From Wikitravel

Penn Quarter is a district of Washington, D.C. comprised of DC's old downtown quarter, east of 15th Street, the most famous museum district in the world on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building, and the smaller downtown neighborhoods of Chinatown, Judiciary Square, and Mount Vernon Square.

[edit] Understand

The National Mall is not a shopping center but rather a long grassy expanse stretching from Capitol Hill westward to the Potomac River. The Mall's central location and the many famous museums and monuments which surround it make the Mall a popular destination. If you want an "only in Washington" moment, take the Metro to the Smithsonian stop and walk out of the National Mall exit. The view is memorable.

A great way to see a lot during a limited stay is to visit museums during the day and monuments at night. The Smithsonian is open until about 5-7pm. Afer finding a nice place to eat dinner, take a long walk to visit all the monuments by night when they are most beautiful. Quite a few companies offer tours of the monuments at night, so you won't be alone. Carry an extra flashlight, though, as some parts of the mall are rather dark for effect. Seeing the monuments at night is also advantageous during Washington's hot, humid summers.

A word of warning: the National Mall is deceptively large (over 2 miles end-to-end (3.2 Km)), an illusion that is reinforced by the sheer size of the Capitol building and the Washington and Lincoln memorials. Walking the mall is certainly a great way to see the sights, but be advised that what seems to be a short stroll can quickly turn into a long march in the sun.

The Penn Quarter is distinguished from the rest of downtown by its 19th century buildings and facades, many of which were preserved by the federal government for art gallery use prior to 1994. After the opening of the Verizon Center in 1997, most of these buildings were redeveloped as the ground-floor facades of private luxury apartments and office buildings, resulting in the creation of an "arts and entertainment" district.

Chinatown is a very compact (i.e. small) community of Asian-owned shops and restaurants which is dominated by the Verizon Center sports arena and associated bars. It is located on 7th and H St. NW, just north of the Penn Quarter. With new construction around the sports arena, and business logos required to be posted in Chinese as well as English, Chinatown increasingly resembles a miniature Times Square with activity day and night into the wee hours.

Chinatown is located roughly between 5th and 9th St. NW (from east to west) and between Mount Vernon Square and F St. NW (north to south). It is dominated by the Verizon Center and the Chinatown Friendship Arch at 7th and H St. Most of the remaining Asian-owned businesses and restaurants are concentrated on H St. To the south is the Penn Quarter and the National Portrait Gallery/National Gallery of American Art. The bustling entertainment area between the Verizon Center and the National Portrait Gallery is also called Gallery Place. Further south is the National Mall. To the east is Judiciary Square; to the west is Metro Center.

The old Downtown area is dominated by the ceremonial stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and the U.S. Capitol, which is the location of most of the city's major parades, festivals, and ceremonial processions. Most attractions in Downtown D.C. are on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue in a compact area of about 10 city blocks.

Metro Center is generally speaking, the center of gravity in D.C. It has many older buildings that used to be department stores and shops. After the opening of the Verizon Center in 1997, most of these buildings were redeveloped as the ground-floor facades of private luxury apartments and office buildings, and new shops (mostly downtown-oriented chain retail), shopping arcades, and theaters. Home of the National and Warner Theaters located on Freedom Plaza, Metro Center is considered part of Washington's theater district.

Also located on Freedom Plaza are the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, Pershing Park, City Hall (located on 13 1/2 St. NW) and the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, the largest federal office building in DC, which is surrounded by other pedestrian plazas and neoclassical arcades. Both the Reagan Building and the Old Post Office Tower contain a visitor center and food courts. The National Archives is nearby. This area on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue is known as Federal Triangle.

Metro Center is dominated by the vast underground Metro (subway) station of the same name, which is a major attraction as well as transfer point for visitors. It is also home to the ceremonial stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue located between the White House and the U.S. Capitol, which is the location of most of the city's major parades, festivals, and ceremonial processions. Most attractions are on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue in a compact area surrounding the Metro station. Chinatown, Verizon Center and the Penn Quarter are a few blocks to the east, on the other side of the FBI Headquarters Building and the Martin Luther King Library. Various museums, including the National Portrait Gallery/National Museum of American Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, International Spy Museum and the White House Visitor Center are also nearby.

[edit] Get in

Parking around the mall is sometimes impossible during business hours and prices are steep ($14 per day). On evenings and weekends on the off season, it is quite easy to find parking spots very near to the mall in places along Independence Avenue.

