If you are looking for something fun and exciting to do over the holidays, and don’t have a lot of money to spend, then how does a day in Washington, D.C. sound? Just a few hours away is a city where the museums are free, and so is the subway. Of course, food and souvenirs will cost you something, but a day in D.C. is still a great destination for the student traveler on a budget.One of the best touring values in Washington is The Old Town Trolley Tour. This highly recommended bus tour of the city starts and finishes at Union Station, the main Amtrak terminal in D.C. You can get off at any or all of the 17 stops the tour bus makes before returning to Union Station. Or you can just remain on the trolley for the full tour without getting off to explore any of the stops, enjoying the ride and the sights before returning to Union Station three hours later.However, if you have the time, take the time to get off the trolley and view much of the history of our country up close.
You can easily rejoin the tour when the next trolley comes by. So what will you see on this tour? Some of the most significant points of interest in a very interesting city, including the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism, the Old Post Office Pavilion, the National History Museum, Chinatown, the MCI Center, Ford’s Theater, Freedom Plaza, the National Aquarium, Lafayette Park, Decatur House, the National Geographic Society, DuPont Circle, the National Zoo, the National Cathedral, Georgetown, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian, the Holocaust Museum, the U.S. Capitol and Library of Congress.
The tour also makes a stop at the White House. If you decide to dismount the trolley here, be prepared to wait in a long line, for this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
And if you get off the tram at the Lincoln Memorial, you may board a different tram that will take you over to Arlington National Cemetery, where you can view the final resting places of many American heroes, including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and John F. Kennedy.
There are of course, many more notable and fascinating sights to see in D.C., but the trolley tour provides a nice introduction to the city, and our national history. For more information about trolley tours in Wahington and other cities, visit their Web site at http://www.trolleytours.com.