My Favorite Things To Do in Washington D.C.
I spent a significant amount of time in 2023 living in Washington D.C. While a lot of the year was spent on managing a steep learning curve at work, traveling to conferences and shuttling between Atlanta and DC, I managed to explore DC a little. I had visited DC a few times before, but living here gave me an opportunity to explore it in more depth. I absolutely loved taking the Metro everywhere. It reminded me of living in Mumbai and I felt comfortable and absolutely safe. I took the Metro at all odd hours, even taking the last one at midnight a few times and never felt unsafe. There are several advantages to using the Metro in DC. It connects different neighborhoods in DC very well. The few times that I took an Uber/Lyft, I was stuck in traffic for long enough to regret my decision. On the weekends the charge is a flat $2 each way, no matter how far or close you are traveling. So, it seemed like a no-brainer to use the Metro. Safety tip: When traveling by myself, I generally tried to sit in the car closest to the driver. Having said all that, here are some of the things I enjoyed the most living in DC.
Museums:
DC is obviously famous for its free museums and even though I had visited several of them before, I enjoyed spending time at museums, especially in the winter. The National Portrait Gallery is one of my favorites, with the America's Presidents exhibition being my favorite, and I went here several times.
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Another of my favorite museums is the Hirshhorn Museum. While it's relatively small as compared to some of the other museums in DC, I loved it as I got to see some amazing exhibitions when I visited. I was extremely lucky (and quite persistent) to see Yayoi Kusuma's One with Eternity exhibit. This was unlike any other exhibitions I had seen before. Her polka dot pumpkin and the infinity mirrors were out of this world. As annoying as the process of getting the limited number of timed tickets seemed initially, it was a big factor in being able to thoroughly enjoy the art work with a limited number of patrons.
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| Infinity Mirror Room - Phallis Field |
The museum that I visited for the first time and enjoyed quite a bit was the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum. The National Arboretum is not connected very well by the Metro and I visited it when I rented a car. You will also need the car to get around inside the arboretum, as it is (of course!) outdoors and huge. The museum has a huge collection of bonsai trees, some of which are almost 400 years old. My visit was in early Spring and I was also able to see beautiful Magnolias, Hydrangeas and Cherry Blossoms, along with an exhibition showcasing the tradition of Cherry Blossom festival in Japan.
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| National Capitol Columns at U.S. National Arboretum |
Another museum that I need to add to my list of favorites is the National Museum of African American History and Culture. I have been to this museum several times and I have still not seen all of it. The architecture of this building itself is so impressive! The first time I visited this museum, I spent about 3 hours at the lowest level where the exhibitions focus on slavery and that was all that I could process that day. The other couple of times that I visited, I first went to the top most floor which has great exhibits on entertainment, music, fashion, etc. and the third floor which is a bit more serious and talks about migration, imprisonment and other civic issues. I still have more to see here and will be going back.
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Last but not the least, I want to add Planet Word Museum to this list. It's a great place for kids to spend a day, but no reason why adults can't have fun here either. Their quirky library elevator, hidden bookshelf door and a ton of interactive exhibits were a lot of fun and educational. You can easily spend a couple of hours here.
Festivals:
There are tons of festivals in DC. Between all the travel I managed to attend a few and I was happy that I got to attend those events. I would have probably never traveled specifically for any events. The one event that I was determined to attend was the National Cherry Blossom Festival which happens in DC every Spring. The festival began in 1912 and generally spans 3 weeks from late March to mid-April. The exact dates vary a bit each year depending on the expected peak. During the festival there are tons of events including art installations, performances, parade, and so on. I had always wanted to attend it, but could never take off in the middle of the semester. So, when I had the opportunity, I made the most of it. S and I went to the Tidal Basin area in the middle of the week to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms and it was still extremely crowded. I loved walking through the peak bloom of a variety of Cherry Blossoms and even some beautiful pink Magnolias.
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Apart from the Kite festival, we also enjoyed the parade at Chinatown in celebration of the Lunar New Year and July 4th fireworks at the National Mall.
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The unexpected festival that I most enjoyed and where I made a friend was the Lotus and Water Lily Festival at the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. I did not know about this festival and was glad to have gone and walked along trails and trails of beautiful lotus and water lilies.
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It's needless to say that DC has an amazing restaurant scene, definitely better than that of Atlanta. Two concepts that were new to me here were the Restaurant Week and the bottomless brunch. The restaurant week is a great time to sample the menus of many high-end, Michelin Star and other kinds of restaurants at (generally) a lower price. While I did not get a chance to try this out due to travel, it introduced me to several good restaurants that I tried later. The concept of bottomless brunch is not something I am crazy about. But I tried a few of these brunches and liked a couple. The bottomless brunch that I enjoyed the most was bottomless dim sum at Han Palace near Eastern Market. My other favorite restaurants in DC included Kaz Sushi Bistro, Rasika, Bindaas (Foggy Bottom), Oyamel, Unconventional Diner, Circa and ilili. My favorite restaurants in Alexandria included Yunnan by Potomac Noodle House, Momo Sushi and Cafe and Nasime Japanese Restaurant (they offer an amazing Omakase experience). There are no restaurants near the National Mall area around majority of the museums and monuments. You have to walk a bit or take an Uber to get to good restaurants. If you enjoy museums and plan on spending a lot of time there, it's impractical to leave the area and have to come back again. So, most people end up eating at the museum cafeterias. The only museum cafeteria that I liked and I would highly recommend eating at is the one at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, called Sweet Home Cafe. This place has great southern food and their desserts are amazing as well.
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Theater:
My most favorite part of exploring and experiencing DC life was the theater scene. It's definitely in a league of its own. I enjoyed several performances at The Kennedy Center. But even the smaller theaters in DC were amazing. I saw shows at the Woolly Mammoth Theater, J Theater, The Wolf Trap, Howard Theater, and the Signature Theater. I had not experienced anything like this in Atlanta. The Signature Theater was my favorite venue where musicals are performed, the stage is set up differently than what you see in most places and the seating is around the stage almost in a semi-circular shape. No matter where you sit, you are close to the stage, as it's an intimate theater and the productions are set up so that you can see the entire performance very well no matter where you sit. I would highly recommend anyone interested in theater to watch a show here. The performances, singing and the production are all extraordinary! The Wolf Trap in Virginia is also a great outdoor venue where we were able to see Ustad Zakir Hussain and Shankar Mahadevan perform. I also enjoyed a couple of Flamenco performances in DC, one of which was performed by the Royal Opera of Madrid, and a few Indian classical music and dance and ensemble performances.
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I did not include monuments in this post, because I have another post on DC monuments here. My favorite trip to DC was during Halloween of 2010 when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert led the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. I captured a few photos of some of the interesting signs that we saw at this rally and they are posted here. There is more to do and experience in DC. But, I think this post highlights the things that I enjoyed the most in 2023. Looking forward to an equally exciting 2024.
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