There are several Metro stops that serve the area:

• Blue/Orange Lines
  • Federal Triangle (convenient to White House, Constitution Avenue sites)
  • Smithsonian (convenient to the museums, Independence Avenue sites)
  • L'Enfant Plaza
  • Federal Center SW
  • Capitol South
• Red Line
  • Judiciary Square

Mass Transit (Metrorail) is strongly recommended: The East End of Downtown is conveniently located between Union Station and Metro Center on the Red line Metro (subway). Gallery Place/Chinatown (station, located under the Verizon Center) is a major transfer station which is also served by the Yellow and Green lines.

Metro Center (subway station), the largest transfer point in the subway system is an underground sight in itself, and Judiciary Square station is also within easy walking distance of most points, including parts of the Mall.

On Foot: The area is easily walkable from the Smithsonian museums (Mall area) by walking north through the courtyards of Federal Triangle, past the National Archives.

During busy days, it is often more practical to walk to major Red Line stops (Metro Center, Gallery Place, Union Station) to get to restaurants, shops and other destinations. It is often easier to disembark at or near these busy transfer stations, when visiting the Mall area. Parking is also sometimes available in the vicinity of Judiciary Square. The Archives and Federal Triangle Metro stations are also convenient.

The many shops and restaurants in the east end of Downtown are very convenient to tourists visiting the Mall on foot, since there are few actual stores or restaurants in the National Mall. From the White House, walk east on Pennsylvania Avenue to G, E, or F St. From the National Mall, walk north on any cross street.

By Car: From south of DC, take I-395 to 14th Street or exit at D St. to park near Judiciary Square. From the north, take Georgia Avenue, which becomes 7th Street NW. From the east, take New York Avenue to 6th-9th St. NW and turn left. From the northwest, take Massachusetts Ave. to 9th St. and turn right.

There are no above-ground parking garages in downtown D.C., and basement level parking is expensive. Street parking is very restricted by loading zones, bus bays, taxi stands, and meter times. It is much easier to park in the far north or east of downtown (in back of Judiciary square) on evenings and weekends. Otherwise, take Metro, which runs until 3 AM on weekend nights, or else hail a cab.

Taxicab: Taxis are plentiful and cheap, because D.C.'s unique zone taxi fare system is designed to keep trips within the downtown area inexpensive. It is possible to hail a taxi from the street at almost any hour of the day or night in downtown D.C. A cab is especially useful when coming from Georgetown, Union Station or National Airport.

Metrobus: The Metrobus system is centered on downtown D.C., but is unfortunately very complex and locations of bus lines and routes are not advertised to anyone who is not a regular rider. There is no central terminal or bus mall, for instance. Most bus riders from outside of downtown DC are shunted onto the Metrorail system before reaching downtown. The Metro system is much more convenient. The main exception is the Pennsylvania Avenue bus line, which takes you to Georgetown and upper Wisconsin Avenue, two areas not easily accessible by Metro.

The D.C. Circulator, a new bus service, has two premium express bus routes along 7th Street and Massachusetts Avenue. These connect points such as Georgetown, Union Station and the Convention Center. MetroExtra, an express bus, also runs along 7th St. north to Silver Spring, Maryland, connecting Gallery Place with uptown areas.

[edit][add listing] See

• Old Post Office Tower, Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th St NW, ☎ +1-(202)-606-8694, [1]. Summer (1st weekend in June through Labor Day) M-W & F 9AM-7:45PM, Th 9AM-6:30PM, winter (Labor Day through Memorial Day) 9AM-4:45PM, Sa-Su and holidays 10AM-5:45PM (all year).. At 315 feet this is one of the tallest buildings in D.C. Enter through the food court and take the elevators to the 270-foot observation deck for excellent views of D.C. Bell-ringing practice is held on Th from 7PM-8PM Free. Free admission.  edit

• International Spy Museum, 800 F Street NW (Metro:Gallery Place/Chinatown), ☎ +1-(202)-393-7798 (vsmanagers@spymuseum.org), [2]. Admission: Adults: $$15, Seniors: $14, Children (5-11): $12, Children (4 & under): Free.  edit

• Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences. Corner of 6th & E St NW. [3] $5/adult, $3/seniors, children, students, active duty military.

• National Building Museum. 401 F St NW. [4] M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 11AM-5PM Highly Recommended. Free, suggested donation $5.

• National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave NE (Metro: Union Station on the Red Line. Just west of Union Station.), ☎ +1-(202)-357-2700, [5]. Daily except 25 December 10AM-5:30PM. Exhibitions of how mail has been delivered throughout history, rare stamps, and other ways that the mail shapes culture. Free admission..  edit

• National Museum of Women in the Arts. 1250 New York Av NW. [6] $8/adult, $6/student, free/children (18 and younger).

