This was really great time in DC. So close to New York and so different. It was my second visit to the nation’s capital, although the first one I had time to ramble around the city. Of course not as much as I’d love to,
but still better than nothing.
First thing that surprised me was how green and spacious the city is. At least the tourist destination part of it. It has very spacious parks and squares stuffed with most popular buildings, statues and monuments in the world. Here’s what I recommend when you are on a business trip passing by and want to get a sip of DC.
The very first thing you will notice, no matter how and when you come to the city is Washington Monument – a large sand-colored obelisk which was constructed to commemorate the first U.S. president – George Washington. That’s as far as I’m going to get into the history since it’s not the most important thing about the obelisk. 
The biggest advantage is that it is a great navigation point around the town. Keep that in mind when wandering around.
From the obelisk, it’s a nice and easy walk down to The U.S. Capitol Building - Washington, DC's Meeting Chambers for the Senate & the House of Representatives. Since everything around – the parks, buildings streets is big, I would even say enormous, it takes quite a walk, but with spring weather, there is nothing more pleasant than such walk. I didn’t go in but it is possible to see the U.S. Capitol inside as a guided tour and by yourself. Here’s detailed info on that: http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/
From there, it’s a nice walk up Pennsylvania Avenue, just by 
FBI Headquartersand some other quite important institutions straight to The White House – home for every U.S. president except for George Washington. A good source of information for folks interested in visiting The White House is here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours_and_events/ Make sure you prearrange your visit since there are quite strict security measures involved and you might not be able to go visit everywhere you wanted without a prior registration.
A couple of words on getting in, out and about as it came to me as a surprise that the DCA airport is situated literally 10 minutes from the Washington Monument. It is really very convenient! Similarly as for other bigger cities, I would recommend using public transit and most of all your own feet, even though there’s miles before you to walk in that city. Is there any other better way of getting to know the city’s atmosphere? Leave your car by the Washington Monument, start walking, talk to people, they are really friendly, ask other tourist what they’ve seen, how they got somewhere!
If you’re planning on staying in the town for longer, there is a pass you can obtain to save you some money and time: The Washington DC Power Pass .
Here’s some other attractions worth mentioning:
- Washington DC is packed with monuments and memorials, and they are very impressing to the full extent of this word. Americans are very patriotic and on the contrary to what many Europeans say they do have a lot of history events to . Memorials: African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, Arlington National Cemetery, DC War Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, George Mason Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Pentagon Memorial
- Visit Georgetown – historic waterfront district
- Attend a show at The Kennedy Center
- Visit The National Archives building where you can see such documents as the Charters of Freedom: the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights and lots of others.
A bit crazy and amateur video from this trip:
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