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Two-day tour description for Washington
DC
| First-Timers Tour |
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| Visiting Washington, DC for the first time can be an overwhelming adventure.
Be sure to plan your time wisely and select what you must see in Washington,
and then come back and visit us to see the rest! |
| Day 1: Begin your day with a tour of the
U.S. Capitol, seat of the legislative branch of the United States' government.
The Capitol Guide Service offers a free 45-minute guided tour, which includes
the current chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, when
these bodies are not in session. |
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Depart the Capitol and stroll across the street to the U.S.
Supreme Court, home of the judicial branch of the government. On the ground
floor visitors can view changing exhibits which depict the history of the
Court. |
| Just a block away is the Library of Congress, the world's
largest library with 26 million books, films, documents and photographs.
Daily tours begin at the James Madison Memorial Building. |
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During lunch you can continue your tour of this historic area
with a walk through Union Station. his beautifully restored train station
now houses shops, restaurants, a nine-screen movie complex, plus a busy
Amtrak and Metro subway station. |
| A must-see in Washington are one of the 14 Smithsonian Institution
Museums, which include the National Air & Space Museum, National Museum
of African Art, National Museum of American Art, and the National Museum
of Natural History. |
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Since it is impossible to see all 14 museums in a single visit,
pick a few and save the rest for your next trip. Next, visit the National
Gallery of Art. The West Building features a collection of international
masterpieces from the 13th to the 19th centuries, including the only da
Vinci painting in the Americas. The modern East Building, designed by I.M.
Pei, houses a unique collection of 20th-century |
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Complete your afternoon with a visit to the National Archives which displays
America's most treasured documents, those which define our government
and national philosophy: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution,
and the Bill of Rights. This evening visit one of Washington's most colorful
neighborhoods: eclectic Adams Morgan! Where you can choose your favorite
cuisine from Italian to Ethiopian, Vietnamese to Russian, Japanese to
French, Latin American to Afghan, there is a menu to whet even the most
adventuresome appetite!
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| Day 2: Begin the day by visiting one of
Washington's newest attractions, the haunting United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum. The museum traces the story of Jewish persecution under the Nazi
regime from its beginnings in 1933 to liberation in 1945. Or visit the Pentagon
at the Potomac River. |
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For lunch, head to the Southwest Waterfront area
and the restaurants along Maine Avenue and Water Street. Begin the afternoon
by visiting the Jefferson Memorial, where you will find a 19-foot bronze
statue of the third President of the United States. |
| Follow the tidal basin around to the FDR Memorial,
consisting of four out door "gallery" rooms featuring ten bronze sculptures
depicting the life and times of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. From
there, walk the National Mall, stopping along the way to visit the Korean
Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington
Monument. |
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Lincoln Memorial, the president of the Civil War
era |
| Also, be sure to stop and take a photograph of
the White House, home of every U.S. President except George Washington.
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After you walk the mall, cross the Potomac and
visit Arlington National Cemetery. This sacred, 500-acre site contains the
graves of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert and wife Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, as well as Arlington House, the hilltop mansion of revered
Southern hero Robert E. Lee. |
| This evening's adventure takes you to Georgetown,
a neighborhood that actually pre-dates the city of Washington! Once a thriving
Colonial port, Georgetown is a historic area and a "shopoholic's" dream,
with its boutiques, national brand stores, and a Victorian-style shopping
mall. |
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Visitors and Washingtonians flock to Wisconsin
Avenue and M Street to dine at one of the many fine restaurants with outdoor
cafes. In the warmth months, begin with a cocktail at one of Washington
Harbor's dockside cafes along the Potomac River and plan the tour for the
next day - e.g. visiting the FBI-Building. |
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Books about Washington
DC:
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