LogFAQs > #963458080

Parking decks are decent in general, just pick the first one near your destination. But are you going for a protest, or cherry blossom season? Driving/parking in the city is a disaster those days. Park at a metro in Arlington/Alexandria and take the blue/yellow line into the city instead. Capitol bikes are the best if the weather is fine, since most of the city is in a 2 mile area and there's lots of bike trails, especially in tourist areas.

Do you just want to see touristy stuff? There's a ton of awesome local stuff in DC but you prob can't see it in a half day. If you rarely come to DC then a quick tour of a bunch of touristy stuff makes sense. In about 4 hours you could bike very leisurely from the Capitol through the mall, around BLM plaza (although it's been neutered now), then Tidal Basin (esp if cherry blossom season) & the outdoor memorials in that area towards Lincoln, then take the river trails past the Kennedy Center to Georgetown for lunch/dinner. Explore anything that catches your eye on the way. There's a lot of cool little side gardens and exhibits along the way.

If you can spare 2h for a museum, def do Planet Word. Super modern and innovative interactive AR exhibits in a cool location. Also it's free and doesn't need reservations 1 month in advance (typically).