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Before You Go, Prepare!

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Washington has more than you and yours will be able to see and do in one trip. Planning is essential. Here are some general principles:

1. Leave the car, bring a map. The Metro is one of the great subway systems, clean, safe, even cool-looking; as your train approaches, light panels in the platform floor flash. (When you're around Dupont Circle, stop at the Metro station, take the escalator to the bottom, and then ride back up. It's very steep and 482 feet long—either scary or thrilling, you decide.)

2. Timing is everything. There is no off-season in Washington, but some times are busier than others. In summer, things slack off, but there is a price to be paid. Many government offices aren't in session (which probably won't throw the kids into despair) but, more to the point, the weather in July and August is just disgusting; these months are the annual reminder that the place was originally a swamp. You can still have a fine time, but your hotel must, repeat must, have a pool.

3. Land of the free (admission, that is). Food and hotels are pricey here, but not the sights. The national monuments, zoo (excuse us, that's National Zoological Park), Smithsonian Institution museums, government offices, and Library of Congress are free.

4. The dark side. All the great monuments are both more impressive and less crowded at night.

5. You the people. Write your representative or senator well in advance of your visit. They're eager for you to like them and will ply you with VIP treatment at the White House, the Capitol, the FBI Building, the Bureau of Engraving, the Library of Congress, and Mount Vernon (which, by the way, is full of hands-on stuff for the kids to do while you enjoy the serene, rural beauty and thick aura of history—definitely worth the 16-mile drive out of town). VIP treatment means guaranteed tickets to these attractions without waiting in endless, soul-destroying lines.

Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.