Washington DC is a must-see for any serious traveler, with North America’s largest collection of huge monuments and free museums, plus great nightlife and interesting neighborhoods.
Almost every museum and interesting building is free to enter and tour, courtesy of the American taxpayer. This helps keeps costs reasonable, though food and drinks do also tend to be pricey in the main tourist centers. But the city also has many other non-free attractions like a hop-on, hop-off bus tour and the International Spy Museum. If you want to combine a few of these, and especially if you are traveling with children, you’ll want to read our review of the Go Washington DC Card.
| Population | 600,000 |
| Area | 5,400,000 |
| Timezone | UTC-5 |
| Currency | US dollar |
| Airports | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) |
Unlike most other tourist cities in the United States, Washington DC does not have an abundance of affordable food and drink options mixed within the tourist zone. If you are going to the museums then it’s best to eat before you get there because you don’t have many good options close by.
| Budget breakfast | Parts of the city lack fast food and casual dining options, so things can be pricey. | $7.50 - $11.00 |
| Budget lunch | There's some good fast food, but not much else in the budget category. Museum cafeterias are never good value. | $8.50 - $13.00 |
| Budget dinner | Plenty of great restaurants in the nightlife districts, but in the downtown hotel zone it can be tricky on a budget. | $12.00 - $20.00 |
| Beer (pint) | Go to the nightlife areas for fun bars and to avoid expensive hotel bars. | $6.00 - $9.00 |
| Cocktails (glass) | Again, prices range greatly and are highest in hotels and clubs. | $7.00 - $15.00 |
| Month | High F | Low F | PRECIP (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43 | 27 | 3.2 |
| February | 47 | 30 | 2.6 |
| March | 56 | 37 | 3.6 |
| April | 63 | 46 | 2.8 |
| May | 75 | 56 | 3.8 |
| June | 84 | 65 | 3.1 |
| July | 88 | 70 | 3.7 |
| August | 86 | 69 | 3.4 |
| September | 79 | 62 | 3.8 |
| October | 68 | 50 | 3.2 |
| November | 57 | 40 | 3.0 |
| December | 47 | 32 | 3.1 |
Washington DC has a fast-moving climate, with summers that can be unbearably hot and humid, and winters that can be frozen and snowy. For this reason the spring and autumn are the recommended times to visit, and the mild temperatures help make up for the large crowds.
| 21 Mar | 7:10am | 7:21pm |
| 21 Jun | 5:43am | 8:37pm |
| 21 Sep | 6:55am | 7:07pm |
| 21 Dec | 7:23am | 4:49pm |
This can be a tricky city for visitors since the downtown area is fairly small and hotels in the center can get away with charging a fortune. There are some cheap hotels in non-touristy parts of town, but honestly you are much better off in Virginia in the suburbs a bit, and public transportation does a great job of quickly getting you into the center during the day. On the other hand, cheap flights to Washington DC are usually easy to find due to 3 major airports in the region.
Hotels in Washington DC tend to be busy all year long, with prices that match New York City most of the time. This is a big tourist town and also huge for business travelers, and the cheapest time of year for hotels is January through March. High season is spring and autumn, and summer usually brings prices down a bit. Good deals can be had on weekends, but usually only at the business-oriented places.
| Rating | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
 | 50.00 - 120.00 |
| 60.00 - 184.00 |
| 72.00 - 270.00 |
| 190.00 - 325.00 |
| 334.00 - 650.00 |
| Type | Price(USD) |
|---|---|
| Hostel Bed | 24.00 - 40.00 |