"International Capital" a Washington D.C. Travel Page by mattreider

As a resident and frequent host to Washington D.C., visitors are amazed at its international charm and political bent. With visitors and residents from all over the world, Washington is truly a city with European roots, and decidedly American power.

With only 500,000 residents, Washington is small on the international city scale. However, during the weekdays the streets are packed with cars, and the subway packed with worker-bees that try to keep the great experimental government working. Occasionally a fleet of black limosines will break through the frustrated traffic, although helicopters are now more often the method of transport used.

Let's face it, most of America considers the downtown "Mall" area the only place to visit. Full of museums, the national archives and its copy of the Constitution, the White House, and various monuments to leaders and warriors throughout American history, the low-slung white marble buildings represent the democratic principles of Greece and early Rome.
While much younger than its European counterparts, DC is definitely a European city. Designed by L'Enfant for optimal defense, Washington is full of monuments, its ever-present traffic roundabouts (complete with horsed warrior), a famous zoo, and other out-of-the way monuments such as a National Cathedral, a Bascilica, and a few theaters.

Outside of the mall area, however, DC is a true international city. As diplomats and immigrants from abroad settled the capital city, they brought their restaurants, their embassies, and their cultures.

While a visitor to the District of Columbia should focus on the ceremony and focus of this great international power, there is also ethnic restaurants, great shopping, and an international flair apparent in a city that draws so many from so far.