If you're an early bird, I'm going to tell you about some of the best morning things you can do in Washington DC.
Hello! Welcome to Trip Hacks DC, my name is Rob.
I'm a tour guide here in the nation's capital. If you're coming to Washington DC and you're looking for the best tips
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Washington DC has a bit of a reputation for being an early to rise, early to bed kind of place.
So it is not uncommon to see locals starting their day before sunrise
especially during the work week; but many visitors don't start their days usually until a little later
because sleeping in is often one of the best perks of being on vacation.
So I'm curious... if you're the kind of person who likes to wake up early on a trip
leave a comment on this video and let me know what time you like to get up and what you like to do
before everyone else. Otherwise, let's get started...
The first thing you can do if you're an early bird is to go on a photo safari. In Trip Hacks DC Podcast episode 2
local photographer Nicole mentioned that sunrise is one of the best times to photograph on the National Mall.
Sunrise and sunset are both great times to get photos
but sunrise is often far better for the simple reason that there are fewer people out there.
So if you show up at the Lincoln Memorial at 7:00 in the morning
you will have a much better chance of getting a great photo without a
thousand people in it
compared to if you showed up in the afternoon or evening. And the Lincoln Memorial is one of the most popular sights but the other
memorials often might not have anyone in them at all.
I personally have visited the Vietnam Memorial
several times in the morning when no one else was there and I can say that it is a different
experience than what I get when I take a tour group there in the evening and there are a bunch of others.
Now, I don't want you to think that going down to the National Mall first thing in the morning means that you always get the entire
place completely to yourself. A lot of locals actually like to get their morning exercise
in before it gets really hot during the summer and before they have to leave for work.
So don't be surprised to find a bunch of fitness enthusiasts out with you while you're on your photo safari.
The next thing that you can do in the morning is to visit the National Zoo.
The Smithsonian museums on the National Mall open at 10:00 a.m
but one thing that you can do earlier in the day, if you want to, is stroll around the National Zoo. The grounds open at
8 a.m. and the exhibits at 9 a.m.
The zoo grounds used to open even earlier actually, but a few years ago
unfortunately, they cut them back, to the great disappointment of many of the neighbors.
Now, when I say that the grounds open what I mean is that they open the gates and you can walk around on the pathways.
However, the actual animal exhibits, like the panda house or the elephant room, won't be open until 9:00 a.m.
But you can still see many of the animals just from the outside paths.
Morning is actually one of the best times to see the animals because in the afternoon they often settle down for a little nap.
The next thing you can do as an early bird is to eat breakfast at an old-fashioned diner. Most diners
unfortunately closed, as people stopped going out for breakfast and started preferring brunch instead. And diner food is supposed to be really cheap
so in DC, a city with really high rents, it's just hard to make this kind of business work.
We don't have a lot left but there are still a few hidden gems.
The first is called Jimmy T's and it's located on East Capitol Street about a
five-minute walk from the Capitol building. A similar restaurant is called Pete's Diner.
It's located on the south side of the Capitol building, just a few minutes walk from the dome.
Both of these places are no-frills breakfast diners, you'll find eggs pancakes, potatoes, and things like that.
Oh and bring cash because they are cash only. Both places close every day at 3 p.m.
Another breakfast spot I really like is Market Lunch located inside the Eastern Market.
The name is a little misleading even though it's called Market Lunch
I think that the breakfast is what's worth going for. The signature dish here is called "blue bucks" short for blueberry
buckwheat pancakes. Breakfast ends at 11 a.m. on weekdays and 1:30 p.m. on the weekends.
So make sure to get here before they cut it off.
And the last thing you can do as an early bird is to go on a coffee crawl. If you're a big coffee drinker like
me, then going on a coffee crawl is a good way to get some caffeine in your system
before you start your day.
The coffee shop scene in DC has absolutely exploded over the last decade, and I've even given a few custom coffee crawls
myself. There are far too many coffee shops to list out in this video
but there are a few areas where you can go if you want to hit a bunch of them in a short time.
I would start up at 14th and U Streets Northwest. There are at least half a dozen
independent or small local coffee chains that you can visit without even walking more than a mile.
Another good place to go would be downtown near Farragut Square.
This is where a lot of the
established local coffee shops opened their downtown second locations in the last few years.
My biggest tip for doing a coffee crawl is to make sure to bring a bottle of water with you.
You're definitely going to want to stay hydrated, otherwise, that is not gonna be a fun way to spend the rest of your day.
And that's it!
Thank you for watching this video
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that'll send you over to www.triphacksdc.com where you can see all of the tours that I offer. Enjoy your trip!