United States is a huge country. If you want to visit different cities they may be far from each other. Fortunatelly, in the East Coast there are a few of them very close. So close that the best way to travel between them is by bus or car! Therefore, if you live in NYC like me, you can visit Boston, Washington DC or Philadelphia in a weekend. In this first trip I decided to go to DC. I am going to give you some tips for your trip!
You better take the bus
I prefer trains to buses but it is true that the best option here is the bus. The train takes only 1 hour less but can cost up to 10 times more! There are different companies with a lot of buses between the two cities so you will find the one that better fits your needs. They cost around 30$. I take mine in Penn Station in NYC and I arrived to Union Station in DC.
Where to stay
The one good thing about DC is that the most of they monuments and places to visit are in the same spot: The National Mall. Thus, is better to find a lodging close to the Mall. You can find a place far for the mall but well connected with the subway or bus too, but I find a room very close to Union Station.
What to reserve
As I said before, all around the National Mall you have most of the important monuments and museums to visit. The best thing about the museums in DC, the Smithsonian Museums, is that they are fre e! But in order to visit some of them you need to reserve. I recommend you to make your reservations at least one week before going, but better 2 or even 4. The two museums where you need to reserve are the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of African American History. Trust me, both worth the visit! Other two monuments where you need to reserve is the Capitol and the Library of Congress. The last one is a must, you cannot imagine how beautiful is inside! If you want to access to the top of the George Washington Monument I recommend you to go early in the morning to reserve a ticket because they go fast.
What to visit
All the museums and monuments mentioned before, and other ones worldwide known as the Lincoln Monument. But I strongly recommend to visit the National Gallery, the National Museum of American Indian History and the National Museum of Natural History. If you visit DC from NYC you may thing that you don´t need to visit the last one but ATTENTION! They have a butterfly pavilion with living butterflies! It is very small but it is super beautiful. I totally recommend to visit this!
Where to eat
You will spend most of the days all around the National Mall. Ergo the fastest and cheapest option is ordering food in one of the many food trucks you will find all around the national mall. There are a lot of options.
Not everything is in the National Mall
One you have visited all you could in the National Mall, it is time to go to Georgetown. It is an old neighborhood that looks like an English town. The most famous thing to eat there are the cupcakes. I recommend you Bakeshop, they have a lot of types, and they are less expensive than I previously thought.
