Tourist season is coming…and I can’t shoot them…

The tourist season kicks off in the Washington DC area today with the Cherry Blossom Festival.  It reaches its peak on July 4^th and finishes when schools start in the fall.  For almost half of the year the DC Metro area is taken over by what I call the 3 Fs…families, field trips, and foreigners.  It isn’t that we don’t appreciate people coming to the city (it brings in money to the economy and shows off our great city), but the tourists are on vacation and we are not.  It can be great fun to watch a family with little kids visit the National Zoo or see the reactions on people’s faces when they see the National Mall (no, it is not a shopping mall...ugh) for the first time; however, what the residents remember most is not the warm, touching moments…when we think of tourist season, we think of people getting in our waaayy!!!  So if you plan on visiting DC, here are a few tips…

1)      Try to visit during an off peak time.  From October through February, the museums are practically empty during the week days.  The winters here are typically mild (expect this year…don’t even get me started.

2)      Use the Metro…correctly.  Our Metro system is a wonderful attribute to the city.  You can get around underground safely, quickly, and cheaply.  You can buy an unlimited day pass or a reusable SmartTrip card (these are the only accepted payments at Metro parking lots).  Having said that, incorrect use of the Metro is probably the biggest thing us locals complain about.  Try to avoid rush “hour”.  Rush hour in DC is from 7am-9:30am and 4pm-7pm.  If you can avoid using the metro during these times, you will save yourself and the locals a lot of trouble.  The museums don’t open until 10am anyway, so sleep in a bit, and at night you can try out one of the great restaurants downtown. 

3)      While on the escalators to/from the station remember this rule: WALK LEFT, STAND RIGHT.  This unwritten rule in DC is considered law by the locals.  If you want to stand and ride the escalator up, stand on the right.  If you want to walk up the escalator, walk on the left.  I have trampled my fair share of tourist standing on the left while running up the escalator in heels screaming, “WALK LEFT, STAND RIGHT”.  Once I trampled a few tourists just coming from the airport with their luggage…welcome to the city, get the f*&# out of my way!!  For more information about the DC Metro, visit www.wmata.com.

4)      One last thing about the escalators, when you get off of them…don’t just stand there!!  The escalator doesn’t stop even if you don’t know where you are going…and there are 8,000 angry Washingtonians piling up behind you.  If you don’t know where you are going, step to the side, and then figure out where you are going…or get trampled.

5)      See the museums, they are free!!  All of the Smithsonian museums are free…and there are a lot of them.  One pet peeve overheard on the Metro is, “today we are going to see The Smithsonian”…as if it were just one building.  The Smithsonian Institute has multiple museums along the National Mall, the National Zoo, the Air and Space Museum out by Dulles Airport, and many more museums scattered throughout town and throughout the country.  Saying that you are going to “The Smithsonian” is not very specific.  For more information, they have a wonderful website full of information about visiting each one…www.si.edu.

6)      Find some things that are off the path of the traditional DC visit.  Once you’ve seen The Mall, visited Arlington Cemetery, and visited a few museums, there is so much more that the city has to offer.  Here are a few other things to do: Eastern Market, Congressional Cemetery, DC Nationals, United, or Capitals game, The Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theater, FDR Memorial, The Supreme Court, The National Archives, and many many more.

7)      Buy a good guidebook.  I’ve had a great experience with this book.  It is a sturdy and compact book with nine foldout maps including a metro map.  It has color coded markings for restaurants, locations of interest, lodging, and much more.

8)      Wear good shoes.  Although the Metro is helpful, it won’t get you everywhere.  You will have to do A LOT of walking.  Whenever I give a tour of DC, I always wear sneakers…and if I’m wearing practical shoes, then there must be a metric ton of walking involved.

9)      Plan out your day ahead of time.  The city may be small, but if you don’t plan out where you are going to go and in what order, you will end up crossing The Mall back and forth and putting in 5+ miles.  Even with good planning, you are likely to put in several miles.

10)   Visit some of the great restaurants.  DC has a wealth of ethnic and gourmet restaurants of varying flavors and prices.  Try to visit as many as your stomach and wallet can afford.  The Washington Post has a great online restaurant finder that searches by ethnicity, location, reviews, and price.  You can find it here.

11)   If you come during the summer, bring light clothes and sunscreen.  It gets very hot in DC during the summers.  If you come during July or August, plan for 90+ degree days full of humidity.  As tempting as it will be to wear flip flops to keep your feet cool…don’t!  Hot weather + humidity + flip flops + lots of walking = BLISTERS.  Just wear sneakers, you can wear the cute shoes to the restaurants after the touring is over.

12)   Have fun!  DC is such a busy and fascinating place, that you will have a great time rain or shine…and you never know what Senator will be walking around the next corner…so carry pepper spray.  Also, try to remember that the grounds and monument are memorials and should be respected...so don't be like me...