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1. General Overview of Washington DC.: Washington DC is the capital of the United States of America, and the only city of the U.S. proper that is not inside the boundaries of a state. It is the District of Columbia. Washington DC was designed specifically to house the federal government. Washington DC is known to locals as simply DC or the District. The history, architecture, monuments, museums, and excellent cultural centers attract millions of visitors each year.
2. Population: Washington DC has a resident population of 588,292; however, due to commuters from the surrounding suburbs, its population rises to over one million during the workweek.
3. State Capital: Washington DC is the capital of the United States of America. It is not a state and does not have a state capital; it has a mayor and a council. The John A. Wilson Building houses the offices of the mayor and council of the District of Columbia.
4. Language: English.
5. Currency: $ -- US Dollar.
6. Elevation: The highest natural point in the District of Columbia is 409 feet (125 m) above sea level in Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level at the Potomac River.
7. Climate: Washington has a humid subtropical climate, typical of Mid-Atlantic US areas removed from bodies of water. Washington DC enjoys four distinct seasons Average winter lows tend to be around 30 °F (-1 °C). Summers tend to be hot and humid, with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s °F (about 30 °C). Always do an online weather check for an idea of what clothing to bring, and then bring a few varied layers just to be sure.
8. Driving: Seatbelts must be worn by all passengers in a car. Helmets with eye protection must be worn by those on motorcycles. You may not drive a car and talk on a handheld mobile device (i.e. it must be “hands free”), and you may not drive a car and do text messaging. Please be aware that traffic can be extremely challenging in DC. Try to use public transit, or plan your driving at times other than commute times.
9. Getting There: Washington DC is bordered by the states of Virginia and Maryland. Washington DC is served by three major airports. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport located in Arlington, Virginia on the west bank of the Potomac River just south of the city, is the closest and most convenient. Washington Dulles International Airport is located at Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown DC. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is in Maryland and is 30 miles northeast of DC and 10 miles south of downtown Baltimore. Train -- Amtrak services arrive from all over the country at downtown Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave NE, on Metro's Red Line -- a few blocks from the US Capitol. Car -- Washington, D.C. is primarily served by I-95 from Baltimore, MD or Richmond, VA.
10. Getting Around: An excellent way to get around while sightseeing is the Washington DC Hop-On-Hop-Off Open-Top Double-Decker Bus Tour. This tour encompasses 25 stops throughout Washington DC. This tour will cover the major sights of Washington DC in an approximate two-and-a-half-hour circle. The on and off flexibility allows visitors to use the bus for transportation to and from the various sights of interest. The city is split into four quadrants of unequal size; boundaries extend from the United States Capitol building: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). City roads are laid out in a grid, with east-west streets primarily named with letters, and north-south streets named with numbers. Further, diagonal avenues named primarily after states extend from traffic circles and squares. Due to the fact that street names extend into all four quadrants, all street addresses include the quadrant suffix to indicate its location (e.g. M Street NW). The Northwest quadrant is the largest and home to most places of interest to visitors, although a few major tourist locations fall into the other three quadrants. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the city's public transportation system. The city's subway system is most commonly referred to as "Metro." The system includes five intersecting rail lines, which stop in most major neighborhoods and multiple locations downtown. Driving in DC is extremely challenging. Downtown Washington's roads are well-signed and organized, but driving in DC is a challenge even for long-time residents. Limited parking, strong parking enforcement, street direction changes, congestion, and street closures are among the reasons to take the Metro.
11. Hotels: For a directory of hotels, please go to: http://www.dctours.us/hotels/
12. Hostels: For a directory of hostels, please go to: http://www.hostels.com/en/us.dc.html.
13. Parks: The District is home to many large parks.
14. Places to Go: Virtually all tourists visit the Mall. The National Mall is a unique National Park, filled with an intense concentration of monuments, memorials, museums, and monumental government buildings instantly recognizable to people all over the world. The White House, the US Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art, the Air and Space Museum, the National Natural History Museum, the Holocaust Museum, the International Spy Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and more are on The Mall within walking distance of each other. The National Zoo in Woodley Park is one of the nation's most prestigious. The nearby National Cathedral is awe-inspiring. Embassy Row is an impressive stretch of some 50 foreign-owned historic and modernist mansions along Massachusetts Avenue throughout Dupont Circle and Woodley Park. The historic neighborhood of Georgetown is another great sightseeing destination, full of beautiful old colonial buildings, the 300+ year-old Jesuit campus of Georgetown University, a pleasant waterfront, and the infamous Exorcist steps.
15. Things To Do: Washington DC offers days of sightseeing opportunities. Walking The Mall; Washington DC Hop-On-Hop-Off Open-Top Double-Decker Bus Tour; Washington DC After Dark Tour; Washington DC Monument & Arlington Cemetery Tour; Washington DC Potomac River Dinner Cruise; Monticello & Thomas Jefferson Country Tour; Gettysburg Tour from Washington DC; Colonial Williamsburg Tour from Washington DC; and much more.
16. Events: For a calendar of Washington DC events, see Destination DC.
17. Night Life: Washington DC has many excellent restaurants and clubs. Dinner cruises are also very popular as well as Washington DC After-Dark Tours that showcase national monuments and federal buildings flooded in lights.
