If you pride yourself on quash the tourist traps in DC like the plague , then finding out that you ’re drop dead to be hosting a grouping of tourist for the weekend can be an unquiet prospect . While it totally stimulate sense that your mom and full cousin desire to see the sights ( you ca n’t gestate them to just hang out atIvy & Coneywith you all Saturday , excellent as that would be ) , it ’s also apprehensible that you really , really do n’t require to do anything that involves Segways , ducks , or riding a bus for pleasance . So book one of these term of enlistment instead and keep your self - respect .
Go on a helicopter ride
Be a baller – or just feel like one . OK , so the TSA ( pretty understandably ) is n’t exceedingly thrilled about the idea of helicopters flying willy - nilly all over the District itself , but if you ’re concerned in showing off the rest of the area , helicopters are still very much an option . Monumental Helicopters will merrily aid you show off the beauty of Annapolis , Baltimore , or the Chesapeake Bay , and they ’re just a 45 - minute driving from DC ( uh , assume the traffic is n’t horrifying … which we will acknowledge is occasionally a big supposal ) . Prices for tours start at under $ 400 , and include up to three multitude for that cost . You ’ll want to make a reservation at least a day in progression … or recollective , if you have a set mind on the itinerary .
Have a beer (or four) on the DC Brew Tours
As beer continues to take over DC , so do tour alternative that do n’t take riding around in a busbar , getting yelled at by a failed comic with a megaphone . DC Brew Tours offers tour parcel that ’ll whisk you safely from brewery to brewery , leave you the chance to sample from the best of the urban center ’s splendid local brewing scene , including DC Brau , Capitol City Brewing , and Right Proper . Both the daytime and eventide rides admit full beer - pairing meal in summation to the VIP tours , which form of makes these ride a totally good value at $ 90 a pop .
Kayak around the monuments
If your cousin really want to see all the monuments , a kayak tour has to be the least boring way for you to experience them . The tour includes instructors who will instruct you what you need to know about paddling , and guide who will give you the full rundown on all the monuments you pass ( and other items of bank note ) . Uh , ensure everyone in the party can swim , first . hold a spot on the website and be prepared to pay off $ 95 to each one .
… or check them out by cruise ship
OK , paddling around for four hours might not be everyone ’s version of a dandy time , but kicking back onboard a boat in all probability is . This 90 - minute of arc sail will make your visiting congenator happy , with highlights like the Jefferson Memorial ( it really is the prettiest one ) , the Kennedy Center , and the Washington Monument . No exercise need , $ 28 rotund - trip-up .
Go on a Civil War tour of the Congressional Cemetery
There are tours every Saturday during the warmer months , but on the third Saturday of each calendar month , the memorial park also hosts limited Civil War tours , free to the public . In addition to being a functioning burying ground , this cemetery is both very beautiful and friendlier than most : it host yoga classes , dogwalking groups , and film showing , so you do n’t have to finger bad about disturb the dead .
Explore the city’s underground (like, literal underground)
The old clandestine dud shelter – née streetcar station – beneath Dupont Circle is by all odds a space worth explore . Fortunately , it ’s attracted a squad that ’s dedicate to bear on and regenerate the space . While their recent , super - nerveless art project has been taken down ( it involved bubbles paste into stackable blocks , like giant Legos ) , the infinite has more surprises up its sleeve – and if you email , chances are you could tour it for $ 20 a pop . Be forewarned , however : this adventure is essentially half caving , and thus not appropriate for any chat kids .
Take a special tour of the Capitol
Sure , you may just show up and get corralled into a " visitor center . " But if you need to experience the Capitol in a real way , contact your senator ’s situation , and arrange for a tour . You ’ll demand to actually plan for this – like three months in advance – but it ’s so worth it . See if you ca n’t wheedle them into letting you see theweird little subwayunder the Capitol , too . barren .
Check out the Darth Vader perched on the Washington National Cathedral
Yeah , he ’s been theresince the 1980s . The Cathedral , glorious DC landmark that it is , offer a seasonal , rarefied , up - close coup d’oeil of its famous gargoyles . Show up during colder months , and you may still take a tour that ’s not recommended for anyone with acrophobia . It involves ascending 333 step to the top of the central tugboat . There ’s no charge for either tour , but pro tip : bestow opera glasses .
Go on a tour of DC’s amazing Ethiopian cuisine
Stroll from restaurant to eatery while sampling highlighting of Ethiopian cuisine . The District is known for having an dead phenomenal Ethiopian food scene , and as DC Metro Food Tours notes , " The 200,000 person community blow over 45 Ethiopian restaurants throughout the DC domain , more than any Ethiopian residential district in the United States . " They offer plenty of other food tours in the city – from Eastern Market to Adams Morgan – but for out - of - towners , this one should be the highlighting . $ 52 a pop .
Take a guided tour of the Supreme Court
Roam the dorm where some of the most important legal conclusion in our country are made . you’re able to do it on your own , or go for a docent - lead 30 - arcminute courtroom talk , 9:30am to 3:30pm , Monday through Friday , spare of care . From October through June , you could even catch the motor hotel in session Monday through Wednesday , 10 am to 3 pm . devoid .
Washington DC Ghost Tour
Given that this is a metropolis with a long , complicated chronicle , there have to be a few touch roving around the urban center , right ? pick up about confederacy , assassinations , and murder that took place right where you ’re walking . This may seem like a Halloween bodily function , but candidly , ghost tours are even more fun during seasons when spookiness is n’t the banner . Tickets are $ 17 a pop for adult .
Take the Mrs. Rosa Parks tour of The Mansion on O Street
The Mansion on O Street pop the question a multifariousness of delicious tours and hunt , including a Champagne Tour ( precisely what it sounds like ) , and a Penthouse Tour of the mansion ’s famous secret passageway and concealed door – including the Penthouse Suite – but the most inspiring , by far , is the Mrs. Rosa Parks tour . The illustrious civil right wing activist was a resident of the sign of the zodiac for over a X , and the duty tour offers visitors a chance to " visit her preferred rooms , view mementos , and hear inspiring stories of how she disturb us all . " $ 50 / soul .
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Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock
Monumental Helicopters|Perry Thorsvik
Courtesy of DC City Brew
Potomac River Boat Company
courtesy of Dupont Underground
Washington National Cathedral|Flickr/cisc1970
United States Supreme Court|Flickr/josullivan.59
Washington DC Ghost Tours
