Washington D.C. Warnings Or Dangers Tips by Dabs

Security checks

All of the National Museums, the Botanic Gardens and the Capitol all required a security check at the entrance so be prepared for them to go through any bags you might be carrying and for a wait at the entrance. Since it was a bit off season, the wait wasn't too long, the longest was at the Holocaust Museum and that was only 5-10 minutes.

The only place that required me to check my bag was the National Gallery of Art (thanks heavens, I was tired of carrying that thing!)

At the Holocaust Museum I saw them make a couple of people throw out food and beverages, one of which was a resealable bottle of Coke.

Don't drive, take the metro Road Conditions Review

I couldn't find any reason to rent a car to tour Washington DC, the area is very well served by the metro, even into Arlington VA.

Some of the Vters were trying to drive from their hotel in Arlington to Crystal City, they had a nice tour of the Pentagon (2 or 3 times around in fact) before heading in the right direction. After spending some time in a car with Kentbein, I understood just how easy it would be to get lost in Washington DC.

Check for closures!

As I browsed through the web looking for some ideas on what to go see in my 4 days in the capitol, I found many things that show up in the guide books are closed due to a variety of reasons including

Treasury tour (closed indefinitely, probably a result of 9/11)

FBI tour and Washington monument (closed temporarily due to renovation)

White House-used to be able to get tickets while in Washington DC, now needs to be reserved in advance for groups of 10+

Old Executive Office Building-website said tours were available but when I called to book they said they weren't currently giving any

So check it out in advance on their website or call ahead!

Trying to dine near the museums

Twice I found myself near the major museums hunting for a place to grab a bite. The first day I was meeting up with kentbein and just wanted something quick so I stopped by one of the hot dog vendors and grabbed a very unappetizing Polish sausage.

The second time, I bypassed the cafe in between the National Gallery East and West that actually looked like a decent place to grab a bite (although a little overpriced) because I wanted to try Capitol City Brewery but I underestimated the distance between the museum and Union Station and found I only had time to grab a quick bite in the food court.