48 Hours In: Washington DC

Vote with your feet and plan a weekend visit to the US capital, where politics meets history and culture

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TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

Why go now?

America’s capital is the ultimate political city, and the centre of attention as voters prepare to choose their president on 6 November, the occupant of its key edifice, the White House (1). Whether Obama or Romney wins, Washington is a fascinating, historic metropolis that merits exploration.

Touch down

Most flights from the UK land at Washington Dulles (001 703 572 2700; metwashairports.com), 26 miles south of the centre. British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com), United Airlines (0845 607 6760; unitedairlines.co.uk) and Virgin Atlantic (0844 209 7310; virgin-atlantic.com) all fly here daily from Heathrow. United also covers the route from Manchester.

Metrobus 5A departs once an hour at weekends (every 40 minutes on weekdays), taking 50 minutes to the landmark square of L’Enfant Plaza (2) for a fare of $6 (£4). Super Shuttle (001 800 258 3826; supershuttle.com) runs shared van transfers to central hotels: $29 (£18) for a one-person booking, $39 (£24) for two. Washington Flyer Taxis (001 703 572 8294; washfly.com) is the official airport cab service. The drive takes about 40 minutes, costing $56-$64 (£35-£40).

BA also serves Baltimore-Washington International, 35 miles north-east, with Super Shuttle. connections.

Get your bearings

Washington was founded as a political capital in 1791. Its location was chosen by the man whose name it takes, George Washington, at a point between the established cities of the north-east and the Southern states. It occupies its own zone (the District of Columbia), independent of the 50 states, hemmed by Virginia to the south and Maryland to the north – at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.

The centre spreads out around the National Mall ( nps.gov/mall), a two-mile grassy strip that ebbs east to west as it plays host to the country’s most significant monuments and museums. Beyond, the city is organised into a simple grid. Streets that run south to north are numbered (eg 14th Street), while major east-to-west avenues bear letters (such as F Street).

Local transport (001 202 637 7000; wmata.com) consists of the five lines of the Metrorail subway system, and Metrobuses. Metrorail fares are complex and vary according to time – but a single journey in the centre during off-peak hours (9.30am-3pm; 7pm-midnight) costs $1.70 (£1). A one-day Metrorail pass is $14 (£9). Bus fares are $1.80 (£1.10).

For more info see: Washington.org; Capitalregionusa.co.uk; DiscoverAmerica.com.

DAY ONE

Check in

A short hop from the legislative grandeur of the US Capitol (3), the Hotel George (4), at 15 E Street NW (001 202 347 4200; hotelgeorge.com), is a boutique option with Pop Art prints of George Washington in the lobby. Doubles start at $155 (£97), room only.

Set up in the former General Post Office at 700 F Street NW, Hotel Monaco (5) (001 202 628 7177; monaco-dc.com) is all high ceilings and bold colours. Doubles start at $194 (£121), excluding breakfast.

The Hay-Adams (6) hotel does wood-panelled pomp behind the White House at 800 16th Street NW (001 202 638 6600; hayadams.com). Doubles here start at $400 (£250), excluding breakfast.

Take a hike

The National Mall demands a morning of your time. Start at the Washington Monument (7) ( nps.gov/wamo), the 555ft obelisk that honours the first US president. It was damaged in the earthquake that hit the city last year and its public gallery is currently shut. But even from the ground, it’s an impressive sight.

Head west to the National World War II Memorial (8) ( nps.gov/nwwm), where each of the 4,048 gold stars represents 100 American war dead.

Continue west on Independence Avenue SW as far as the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial (9) ( nps.gov/mlkm). Then turn right on to West Basin Drive SW and right on to Ohio Drive SW for the Mall’s two most eloquent monuments: the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (10) ( nps.gov/fdrm), where arty sculptures acknowledge America’s wartime leader, and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial (11): a statue of the third president stands proud in a Neoclassical temple ( nps.gov/thje).

Track back to the west end of the Mall – to see the ghostly soldiers of the Korean War Veterans Memorial (12) ( nps.gov/kwvm); the iconic steps of the Lincoln Memorial (13) ( nps.gov/linc); and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (14) ( nps.gov/vive).

