Washington D.C.: What the visitors center won’t tell you
One secret about D.C. is driving—you can’t just easily circle the block. Like a wagon wheel pattern, if you think taking a bunch of rights will eventually lead you back to the place you were originally at, you are sadly mistaken.
There are also circle lanes. These can become a big annoyance, especially if you’re not in the correct lane (the outside lane) to get out of the circle. Otherwise, you will be driving in a circle for a while until traffic breaks or someone graciously lets you out.
To avoid getting lost and stuck in circle traffic altogether, the best thing to do is, find a parking lot near a metro station and use the transit system to get you where you need to go.
D.C. is not the best place to test the speeding laws, speed cameras have been installed at most intersections. If you speed and a camera catches you, two weeks later, you will receive a ticket for speeding (approximately $40) through the mail. Most of the popular tourist attractions are at least two city blocks away from the metro station, making the city a walkable attraction.
Yet some more forgotten tourist advice. is that most government-run tourist attractions close approximately at 5 p.m. So, if you have limited time and want to hit up all the popular spots, you might want to start early.
Two of D.C.’s most popular tourist places have hidden truths to them. When people think of D.C., they think of the White House. You can’t just walk up to the White House and expect a tour. First, you must submit a request to tour the White House to your area’s Congress member and be cleared to take the tour.
Once that is done being processed and you are cleared. You must find where they give the tickets out and stand in line. The tickets, ironically enough, are not given out anywhere in the vicinity of the White House.
Another popular tourist attraction is Ford’s Theatre & Lincoln Museum and the accompanying tour of the Peterson House across the.
This theater is still a working theater and holds plays to this day. What they neglect to tell you, until you get there, is that if a play is being rehearsed or constructed, the tours are closed for the duration.
I am not telling you all this to discourage you from going to D.C. The capital is a great place to visit with something for everyone. I just wanted to let anyone interested in going know about the little snags a tourist might hit, so that one can avoid getting annoyed by traffic, receiving a speeding ticket well after the fact and be able to tour the spots you want to, when you want to.
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