Hi gang, I'm planning a trip to our nations' Capitol this spring and I need some advice. I don't mind driving there, but I've heard that the traffic can be horrendous, and finding a place to park is a pain in the a$$. I've heard that the Metro is a great way to get around and that the price is right. Any opinions?

The Metro in DC is one of the nicest holes in the ground in the US. We stayed at the Marriott in Crystal City near the Pentagon and took the Metro daily into DC. You might spend more time on the escalators than on the train.

I used to live on "the Hill". Had a car, but rarely drove. Best way to get around is the Metro and walking.

Make sure you have a pair of comfortable shoes!

Metro and walking. A lot of the tourist stuff (museums/monuments) is pretty centrally located. Traffic is a b****. When I moved to Columbus, their heaviest city traffic = an unusually light off peak drive in DC.

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1984 300TD

We parked our motorhome NE of Washington and took the Metro. Great.

Watch out for the men's room in the main train station. Craig liked that bathroom as much as the one in Minneapolis.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Take the Metro.

Oh, ALL one way streets run the wrong way.

Oh 2 DC is famous for phantom parking tickets--ticketing cars that are parked legally, just to raise $$$

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

When we went there about ten years ago, we parked our camper trailer at a park on the north side near a train line and took in the train the first day, then walked around. The next day and every one after that we drove and parked at the train station and then walked from there. One evening we drove out through a bad part of town. We made it ok but I don't recommend it.

Great things to see there.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

When I go, I usually stay out west of the city and drive in to the second train station on the orange line. Huge parking garage and dirt cheap. If you get there after 9:30 am (I think) you can get an all day pass for $5 or so. Best deal around. Tube system runs just about everywhere. Get the map.

Probably the two best ways to get around are the same as in New York City:

By bus, and by ambulance.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Here's some Metro info : http://www.wmata.com/

Most Metro parking lots require you to buy an electronic SmarTrip card to pay for parking upon exit.

Coming from NJ it would make sense to stay at a place in or near Bethesda (if your wallet can stand it) and near the Metro Red line. Then you can be in downtown DC in 20 mins. Areas east of the city are dicy.

If you drive in, have a good current DC area map, and have plenty of change to feed the meters. Traffic is tolerable on weekend mornings, and its nice to sometimes have your car handy. Metro does not go everywhere.

Ditto on the comfortable shoes.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

I'm glad you mentioned that. I live here and parking tickets are DC's de facto commuter tax. If you drive, park in a parking garage. Never park on the street, because you WILL get a ticket.

The Metro should get you most of the places you want to go and you'll see a lot more walking than riding in a car, anyhow.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

My wife and I stayed in Old Towne Alexandria for 9 days with daily trips into DC for sight seeing we never had a car we used the Metro each day with a seven day pass for each of us. It is or was (this was several years ago) inexspensive but we thought is was a great deal. We could get with in two to three blocks of any sight or museum we wanted to see. I highly recommend the Metro.

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Keith Schuster
2006 E350 98K miles
2013 Ford Explorer 15K miles

I just moved to the area and believe me, you do NOT want to drive anywhere near DC! It is a total mess. Drivers are distracted, accidents everywhere, bad bad traffic, etc. Park at a Metro outside of the district and take the train in. You do have to buy a smart(p)ass at most parking lots to pay (the pass is $10 and parking is $4), but you can also use it to get around in the system. Check out the website mentioned in a previous post for lots that will take a credit card if you don't want to buy a smart(p)ass...

Oh you also have to remember that the Metro bills you at the end station so you need to get out your pass when you get off the train.

One more thing... get a good GPS to use when walking in the city as it is not laid out very well and is confusing as heck. It is done in radii and not on a grid... (One more thing the Feds could not get right )

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

Shame on you, LuvMB! Lenfant is spinning in his grave!

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Get a good hotel in the city, its worth the extra money. Drive in, park your car and you won't need it until you leave.

I forget where we stayed, but it was really, really close to everything.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200