Visiting DC, any recommendations?

When I visited DC, I awoke around 6 pm one weekday morning, unable to fall back asleep. After tossing and turning for half an hour, I decided I'd rather be anywhere else than in bed, so I put on some clothes and sneaked out of the hotel room so as to not disturb my friend.

The morning has a completely different vibe: students are walking to class; federal employees are marching to work with their badges, suits, and briefcases; and tourists are still asleep. The national mall is virtually empty, the monuments untouched by pedestrians. When I approached the Lincoln Memorial, there was only one other person around. Inside the memorial, there were only three of us: me and the custodians.

Besides that, the bonsai garden is pretty cool.

Here are some suggestions

1. Rent Capital Bikeshare. The network of docks is very good and few American Cities have this extensive a bike network.

2. Visit Hillwood Mansion & Gardens. Perfect for Orchids in February (in the greenhouse). The Russian art is an impressive collection. Of course, if you have already hit the Smithsonian, you may be "museum-ed" out which is okay too

3. You can get access to the gallery of the house of representatives by going to your congressperson's office and asking for tickets. At least it used to be that simple, no idea if that is still the case after 01.0301.06. The official tours will be more informative though, so I would suggest combining them.

4. Go to Georgetown and walk or bike along the C & O. Sidenote: it's probably, along with the connecting GAP trail, the best American car-free bike tour, as it goes all the way to Pittsburgh.There are also (used to be??) Ferries between Georgetown and Alexandria. Don't forget to overpay for your cupcake.

5. See if the Kennedy Center has any concerts. Some of them are free. They should have a shuttle from the foggy bottom metro.

6. Unconventional food depends on where your from. The DC area has a large ethiopian community, so its a good opportunity to sample the cuisine if you haven't before. Also, DC is very vegan-friendly, with many establishments, particularly near the H street corridor, for some reason. If that interests you and you have a high budget, Fancy Radish might be worth a visit. If you are more budget concientious, I would visit one of the locations of Shouk, for a fast casual experience.

7. Have a proper cup of coffee. A lot of places in the US don't have exposure to the third wave coffee movement. If you think Starbucks or Pete's is the best there is, DC has a wide range of coffeeshop's that certainly challenge that notion. I want to check out sweet science, and you certainly can if you are nearby, but I wouldn't go out of my way when there are so many good options.

I hope your trip to the city was fun. I am interested in what you ended up doing and if there were any highlights.

Food

Northern Virginia has very good food options.

I would recommend Banh Mi DC Sandwich in Falls Church, which is also right next to Pho 75. Both are excellent Vietnamese options.

If you like Korean food, Honey Pig BBQ and Lighthouse Tofu in Annandale are excellent. If you are going with friends, there are also some very fun Korean karaoke joints in the area as well that are a ton of fun.

Going into D.C., Rasika is a very excellent Indian restaurant. Izakaya Seki is fantastic hole in the wall Japanese small plates and charcoal grill spot in NE.

Entertainment

If you like sports, I would recommend checking out a Wizards, Capitols, or DC United game.

For music, The Anthem is the nest venue in D.C. hands down and if someone is playing there that you like, you should definitely check it out. Other great concert stops are 930 Club, Black Cat, and Lincoln Theater.

Museums and Galleries

Some more off the beaten path type stops during the day that I think are worth checking out are the Botanical Garden right in downtown, as well as the Hirschhorn. The Hirschhorn has a very cool Yayoi Kusama infinity mirror exhibit that is a must see but you either need to get tickets in advance or show up early to see if you can grab a spot.

Drinking / Going Out

Arlington is mostly bars/clubs for yuppies if that is your thing.

The U Street area and H Street Corridor in Northeast are both a lot of fun. More music / dancing in U Street and H Street has a lot of bars and some jazz clubs as well.

I would avoid Dupont Circle, its mostly a shit show there at night.

Day Trips

If you want to go out and explore the wider area more, I would recommend checking out some of the wineries out further west in Northern Virginia. If you like hiking, the Billy Goat Trail along the Potomac is great. You can also see the Great Falls there and walk along the C/O Canal as well.

I spent an entire day inside the Smithsonian's human evolutions exhibit, and it was life changing.

I had grown up with a lot of intelligent design mumbo jumbo, and seeing actual physical evidence for evolution laid out chronologically was incredible.

Some of the lesser known museums are still extremely good. If you have any chance to line up a docent-led tour of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, do it. The secret to this and other small museums is to call and see if you can get the docent-led tours. They give you so much more insight than simply walking on your own and reading placards.

The highlight for me when I visited was the Smithsonian Aerospace Museum, well worth a visit!

Grew up in Northern Virginia. The DC area is a great place to visit.

• You have tons of free, world-class museums. Take advantage of them, especially the smaller ones. I saw the Hirshhorn mentioned, I also enjoyed the Freer and Sackler (yes, that one) Galleries. I also recommend the U.S. Botanical Garden.
• Of the paid museums, I like the Building Museum (by Judiciary Square Metro). Lots of great exhibits and a cool building.
• Mount Vernon is just down the River. Take the Fairfax Connector 101 Bus or DC Circulator 3, OR take a bike down the GW Parkway Trail. Also, I’d encourage stoping at Fort Hunt Park on the way.
• Eastern Market is a neat place to check out for food.

DC is easily one of the best areas of the country in terms of what it can offer. You can spend days just working through the various Smithsonian museums. The Museum of Natural History is probably one of the best in the world and features amazing displays, including the largest diamond in the world.

I would highly recommend checking out Afghan Bistro. Not in DC proper but it's not too far and it's excellent food.