plan to return.)We did a self-guided. We found the interior to be breathtaking. The Lincoln and Creating a Nation exhibits were wonderful. (Go on the website for dates because they are temporary.)We spent five hours in the Newseum and could have spent more.

Don%26#39;t know when you are planning your trip but you should make reservations ASAP for the National Archives. We did not reserve in time and the line for those who had not reserved was out the door so we put it on our list for next time.

The Monuments by Moonlight tour was lovely. (Our guide did make a few minor errors in his history, but seeing the monuments this way was very moving.)

I think the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Spy Museum would be disposable for you. We dropped my teens off at the Spy Museum and while they liked it my DH and I have never regretted not seeing it. The Bureau of Engraving is something on the list of things to see with children--we did years ago and it wasn%26#39;t all that exciting.

Ford%26#39;s Theater--depends on your dates. For me, it wouldn%26#39;t be worth it unless the Lincoln Museum in the basement was reopened. I think you will need timed tickets for this now unless you are planning to buy tickets to see a performance there.

The Zoo is nice especially because of the pandas, but I don%26#39;t know that I would go out of my way if I didn%26#39;t have little ones with me. It is time consuming to get there and tons of walking. You could see zoos in other cities.

After spending my entire life here, I went to the Cathedral for the first time last fall.

I remember growing up in the 70s and they were working on it, but for whatever reason-I never went.

It is really a fantastic place to visit. If you have never been to a gothic-style cathedral, I wouldn%26#39;t miss it! National Cathedral is the 6th-largest neogothic cathedral in the world.

While the church is technically Episcopalian, there is a non-denominational feel about it. There is a Jewish and Eastern Orthodox presence there, as well as many interfaith services.

Being a ';modern'; cathedral, there are ';modern'; touches such as a Darth Vader gargoyle.

So if you want to do something in D.C., you can%26#39;t do in LA, keep it on your list. (You guys have a zoo, right?) Just my opinion.