Then dart east on the top edge of the Mall, turning north into the green space of The Ellipse (15) – where the pale celebrity of the White House (1) does not lack visual impact as it sits at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Window shopping

F Street is a neat encapsulation of Washington’s retail scene. Chas Schwartz & Sons (16), at 1400 NW, is Washington’s oldest jewellers, dating to 1888 (001 202 737 4757; chasschwartz.com). And Fahrney’s Pens (17), at 1317 NW, has been dispensing writing equipment and ink to politicos since 1929 (001 202 6289525; fahrneyspens.com). If you prefer your ink invisible, the International Spy Museum (18), at 800 NW (001 202 393 7798; spymuseum.org; $18/£11), has a shop that’s a den of gadgets.

Lunch on the run

Enjoy a slice of Americana at Ollie’s Trolley (19), a classic US diner at 425 12th Street NW (001 202 347 6119; olliestrolleydc.com).

Take a ride

Visit Bike and Roll (20) at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave NW. Rental starts at $12 (£7.50) for two hours, $30 (£19) for a day (001 202 842 2453; bikethesites.com). Pedal west along the National Mall and over the Potomac on the Arlington Memorial Bridge (21). At the end, you drop into Virginia – and find the gates of Arlington National Cemetery (22).

A walk in the park

There is a moving calm to the main US military graveyard (Memorial Drive; 001 877 907 8585; arlingtoncemetery.mil; daily 8am-5pm). John F Kennedy’s resting place (23), on Sheridan Drive, is positioned so that it gazes at the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.

An aperitif

A mile north of the Mall, U Street is evidence of Washington’s multi-ethnic make-up – an avenue that was known as the “Black Broadway” in the Fifties. Gentrification has changed its face, but left an area alive with evening options. Nellie’s Sports Bar (24), at 900 NW (001 202 332 6355; nelliessportsbar.com), is a splendid hybrid, equal parts baseball hot spot, gay bar and old-school pub (beers for $5/£3).

Dining with the locals

Ben’s Chili Bowl (25) at 1213 U Street NW (001 202 667 0909; benschilibowl.com), hit the headlines in January 2009 when Barack Obama ate here. Its chili half-smoke (a pork and beef hot dog) is $3.25 (£2). Off U Street at 2007 14th Street NW, Marvin (26) serves a chic take on soul food (001 202 797 7171; marvindc.com), with chicken and waffles for $17 (£10). Back in town at 480 7th Street NW, Jaleo (27) (001 202 628 7949; jaleo.com) sells tapas such as cod loin with parsley sauce for $12 (£7.50).

DAY TWO

Sunday morning: go to church

The National Cathedral (28) lurks a fair trek from the centre  at 3101 Wisconsin  Avenue NW (001 202 537 6200; national cathedral.org); take the Metrorail Red Line to Tenleytown station. Sunday services are at 7.45am, 8.45am, 10am and 11.15am.

More convenient is St Patrick’s Church (29), at 619 10th Street NW (001 202 347 2713; saintpatrickdc.org), an 18th-century refugee founded in 1794 with a cool interior of marble and stained glass (Sunday services 8am, 10am, noon).

Cultural day

The Smithsonian is the world’s finest cultural collective – 18 museums, many based on or around the National Mall. All are free, share the same basic contact details (001 202 633 1000; si.edu) and are open 10am-5.30pm daily, unless stated below.

Focus on the institutions that do something unique: the National Museum of American History (30) (1400 Constitution Avenue NW; americanhistory.si.edu), which displays exhibits from first ladies’ ballgowns to early Apple computers and Ford motorcars; the National Air and Space Museum (31) (6th Street SW and Independence Avenue; airandspace.si.edu), where you can see the Wright Flyer alongside Apollo 11 artefacts; and the joint American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery (32) (F Street and 8th Street NW; americanart.si.edu; npg.si.edu; 11.30am-7pm daily), where art by Hopper and O’Keeffe hangs with official portraits of each president.

Out to brunch

At the excellent National Museum of the American Indian (33) (4th Street and Independence Avenue SW; americanindian.si.edu)  the Mitsam Native Foods Café serves bowls of thick buffalo chili for $7 (£4.50).

Icing on the cake

Ford’s Theatre (34) at 511 10th Street NW (001 202 347 4833; fords.org), where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, still stages plays. Tickets for the latest production, A Christmas  Carol (16 November to 30 December), cost from $51 (£32).