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From presidential portraits to pro sports games, Penn Quarter & Chinatown buzz all day and night.
The museums along the National Mall draw raves, but that’s just part of DC's diverse offerings. Get the full scoop at the Newseum, an interactive museum devoted to the history of the news (locals love the Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery). Nearby, there's the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum. The National Portrait Gallery holds the most complete set of portraits of U.S. Presidents outside of the White House. Nearby there's the National Law Enforcement Museum, where visitors can participate in a training simulator and learn about the past, present and future of law enforcement. You can also discover fascinating Civil War history and the incredible work of Clara Barton at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. If there’s a hidden gem among them, consider it the National Building Museum, whose sprawling Great Hall is among the highlights of any exhibit throughout the city.
The 1862 playhouse where President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot also still functions as a working theater. Take in mostly American-themed shows (and an annual production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”) amid the grand Victorian decor.
Summer Evening in Palmer Alley at CityCenterDC - Where to Shop and Eat in Downtown Washington, DC
On 10 acres with sleek walkways and glassy street-level businesses, CityCenterDC is home to high-end boutiques including a dazzling, multi-level Dior outpost and Italian cashmere source Loro Piana.. Shop – or window-shop – these retail riches between 9th and 11th streets NW between H Street NW and New York Avenue NW.
Coffee lovers, this area has you covered, whether your preferred coffee shop experience is busting out some work or enjoying a sweet. For the coffee snob, we recommend Dolcezza, located in the buzzing CityCenterDC, which is equal parts coffeeshop and gelateria, and features Stumptown beans with its homespun, ice-cold Italian ice creams. Another great option is La Colombe's corner shop, which crafts all the usual fixings plus ready-to-drink canned draft lattes and cold brew.
If your entertainment taste runs toward Sondheim, not slapshots, head to a show at the Tony Award-winning Shakespeare Theatre Company, which has two playhouses in the neighborhood, or edgy Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, with its roster of new American plays in a bright, mod space.
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial - Washington, DC
The names of more than 20,000 law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty are carved on long, blue-gray marble walls at this park-like memorial. Statues of lions and their cubs at four corners of the site represent the protective nature of those who serve.
For more than three decades, this wisecracking comedy troupe has been skewering politicos on both sides of the aisle. Expect ripped-from-the-headlines skits and pun-ridden songs (“Deleter of the Facts” sung to the tune of “Leader of the Pack”).
In the 1880s, when the temperance movement was going strong, a booze-hating dentist named Henry D. Cogswell erected a tiny stone pavilion capped with a statue of a crane at 7th Street and Indiana Ave. NW. It once featured a water fountain, now, dry, to encourage teetotaling.
Now that you’re a Penn Quarter & Chinatown pro, explore more DC neighborhoods.
