Whens The Best Time of the year to go to DC?

Alos do you have any must see when I do get there?
I already know I am going to go to the Holocaust Museum.

I don't have children. It would be me (21) and my friend who is 20. She's in college. I am all done.

Well, it depends on what you mean by "best".

If you like spending time outside, and love flowers and blooming things, then DC is great in the spring. From Cherry blossom time throughout, the city is just gorgeous, and the weather is usually wonderful. Rain is not a significant issue in the spring. BUT DC is also jam packed full of people then!

If you like lots of activities, both cultural and just fun, longer hours for sites, and/or if you have school aged children to consider, summer is great for visiting. Especially during the weeks when the Smithsonian rolls out it's folklife festival, there are tons of special festivals, events, concerts, and such throughout the area during the summer. BUT DC is not only jam packed, but it is also hot as the dickens! Like the steam that comes out of your dishwasher when it just finished running, that kind of hot. Opressive.

If you like having no lines at things, getting in and out with no problem, seating yourself easily at restaurants, not making reservations to tour things like the Washington Monument, and the Capitol, then Fall is your time. October can be glorious in DC, November is a time when you can practically have a museum to yourself. The leaves on the Potomac are glorious,as are the ones in nearby Shenandoah National Park, and in late September/early October, they have not yet closed down the summer stuff - boat tours are still running and the like. BUT weather can turn cold as easily as it can be warm, and rain can occasionally dampen plans.

As for what to do, I put that in five categories.

1. The monuments and memorials. There are hundreds in DC, many worth seeing. But the big ones are along the Mall, between Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, and around the Tidal Basin. These are what make DC unique. Why did you come here except to see these?

2. The halls of government. If you make plans 3 - 6 months in advance, you might be able to get a tour of the white house and Capitol via your senator or congressperson. But you can usually get a same day tour of the Capitol, and can walk in (albeit waiting in line a bit in the summer) for the National Archives, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, or Bureau of Engraving and Printing (these last two only open weekdays). Go to see at least a couple of these.

3. The Museums. I heartily endorse your plans to visit the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, but also visit the Smithsonian. No matter what your interest, the Smithsonian has something to match it. There are 16 different museums, zoo, etc. at the Smithsonian. In addition there are non smithsonian museums that are great, including the spy museum and the new Newseum (which will be opening soon. Both of these last two cost extra.)

4. Visit a DC neighborhood. Georgetown has colonial history, Shaw and U Street a great history in the African American Community and with Jazz Music. Adams- Morgan is a mecca of multiculturalism, with cuisines and shops from every continent. Chinatown is close in and provides not only the culture of multiple waves of immigration (look for the GErmans and Italians as well as the Chinese and Vietnamese), Anacostia has Frederick Douglas and an excellent museum devoted to Black culture in the city, and there are many more. See the Washington that lives and breathes and staffs the various agencies and restaurants and stores, and which worries less about what the Congress is doing than what the Nats are doing.

5. Check out the culture. DC is the most active city culturally in the US, except for New York. With over 80 professional theatre companies and venues, National Orchestra, Ballet, Opera. There are free concerts daily at the Kennedy Center, four service band organizations locally, and any number of affodable things to do with your evenings.

Addition: If you don't have children, then I'd say the best time is late April/early May (spring but after the Cherry Blossoms - they are beautiful, but the city is so packed as to be impossible to get around in, and everything is expensive) or late September/early October.

In other words, shoulder season.

i love it here all the time, but i would say that spring is the best when the cherry blossoms are blooming. the whole city looks like a fairytale setting then. that would be in late march or early april. and if you're here then, you definitely should check out all the blossoms around the tidal basin and the jefferson memorial. there's also tons of live performances taking place at the memorial every day during the cherry blossom festival, and there's a parade. you can check here for specific event info and for the dates that the blossoms are supposed to be at their "peak."

http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival...

It depends on whether or not you want to deal with a lot of people or just a small group. If you don't have kids the best time to come is in late April or the month of May. While the schools are still going on, they you only have school groups to deal with and they are not usually very big. Any of the Smithsonian Museums are nice. I love going to the Air and Space Museum. Hope this helps.

Get set for the 2008 National Cherry Blossom Festival -
March 29 - April 13, 2008; with the Parade on Saturday, April 12, 2008!
And see all the buildings in the Smithsonian Institution--that wil take a long time.

If I were you, I'd aim for September....the weather is usually ok-ish then, and most of the kiddies are in school, and not touring yet....so fewer crowds

Must sees depend on what you're into....we've got tons of art, history, museums and the Exorcist stairs

I think the best time to visit is May.聽 It's often cold during the Cherry Blossom Festival, which is earlier.聽 Walk around the Tidal Basin, which is only a block or two from the Holocaust museum.聽 The Jefferson Memorial has an underground exhibit.聽 Be sure to see the African Art museum; it's unusual and very interesting.聽 If you're into plants, go to the Botanical Gardens, which is across the street (to the southeast) of the National Museum of the American Indian.

before it snows

April/May. It gets really hot and humid in the summer. Be sure to go to the Smithsonian. Contact your congressman to get passes to the white house tour. Just about all the big sites are free. Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial. Take the tour of the mint and of the FBI. You also might want to take in the National Zoo. Just about everything is on the metro line so you don't have to rent a car. When I go I fly into DCA and take the metro to a hotel.

Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring. As long as they don't bloom early this year again!

Spring is a very popular time of year in Washington DC. The end of March and first week in April are especially nice because that's when the cherry blossoms are near their peak, the weather is good and overall it's a nice time of year. It's also crowded though because of that, and also it's when schools are on vacation (grade schools as well as colleges). It seems to be a big destination for middle school trips.... so lots of tour buses and stuff.

The Holocaust Museum is worth it for sure. The National Gallery of Art and any of the Smithsonian museums are worth visiting too- depends on your interests and how much time you have. The National Gallery is a world-class art museum and has an impressive permanent collection and always has great temporary exhibits too. My other favorite museum is the American History Museum (I'm not sure if it has re-opened yet or not though, last time I was in DC it was closed for extensive renovations). The Air and Space is another popular museum. And of course all the memorials and monuments are nice to see as well - the Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, Vietnam War, WWII, Korean War - any of those are worth at least a brief visit if you have time. For more info. on the museums - I'd go to their websites www.si.edu or www.nga.gov. The good thing about any of these tourist sites is that they're all free, so you can go to a museum for an hour or even less and not feel like you have to spend all day or like you got ripped off.

The only one that's really overrated is the Washington Monument. To go up to the top you have to wait in line for a long time to get a ticket (it's free but I guess they want to control the number of people going up). Anyway it's not worth it in my opinion.

As far as nightlife - go to Georgetown, that's where most of the action is, or to Northwest DC (especially Dupont Circle/Adams Morgan). That's where the best bars, clubs, restaurants, etc... are.