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D.C. Area Babies
sept9107bride
member
traveling to DC with a 16 month old?
sept9107bride
member
Hi all! First off I want to say that I absolutely love your city/metro area and wish I could live there! That being said I was ESCTATIC when DH said LO and I could come with him on a business trip to DC next month with him. so now I start the planning....
- we'll probably stay right near the capitol. do you recommend getting a car and renting a car seat? bringing our own car seat? taking a taxi with a car seat? this this the biggest area I'm in the dark about.
- how friendly are the museums with toddlers? I'll probably hit up one of my favorites - the garden with LO and some other places but I'm not sure where the ideal places to take him would be.
- any restaurants you know of that are somewhat decent/historical but won't be upset at us bringing a toddler into?
any advice would be soooo greatly appreciated!
Asher Thomas 5.19.10
Miles Edmund 12.29.11
Liam Robert 1.21.14
Baby 4...ok probably another boy here haha 9.20.15
This discussion has been closed.
Re: traveling to DC with a 16 month old?
If you're staying downtown, you probably won't want a car unless you plan to go out to the suburbs more than see the typical DC sites. Parking can be expensive and hard to find near the museums. It's legal to have babies in taxis without a car seat, though you have to judge your own comfort level with that. When I was a tourist here I always did a lot of walking or riding the metro, so you might not end up in a lot of cabs.
The museums are always filled with kids - I think the biggest limitation is what your own kid can handle on a given day (fitting in time for naps and meals when needed). Natural history is filled with great stuff for little ones, but DH has taken our DD to the National Gallery and she had fun just running around the hall near the cafeteria.
We tend not to take DD out to restaurants in DC much, and I don't know what you mean by historical (there are plenty of good restaurants, but to me most don't have much history to them). Depending on where you stay near the Capitol, 8th St. SE may or may not be close. We like Belga Cafe and Matchbox, and at least for brunch they are very kid-friendly.
I would second not worrying about a carseat/rental car. Even if you wanted to go to Bethesda or Arlington/Alexandria, it's still very metro accessible.
In terms of the museums, they are all pretty kid-friendly. I will say if you have time to over to the National Zoo, it would probably be most interesting for LO. The Natural History has a really fun bug exhibit and the National Building Museum's Building Zone is great for toddlers (although there is an admission there).
In terms of historical eateries, the only one that is coming to mind is Old Ebbitt Grill. We've never had a problem bringing DD, but we are also usually going to dinner earlier than the "no kids" crowd. I'll ask my husband, who is a DC tour guide, if he has more suggestions. (We usually eat out in the suburbs.)
thanks! I guess the reason I was thinking "historical" is because Old Ebbitt is the only place I've eaten in DC before so of course it stood out in my mind. but any recommendations would be wonderful! I truly appreciate it!
All of the museums are kid-friendly, so I'd choose based on your own interests. If the weather is nice, the zoo is great for kids. Ditto pp about the toddler play area at the National Building Museum.
As for restaurants, I recommend going to dinner on the early side (before 6 pm). I think you could take a toddler to Old Ebbitt. We've also taken LO to some of Jose Andres' restaurants (Jaleo and Zaytinya) for lunch or early dinners. I highly recommend them! I also recommend Teaism for breakfast or lunch. If you're visiting museums, the cafe at the American Indian museum is surprisingly good. And the National Gallery has really yummy gelato.
The restaurant Matchbox has two locations - one downtown in Chinatown/Verizon Center and the other on 8th St. SE, which is bigger I think and it's very kid-friendly. The food is great! Go early, though. They don't take reservations and they fill up quickly. We've gone before 7 and never had trouble getting a table.
As for the museums - my friend's son loved cruising around any and all the museums, Air & Space museum has a lot of kid-friendly areas, mostly geared towards older kids, but he enjoyed looking at everything. Good luck!