A Capital Adventure 2006 ARS / ASA Joint Convention Sightseeing

Sightseeing in Washington, D.C.

Some Suggested Sights
The Twinbrook stop of the Metro Red Line opens on the parking lot of the DoubleTree. If the sightseer boards the subway there, a logical first stop in the District is either Farragut North or Metro Center. A short walk south of Farragut North will bring the tourist to Lafayett Square, the White House, the Treasury Department, the Old Senate Office Building, the Corcoran Art Gallery, and the Ellipse. Metro Center is just east of the White House.

South of the Washington Monument on the National Mall. The Mall is a 146 acre park that extends nearly two miles between the U.S. Capitol Building to the East and the Lincoln Memorial to the west with the Washington Monument in between. Walking west from the Washinton Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, there are several prime tourist attractions, including the Reflecting Pool, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the Korean Veterans War Memorial. Just south of the Mall at the west end is another prime memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park and Memorial with its azalea plantings and impressive water features.

Continuing southeast from the FDR Memorial around the Tidal Basin, the paths will lead to the lovely Jefferson Memorial. Unfortunately, unless there is a very late spring in 2006, the cherry blossoms should be through but there are other lovely plantings and vistas to delight almost everyone with the Potomac River to the South. Heading north from the Jefferson Memorial along the Tidal Basin, one will return to the Washington Monument.

Walking east from the Washington Monument along the Mall, on will find many of the prime museums in Washington, D.C., such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian Institution complex including the very popular National Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History, the Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Gallery of Art, the American History Museum, and the recently opened and highly acclaimed National Museum of the American Indian which is adjacent to the Capitol. Also next to the Capitol Building is the newly renovated conservatory of the U.S. Botanic Garden, the oldest Botanical Garden in the United States, and a delight for anyone who enjoys plants and flowers.

Around the Capitol Building and continuing back west along Constitution Avenue are many other Federal Buildings of note including the House and Senate Office Buildings, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, the National Archives, and of course, the Internal Revenue Service building.

There are several other Metro stops in the south and eastern areas along the Mall, but they are not on the Red Line. In this area are the Smithsonian, L'Enfant Plaza, or Federal Center stops on the Metro Blue and Orange Lines but will connect back to the Red Line at the Metro Center.

If you are interested in seeing the sights in DC, check out the following links to help plan your personalized tour. There is far too much in our Nation's Capital to see it all in one or two days, so perhaps you will decide to extend your stay and enjoy some the history and grandeur in region.

• Washington D.C.
• Smithsonian