[edit] On the Mall

The Smithsonian [7] is not a single museum; there are 18 Smithsonian museums, many of which are located on the Mall. Museums run by the Smithsonian Institution are free of charge and their gift shops do not have the 6.5% D.C. tax levied on items sold.

From east to west along Constitution Avenue (the north side of the Mall)

• National Gallery of Art. [8] M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 11AM-6PM The east building of this museum focuses on modern art, while the west building showcases more traditional, mostly European, paintings and sculptures. The two buildings are connected by an underground walkway which has a store and a restaurant. Free admission, and unlike most art museums, flash photography is allowed. The sculpture garden's foot pool is an excellent way to cool off during the day.
• National Archives. [9] Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial via the Green and Yellow Lines. Rotunda and exhibit hall, Open Daily except 25 December; 10AM-5:30PM (day after Labor Day through March 31), 10AM-7PM (April 1 through the Friday before Memorial Day weekend), 10AM-9PM (Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day). In summer you can go in the evening and avoid the long queue (everything else in town is closed then anyway). See the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other displays. Gift shop. Free admission.
• National Museum of Natural History. [10] Open Daily except 25 December. Regular hours 10AM-5:30PM, summer (May 26 to September 4) 10AM-7:30PM. This Smithsonian museum presents a variety of displays including world cultures, meteorites and mineral samples. It traces the evolution of life from its beginnings through fossil plants, dinosaurs and mammals. Be sure to see the Hope Diamond, the most famous blue diamond in the world.
• National Museum of American History. [11] Open Daily except 25 December. Regular hours 10AM-5:30PM, summer 10AM-6:30PM A Smithsonian museum, it covers topics ranging from technology to social and political history. This museum will be closed from September 5, 2006 until Summer 2008 for renovations.

From east to west along Independence Avenue (the south side of the Mall)

• National Museum of the American Indian. [12] The newest of the Smithsonian museums displays the cultural traditions of the Native peoples of North, Central and South America. It focuses on 20th century and present day culture much more than pre-European and colonial periods. Free admission, but visitors who don't want to wait in line can obtain a free same-day timed entry pass at the museum's east entrance, or they can purchase a pass in advance by calling +1 866 400-NMAI.

• National Air & Space Museum. [13] Daily except 25 December 10AM-5:30PM The most-visited museum in the world, this impressive repository covers the history of human flight, rocketry and space flight. It contains thousands of impressive artifacts, including the Wrights' 1903 Flyer, Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, Apollo 11's command module Columbia, and the simulated bridge of an aircraft carrier. Free.

• There is also a huge companion museum to the Air & Space Museum called the The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center [14] which is located near Dulles Airport outside of town. It houses the Enola Gay and the Enterprise space shuttle, among other planes and vehicles. It can be reached by car, public transportation, or a shuttle bus from Dulles International Airport. [15]

• Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. [16] Museum 10AM-5:30PM; Sculpture garden 7:30AM-dusk. International modern and contemporary art.

• Smithsonian Castle. [17] 8:30AM-5:30PM This distinctive brick-red structure was the original Smithsonian museum. The building now presents an overview of the Smithsonian system as well as occasional exhibitions.

• National Museum of African Art, [18]. Presents the diversity of African art. The Freer and Sackler Galleries can also be accessed through this museum.

• Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, [19]. Every day except 25 December 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. These linked Smithsonian museums feature Asian art. There is also an underground passage to the National Museum of African Art.

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit][add listing] Buy

The Penn Quarter was once the capital's premiere shopping district. Some department stores still remain, but most shops have decamped for the suburbs. They have been replaced by art galleries, museums, entertainment destinations, and a wide variety of restaurants, especially in the Penn Quarter. Shops and offices catering to the daytime business and lobbying crowd are concentrated around Metro Center and the "New Downtown" of Connecticut Ave. and K Street (West End).

Downtown shopping is more dispersed, but there is a cluster of stores around the Metro Center station anchored by the large Macy's department store directly connected to the station. The Shops at International Plaza, located near the Farragut West station on the Orange and Blue Lines, is a three-level indoor mall featuring over 100 stores and restaurants. Additional shopping can be found at the Pavilion at the Old Post Office, on Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Federal Triangle Metro station.

All Smithsonian museums have gift shops and they are tax-free. The largest and can be found in the National Museum of American History (currently closed for renovations) and the National Air and Space Museum.

