Nine highlights of Washington DC most visitors miss

One glimpse from the plane window and I was smitten. Like a brazen flirty pass, Washington, DC, seduced me with its Monument. This colossal obelisk projects 169 metres heavenwards from the National Mall – the District of Colombia’s massive rectangle of lawn, and its symbolic heart. Understandably, many of the capital’s 20 million annual visitors head to DC for the Big Things – the US Capitol building (home to the US Congress), the White House (home to the president) and the Smithsonian Institution (home to around 157 million objects spread over 21 museums).

The US Capitol building is home to the US Congress.Credit: iStock

These, and many other notable sites represent a US past and identity that’s literally etched in the stone with the words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech in the Lincoln Memorial, and soaked in ink on the parchment of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights in the National Archives.

In some ways, these attractions – common backdrops in movies and TV series, from Forrest Gump to House of Cards– are also DC’s downfall. These museums and memorials garner all the attention. Few visitors leave time to explore beyond the “biggies”, having underestimated the appeal of the former first ladies’ frocks at the National Museum of American History. Or the Rodin artworks in the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Or the impact of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where the jarring journeys of African Americans are told through exhibits of slave ships and civil rights protests, and celebrated through hip-hop music and Chuck Berry’s Cadillac.

The Washington Monument projects 169 metres heavenwards from the National Mall.Credit: iStock

To see beyond the initial flaunts – the Mall, the surrounding boulevards (with US state names), and the neoclassical “temples”-cum-civic buildings (architects went to town after World War I) – you need to reach the next level. You need to disrobe DC. Unbutton the preppy white shirts and conservative Jackie O-style frocks, the unofficial uniforms of K Street lobbyists and those who work on “the Hill”, local-speak for the US Congress. Visit the following neighbourhoods and reach the (other) heart of DC to discover the city’s surprises.

Capitol Hill

One of DC’s oldest bookshops, Capitol Hill Books, is worth a browse.

East of the US Capitol Building, and DC’s most historical residential neighbourhood, Capitol Hill dates to the 1800s when early members of Congress frequented its taverns and boarding houses. Row houses, Federal-style buildings and grand mansions line narrow, leafy residential streets. These days, Barracks Row, an extension of a historic marine barracks, is a hotchpotch of homeware shops, coffee haunts and restaurants. After perusing the Eastern Market’s gourmet food stalls, browse in Capitol Hill Books, a delightfully messy three floors of second-hand and collectable books with handwritten subject labels, such as “hoity-toity titles” and “neither hoit nor toit”.

Waterfront DC

There is a smorgasboard of eating spots along District Wharf.

Two waterfront precincts – District Wharf (commonly known as The Wharf) and Navy Yard – have sprung up in the past six years, both with bars, restaurants and modern apartments. Stroll along District Wharf and make your choice from a smorgasbord of eating spots. My favourites? The casual Cuban-themed cafe, Colada Shop and Del Mar, an upmarket Spanish and seafood restaurant. Then check the packed schedule of The Anthem, where the likes of Foo Fighters and Bob Dylan have hit the stage. Further east, and occupying a recently refurbished shipbuilding and munitions port, is the slightly clinical grid of streets known as Navy Yard. It’s worth heading here for Albi, a Michelin-starred, Mediterranean-themed restaurant. Or down a few beers at Bluejacket Brewery after a baseball game at the Nationals Park stadium nearby.

Dupont Circle

The neighbourhood is crammed with colourful row houses.Credit: iStock

Dupont Circle is both a busy roundabout pinned by an attractive beaux-arts fountain, and a neighbourhood crammed with historic row houses. Of a Sunday, push your way past the dogs and strollers at Dupont Circle’s Farmers Market and join the queues for delicious, if pricey, fresh produce and a friendly chat with a stranger. Casual food spots dot the Circle’s boulevards. Climb a half-flight of wrought iron stairs to access Chiko that serves a blend of Chinese and Korean cuisine, and tuck into an “orange-ish chicken”, an elevated rendition of a sweet-sour takeaway favourite. For excellent third-wave coffee, join the digital nomads in Emissary, in the basement of a lovely Queen Anne-style mansion.

