This is the perfect place for a family vacation with active young children. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do is to be stuck in a tiny hotel room with an active 2 year old on a rainy day trying to figure out what to do. D.C. is great because if it’s a nice day, you can explore the many outdoor monuments and memorials. If it’s rainy, you can visit the FREE Smithsonian museums (museum admission is free to many museums in D.C.).
The D.C. metro is easy to navigate and a wonderful way to explore the city with your family. We stayed at the Hyatt Place Arlington Courthouse (link here), and took the metro all over the city. It was a fast way to see a lot in a short amount of time.
Because we had an active 2 year old on this trip, we didn’t focus too much on the food. (Though D.C. has many amazing restaurants). We had the free breakfast at our hotel and went for inexpensive and fast eating mainly subs, pizza, salads, etc at places where you order, get your food and sit down. (No waiting for a waitress). This helped our little one have more patience for other waiting situations during the trip (waiting for the metro, or waiting to get into a museum).
My son’s favorite place was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (link here). After one of his naps, the first thing he said was, “Go see Neptune again.”
One of my husband’s favorite parts of the trip was seeing the Constitution at the National Archives.
My favorite places were the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. (Both had free admission!).
What are your favorite places to visit with your family? What are your tips for making it a great trip? Let me know in the comments below!