A Long Weekend in Washington DC with Kids

First things first, BOOK. THINGS. IN. ADVANCE. Your museum visits, your tours, your dinner plans. Most of the Smithsonian, which are free, require or strongly encourage advanced time-slotted tickets. If you don't there is a high chance you'll be waiting outside in long lines. We were able to skip the line and walk past dozens of people who had been waiting forever because we booked prior to visiting. Most of them allow entry within the hour after your scheduled time, which is very helpful when you're trying to find your way there or misjudged how long the tour before your visit would take.

Public transportation is a must, and it's the easiest way to get around the city. I highly recommend staying near a metro stop and getting passes. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy and quick. Traffic isn't as bad as in other major cities, but parking is pretty expensive. There is also a free shuttle that makes several stops between the National Mall, the Wharf and L'Enfant Plaza. My 2-year-old is obsessed with modes of transportation, so she absolutely loved riding the busses and the “train.”

Let's talk about the White House. If you're able to schedule tours at the White House or US Capitol, try not to schedule much else for that day, and allow it to be a loose plan. Your time slot is subject to change at a moment's notice without providing any information. We were scheduled for 11 am and didn't end up going in until two. We went to the entrance and the secret service agent said it had been pushed back a few hours, but couldn't be more specific. I had to call the White House Visitor Center. Which was only minimally helpful until I asked my questions in a different way, to which they could say the tours were postponed until two. The bottom line is to have a plan, but allow for flexibility.

The White House does not allow any bags, food, drinks or strollers. As a person with a toddler, this is a MAJOR hurdle. Our issue was that we were not staying nearby. We did not want to have to go all the way back to our hotel to get our stuff, then come all the way back to go to the museums. This was the one day that we drove in and paid for parking. I used the app Spot Hero and reserved a spot less than a half a mile away from the White House. This app allows you to pay ahead and guarantee yourself a spot, and in my experience, is often cheaper than just showing up. When they say no bags, they mean no bags. Not even a fanny pack, and they do not hold your items. They WILL turn you away and not feel even a little sorry about it. The tour itself was only a half hour once you get through security, so load up those kids with snacks and water prior to entering and they should be fine. We left all the forbidden items in the car and went back for them after the tour. They also do not have public restrooms, and direct you to use the ones at the White House Visitor Center a block away.

The museums are awesome, but there are a lot of them and they take much longer than you'd think to get through them. Expect to only get through two, maybe three per day, depending on the size of the museum, so plan accordingly. Most of them also do not allow food, but do allow water and strollers. We really enjoyed the Air and Space Museum, The Holocaust Museum and the International Spy Museum. Once again, make sure you get advanced tickets so you can skip the lines. There are some day of tickets that are available every day, but I wouldn't rely on them. Anything with the Smithsonian label is free, but the International Spy Museum, the National Law Enforcement Museum, ARTECHOUSE DC and the National Children's Museum are not free. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see all of the museums we wanted to, but that's just an excuse to go back, right?

In the same vein, I would not recommend going to the Holocaust Museum with littles. It's a heavy, quiet few hours with no food, and my little did NOT do well with it. She was hungry and bored and loud. At some point I had to just give in and give her the phone with Little Baby Bum queued up with the volume very low. It was a great experience for my ten-year-old, though. It was important for me to share some family history with her in a way that she could understand with visuals that weren't too graphic. There was a lot of reading involved, so keep that in mind when considering if this would be a good stop for your family. It's not impossible to do with a toddler, just difficult, so if you're like me and that museum is a must for you, just brave it. Make sure they are well-fed beforehand and have a form of quiet entertainment on standby.

My 2-year-old absolutely loved the Children's Museum. It has a few designated 3-and-under areas, as well as a huge, 3-story play structure (don't worry, they can't fall out). My 2-year-old would have stayed there all day if I let her. My 10-year-old was entertained for a bit, but she got bored after awhile. She's not overly adventurous, so she didn't have much interest in the play structure and she moved through the stuff she was interested in rather quickly. I'd definitely say the best age range for this place is 2-10ish, unless your older child is a huge climber. They had arts and crafts areas, a paper airplane station, a Paw Patrol station, a Spongebob station and more.

Seeing the monuments is a must. We did it at night, which I strongly suggest. It's hot and muggy in DC, and doing it after the sun goes down is by far the way to go if you don't do well with heat. Shade is a bit sparse between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial unless you walk under the trees instead of near the Reflecting Pool. There are far fewer people out and about, and the monuments are beautifully lit up. My kids had a blast running around the grassy areas and watching the ducks swimming and sleeping in the Reflecting Pool. Photos were a bit harder to take, but the flash photography rule doesn't apply out there.

We ate so much good food on this trip. My absolute favorite was Filomena Ristorante in Georgetown. It claimed to be authentic Italian, but I was skeptical. Going to Italy made me a pasta snob, but I made the reservations anyway because the Italian name of the restaurant encouraged me. When you walk in the front door, you're met with a staircase going down into the restaurant and a windowed wall to your right. The windows allow you to see into a room where an adorable Italian woman is making homemade pasta right before your eyes. I was immediately excited, and the food did not disappoint. I had the broccoli con gnocchi with a glass of prosecco, and finished it off with a small, complimentary glass of amaretto. They did not have a kid's menu, so take note before signing into Open Table. My 2-year-old eats whatever or nothing, so she picked at my food, and my 10-year-old had spaghetti and meatballs. The service was excellent, as was the vibe. Highly recommend.

Some honorable mentions include Milk and Honey at The Wharf (which was my favorite until Filomena Ristorante), Tatte Bakery and Café, Call Your Mother, and Makers Union. Milk and Honey has awesome reviews for brunch, but we had dinner there and it was delicious. Even my picky 2-year-old shared my grilled portobello sandwich with gouda and arugula with me. This child won't eat pizza or mac and cheese, but she ate Milk and Honey's portobello sandwich. Once again, no kid's menu that I could see, but my 10-year-old had the fried fish and devoured it.

Tatte was very Instagrammable with its pastry counter and light, airy feel. This was good for a quick but filling breakfast. You can order a full breakfast or something small and still have time to catch the metro. Call Your Mother is a Jewish deli that serves breakfast sandwiches on bagels, lox, latkes and coffee beverages. This is another good one for a quick grab and go, but it tastes like anything but a quick grab and go. If I could eat at this place every day for the rest of my life, I would. There are several locations of both restaurants all around the DC area. Makers Union is right next door to Milk and Honey and has a fantastic brunch. I had the mixed berry waffles and a mango mimosa, which were delicious. The decor is super cute with neon lights that say brunch things. Dark blue velvet booths, dark woods and antique books. Also very instagram-able.