18. Offbeat Attractions: For offbeat tourist attractions, see Round America.
19. Tours & Activities: For a variety of tours and activities, go to DC Tours.
2. Population: Washington DC has a resident population of 588,292; however, due to commuters from the surrounding suburbs, its population rises to over one million during the workweek.
3. State Capital: Washington DC is the capital of the United States of America. It is not a state and does not have a state capital; it has a mayor and a council. The John A. Wilson Building houses the offices of the mayor and council of the District of Columbia.
4. Language: English.
5. Currency: $ -- US Dollar.
6. Elevation: The highest natural point in the District of Columbia is 409 feet (125 m) above sea level in Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level at the Potomac River.
7. Climate: Washington has a humid subtropical climate, typical of Mid-Atlantic US areas removed from bodies of water. Washington DC enjoys four distinct seasons Average winter lows tend to be around 30 °F (-1 °C). Summers tend to be hot and humid, with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s °F (about 30 °C). Always do an online weather check for an idea of what clothing to bring, and then bring a few varied layers just to be sure.
8. Driving: Seatbelts must be worn by all passengers in a car. Helmets with eye protection must be worn by those on motorcycles. You may not drive a car and talk on a handheld mobile device (i.e. it must be “hands free”), and you may not drive a car and do text messaging. Please be aware that traffic can be extremely challenging in DC. Try to use public transit, or plan your driving at times other than commute times.
9. Getting There: Washington DC is bordered by the states of Virginia and Maryland. Washington DC is served by three major airports. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport located in Arlington, Virginia on the west bank of the Potomac River just south of the city, is the closest and most convenient. Washington Dulles International Airport is located at Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown DC. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is in Maryland and is 30 miles northeast of DC and 10 miles south of downtown Baltimore. Train -- Amtrak services arrive from all over the country at downtown Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave NE, on Metro's Red Line -- a few blocks from the US Capitol. Car -- Washington, D.C. is primarily served by I-95 from Baltimore, MD or Richmond, VA.
10. Getting Around: An excellent way to get around while sightseeing is the Washington DC Hop-On-Hop-Off Open-Top Double-Decker Bus Tour. This tour encompasses 25 stops throughout Washington DC. This tour will cover the major sights of Washington DC in an approximate two-and-a-half-hour circle. The on and off flexibility allows visitors to use the bus for transportation to and from the various sights of interest. The city is split into four quadrants of unequal size; boundaries extend from the United States Capitol building: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). City roads are laid out in a grid, with east-west streets primarily named with letters, and north-south streets named with numbers. Further, diagonal avenues named primarily after states extend from traffic circles and squares. Due to the fact that street names extend into all four quadrants, all street addresses include the quadrant suffix to indicate its location (e.g. M Street NW). The Northwest quadrant is the largest and home to most places of interest to visitors, although a few major tourist locations fall into the other three quadrants. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the city's public transportation system. The city's subway system is most commonly referred to as "Metro." The system includes five intersecting rail lines, which stop in most major neighborhoods and multiple locations downtown. Driving in DC is extremely challenging. Downtown Washington's roads are well-signed and organized, but driving in DC is a challenge even for long-time residents. Limited parking, strong parking enforcement, street direction changes, congestion, and street closures are among the reasons to take the Metro.
11. Hotels: For a directory of hotels, please go to: http://www.dctours.us/hotels/
12. Hostels: For a directory of hostels, please go to: http://www.hostels.com/en/us.dc.html.
13. Parks: The District is home to many large parks.
14. Places to Go: Virtually all tourists visit the Mall. The National Mall is a unique National Park, filled with an intense concentration of monuments, memorials, museums, and monumental government buildings instantly recognizable to people all over the world. The White House, the US Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art, the Air and Space Museum, the National Natural History Museum, the Holocaust Museum, the International Spy Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and more are on The Mall within walking distance of each other. The National Zoo in Woodley Park is one of the nation's most prestigious. The nearby National Cathedral is awe-inspiring. Embassy Row is an impressive stretch of some 50 foreign-owned historic and modernist mansions along Massachusetts Avenue throughout Dupont Circle and Woodley Park. The historic neighborhood of Georgetown is another great sightseeing destination, full of beautiful old colonial buildings, the 300+ year-old Jesuit campus of Georgetown University, a pleasant waterfront, and the infamous Exorcist steps.
15. Things To Do: Washington DC offers days of sightseeing opportunities. Walking The Mall; Washington DC Hop-On-Hop-Off Open-Top Double-Decker Bus Tour; Washington DC After Dark Tour; Washington DC Monument & Arlington Cemetery Tour; Washington DC Potomac River Dinner Cruise; Monticello & Thomas Jefferson Country Tour; Gettysburg Tour from Washington DC; Colonial Williamsburg Tour from Washington DC; and much more.
16. Events: For a calendar of Washington DC events, see Destination DC.
17. Night Life: Washington DC has many excellent restaurants and clubs. Dinner cruises are also very popular as well as Washington DC After-Dark Tours that showcase national monuments and federal buildings flooded in lights.
18. Offbeat Attractions: For offbeat tourist attractions, see Round America.
19. Tours & Activities: For a variety of tours and activities, go to DC Tours.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tamesha on -
The general information was put together very well. Learned some new facts about DC. Nice job!
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