The gift shop in the National Building Museum is one of the best gift shops not run by the Smithsonian Institution. (6.5% D.C. tax applies.)

[edit][add listing] Eat

The larger museums have cafeterias and cafes[20] of varying prices and quality—in general, you get what you pay for. If you're on the mall, it's either these cafeterias, the hot dog stands, or a march north towards the Penn Quarter section of DC's downtown. There's plenty of great food to choose from north of the mall, particularly in DC's Chinatown.

• Cascade Cafe In the National Gallery of Art, has fast buffet style food with salads and great desserts, Telephone: 737-4215

• Hotel Washington[21], 515 15th Street NW, +1 800 424 9540 . The top level of this hotel features a restaurant that provides an unmatched view of the Washington Monument and the White House. You're so high and close that federal police will watch you eat through their binoculars from neighboring rooftops. The food isn't spectacular and the line to get a seat is long, but it's definitely worth it. Try going during non-peak times.

• Jaleo, 480 7th Street NW, +1 202 628-7949. Many credit this loud, happy restaurant in the Penn Quarter (a local chain) for the current boom in Spanish tapas bars. Serves tasty tapas and wonderful sangria, as well as a great selection of ports and sherry.

• Marrakesh, 617 New York Ave, N.W. +1 202 393-9393. Moroccan Cuisine, belly dancers, eat with your hands. I found the food to be excellent, the serving staff to be good, and the atmosphere to be wonderful. The seven course meal is the only food served. There are some minor choices for main dishes, or if you want a vegetarian meal. The website lists the current meal choices. Be sure to check out the back hallway with pictures of all the famous visitors. http://marrakesh.us

• Mitsitam Café at the National Museum of the American Indian, 4th St. and Independence Ave., S.W., on the southeast corner of the National Mall. Slightly more expensive than most museum cafeterias, but well worth it, the café features Native foods found throughout the Western Hemisphere.

• Old Post Office Pavilion food court, Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th St NW. Close to the National Mall.

• The Wright Place In a great glass atrium adjacent to the Air and Space Museum, is relaxing with many plants. Telephone: 357-2700

[edit] Splurge

• Butterfield 9, 600 14th St. NW (Metro: Metro Center), +1 202 289-8810. Chef Michael Harr creates the most intriguing and nuanced food in town. Expensive.

• minibar by josé andrés, 405 8th Street NW. +1 202 393-0812. [22]. Mr. Andrés' wild culinary ride. This six seat restaurant within a restaurant dishes up everything from cotton candy foie gras to lobster injection to beet tumbleweed. Expensive.

• Tenpenh, 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW +1 202 393-4500, [23]. Tastes and textures of the Far East influence the cooking here. Refreshingly eclectic dishes and startlingly new sauces. Expensive.

[edit][add listing] Drink

• ESPN Zone, 555 12th St. NW, +1 202 783-3776, [24] Metro Stop: Metro Center - Not a place to take a date, but a fun place that is a little expensive, but with over 200 TVs and 13 foot tall TV all tuned to sports, it is worth it.
• Indebleu, 707 G Street NW, +1 202 333-2538. [25] Metro Stop: Gallery Place - Stunning decor, $15 drinks, and young D.C. types rubbing elbows with each other make Indebleu a hot spot not to be missed. Also a full service restaurant upstairs.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

[edit] Budget

• Hotel Harrington, 436 11th Street, N.W. (corner of 11th & E Streets, N.W.), +1 800 424-8532, [26].

[edit] Mid-range

• Holiday Inn on the Hill, 415 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Tel (202) 638-1616, Toll free 1-800-638-1116, [27]. This hotel is conveniently located close to many DC attractions such as the US Capitol, Union Station, and the Smithsonian museums. This hotel offers business and leisure accommodations with a number of children’s activities for fun family vacations.

• Hotel George,, 15 E Street NW. +1 202 47-4200, [28].

• Marriott at Metro Center, 775 12th St., NW, ☎ 2027372200, [29]. Check in: 4:00PM; Check out: 12:00PM. The Marriott at Metro Center Hotel is centrally located in downtown Washington DC. Its location near the Metro rail system provides business, family, and leisure travelers easy access to the hotel. edit

• Wyndham Downtown Washington Hotel, 1400 M. Street NW, +1 202 (202) 429-1700, [30].

[edit] Splurge

• Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, [31] 999 Ninth Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 +1 202-898-9000. A distinctive luxury hotel in DC's Penn Quarter.

• Willard Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, [32]. Luxurious, historic hotel near the White House and the Old Post Office.

[edit] Contact

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