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luxury or budget Washington DC hotel accommodation with hotel.com.au
 That
the marshy swamp where Washington
DC now stands was chosen as the site of the capital
of the newly independent United States of America says a lot about
then-prevalent attitudes toward government. Washington, District
of Columbia (the boundaries of the two are identical) - also known
as " DC " and " The District " - can be unbearably
hot and humid in summer, and bitterly cold in winter. Such an unpleasant
climate, it was hoped, would discourage elected leaders from making
government a full-time job. This disdain for politics is still apparent:
DC is run as a virtual colony of Congress, where residents have
just one, nonvoting representative and couldn't vote in presidential
elections until the 23rd Amendment was passed in 1961.
Other than the federal government, tourism
is DC's biggest industry. The city attracts almost twenty million
visitors each year. Conveniently, most arrive in midsummer, when
the lawmakers have gone home, so overcrowding is rarely a problem.
The nation's showcase puts on quite a display for its guests, and
admission to virtually all major attractions is free. The most famous
sites are concentrated along the central Mall, including the White
House, individual memorials to four of the greatest presidents,
and the superb museums of the Smithsonian Institution. Downtown,
however (broadly speaking the area immediately north of the Mall,
between the White House and the Capitol), can seem very empty, even
intimidating, at night, and you're more likely to spend your evenings
in the hotels and restaurants of the city's more motherly neighborhoods,
such as historic Georgetown, arty Dupont Circle and the funkier
Adams -Morgan district.
Read more about what to see and do in Washington
DC in the destination
guide.
Also book rental
cars, sight
seeing tours and current
events and shows with hotel.com.au.
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