14th Street

‘Sneak’ into the bar of Chicken + Whiskey through a fridge door.

Gentrification occurred in 14th Street faster than the president’s motorcade that sometimes races through DC without warning. In two short decades, the strip between Logan Circle and just beyond U Street morphed from a seedy hotbed of car dealerships and “adult services” to DC’s liveliest social magnet. These days, a diverse crowd gathers in its overhauled spaces: LGBTQIA+ flags fly proudly in windows and smart, modern restaurants and sophisticated drinking dens are common. Faux speakeasy bars with quirky entrances are a trend: “sneak” into the bar of Chicken + Whiskey through a refrigerator door at the rear of the chicken joint. A cross-section of DC’s population gathers at Busboys and Poets for brunch, lunch or dinner. As a bonus, poets might be performing in its adjoining cultural space.

Adams Morgan

Adams Morgan is a nocturnal destination with a youthful vibe.Credit: iStock

Warts and all are on display along this densely-packed section of 18th Street in Adams Morgan where tattoo parlours abut grungy take-out joints and empanada hole-in-the walls stand adjacent to upmarket bars. This largely nocturnal destination attracts a youthful bunch, who down cheap pints in basement dives, and compare various herb-infused concoctions in chic rooftop bars. Walk the strip and make your choice. If you’re after cocktails with creative Middle Eastern flavours, plus reggae music, popular haunt The Green Zone has you covered.

U Street And Shaw

Ben’s Chili Bowl is a landmark on U Street.

The centre of Black cultural and intellectual life since the 1860s, U Street became known as Black Broadway, such was its entertainment scene; the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington cut their jazz teeth here. It took decades to rebound after its destruction during the 1968 riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Music lovers should check out what’s on at the 9:30 Club, a long-standing music venue.

For cuisine, Ben’s Chili Bowl is a famous landmark, but don’t expect gourmet fare; former president Obama was known to enjoy its chili half smoke (similar to, though not, a hot dog). Nearby, the hip, yet edgy neighbourhood of Shaw is the cool kids’ domain. A good place to start is Blagden Alley, popular among Instagrammers for its colourful street art. Start at La Colombe (great coffee), have a breather at Lost & Found (a fun bar) or plan for dinner at Tiger Fork (fabulous Asian).

NoMa and Union Market district

The revamped NoMa district (named in the 1990s for “north of Massachusetts”) is a favourite for young professionals. Within NoMa is the popular Union Market, a restored, mid-century food hall where Australian Fiona Lewis runs The District Fishwife and prepares some of the freshest fish tacos around. The surrounding blocks that comprise former converted warehouses are worth poking around: pick up some stylish South American made handicrafts from La Cosecha; reserve dinner at St Anselm, a faux-old-school American tavern; and see the wee hours in at Last Call, an action-packed “cocktail dive bar” (meaning, it serves fancy drinks at good prices in a no-frills, converted cafeteria).

Georgetown

A street mural in leafy Georgetown.

Incorporated into the city of Washington in 1871, Georgetown, DC’s leafiest and chicest district, draws both a youthful crowd (it’s home to an eponymous university) and elderly residents. Start with M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, two shopping strips that drip with flower baskets. Then meander through the pretty, green streets to Tudor Place, the mansion of George Washington’s grand-daughter, Martha. Other famous residents include former First Lady Jackie Kennedy (JFK proposed to her at Martin’s Tavern). At Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, DC’s historic canal, you can sit over a coffee and cupcake from the backstreet gem, Baked & Wired. For local souvenirs? Made in DC sells stylish pieces true to its name.

Happy hours in DC

George Washington distilled whisky. His successor, John Adams, swilled hard cider for breakfast. And sneaky distilling went on here during prohibition. After the Prohibition Act ended in 1933, DC’s own jazz artist Duke Ellington wrote the hit Cocktails for Two. The cocktail and drinking tradition continues, especially during advertised happy hours when everything from speakeasies to dive bars, hotel rooftops to craft breweries, offer decent reduced-price deals.

See washington.org; si.edu

Beyond the Monuments in Washington, DC: An insider’s guide to what to eat, drink and explore by Kate Armstrong is published by Hardie Grant, $34.99.