washington
Advertisement
By Air
The Washington, DC area is served by three major airports. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport located along the Potomac in Arlington provides domestic flight access into the city. Dulles International located at the border of Fairfax and Loudoun County, Virginia provides both domestic and international access form throughout the world. Baltimore Washington International Airport also services the Washington area. It is located between Washington and Baltimore along the Baltimore Washington Parkway.
By Train
Amtrak provides service into downtown Washington at Union Station located near the US Capitol. Service is also available via suburban stations Alexandria, Virginia and New Carrolton, MD. The Amtrak Auto train terminal is located at Lorton in Fairfax County, Virginia. Here passengers can off load their automobiles form departure points served by the autotrain to tour the capital area by auto. Greyhound Bus service is available from various stations in the area.
By Bus
The Washington Metro, the regional subway system, provides clean, safe and reliable transportation to almost all of the major attractions in Washington, DC and extends to the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia. Although it is crowded during rush hour and when there is a big event going on downtown, taking the Washington Metro is usually cheaper and easier than finding a place to park in Washington, DC.
By car
The Capital Region are is easily accessible from the I-95 corridor which dissects the area. I-95 becomes !-495 (The Capital Beltway) and encircles Washington, DC and the inner suburbs of Virginia and Maryland, providing easy access to Washington and suburban attractions. From I-95 (northbound) approaching from south of Washington, DC, I-395 runs from the Capital Beltway into downtown Washington, DC through the portions of Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington. Also from the west I-66, runs from the intersection of I-81 in the northwestern area of Virginia near Front Royal, through the Virginia suburbs (Arlington and Fairfax counties) to across the Potomac River terminating near the Lincoln Memorial on Constitution Avenue in downtown Washington, DC. Access to the area is also provided by US Routes 50 and 29 from the east and west and US Route 1 from north to south. It is highly recommended that visitors avoid these roads during rush hours during the week.
Advertisement
White House
The official residence of the President of the United States is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, two blocks north of the Mall near the Washington Monument. It is best viewed from the Ellipse, a large open field behind the White House, or from Lafayette Park in front of the building. (Where various protesters camp.) The White House is no longer open to the public for tours due to security considerations
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is the most prominent feature of the DC skyline. It is the 555-foot (185-meter) high, white-marble obelisk at the top of a slight rise in the center of the Mall. It is best viewed from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the western end of the Mall where an inverted image appears in the large reflecting pool. You can ride an elevator to the 500-foot observation deck any day from 9 AM until 4:45 PM. Tickets are available at a kiosk near the base of the monument or they can be reserved in advance via telephone or on the Internet.
National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum is nearly everyone's favorite. It displays many original historic aircraft and spacecraft as well as full scale models of a Lunar Lander, a spacelab, numerous rockets and aircraft. Don't miss the Imax Theater for a spectacular film on flight and the planetarium star show.
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a beautiful white marble building of Greek Classical design situated at the western end of the Mall near the banks of the Potomac River and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. It contains a 19-foot (6-meter) high marble statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln. The Vietnam War memorial and the Korean War memorials lie on either side of the reflecting pool just before this monument and the new Roosevelt Memorial is but a short walk to the south. The Lincoln memorial is open to the public all hours of the day and night.
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier (14,410 ft), also known as Mount Tacoma, in the south-west of Washington state, is one of a geologically recent chain of volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains that in the last few years have made news with spectacular eruptions. The volcano grew in size from the late Tertiary period onwards, the crater becoming ever larger. Over the last 2000 years it has been highly active. Its last major eruption was in the 19th c., but the clouds of vapour that still rise from the crater are a reminder that the volcano is not yet quiescent. From the fields of N?v? in the summit region over two dozen glacier tongues reach down on all sides. On Mount Rainier is the largest mass of ice on any mountain in the United States outside Alaska. This is ideal territory for mountaineers and ice climbers.
Information The park is accessible throughout the year, but many roads and tracks are closed in winter. The best time for a visit is summer, when the rich mountain flora is in flower.
Information not available
June - September -> 31(°C) - Summer
December - February -> 7(°C) - Winter
Advertisement
Photo Gallery
![](javascript:winopenlocfront("1284967980326.jpg"))
![](javascript:winopenlocfront("1284967981325.jpg"))
![](javascript:winopenlocfront("1284967981704.jpg"))
![](javascript:winopenlocfront("1284967981793.jpg"))
![](javascript:winopenlocfront("128496798125.jpg"))