Visit DC - The DON'Ts of Visiting Washington, DC

hey the fellow-travellers about here with Walters world and today we're here in Washington to see that nation's capital and today we have for you are the don'ts for tourists when they come here to DC and the wound don't that every single person that lives and works in DC once every single tours to know is don't stand on the left when you're going on the metro escalators look it's stand right walk left because I know you're a tourist and I'm a tourist and we want to see these things and enjoy stuff and look around but everybody else they've got to be going to work or coming back from work and all kinds of stuff so just do me a favor don't stand on the left okay make sure you stand on the right walk on the left okay now some other don'ts I have for the metro is don't be afraid to take the metro when you are here in DC it is pretty clean I mean I know the locals will say it's not but compared to other metros I've been on around the world it's actually pretty clean it goes a lot of places you want to go and it's super simple to use okay so don't be afraid to use it but also don't expect it to go late-night okay so make sure you know when your last train is going wherever you're going to be whether it's your hotel or the restaurant or the bar you're gonna go to so you have an idea for that also don't eat on the metro you're not supposed to do that okay so don't eat on the metro and you'll notice that maybe don't talk so loudly on the metro because when people going to work it's actually kind of chill on the metro so just a heads up for that one no another doing a few as a tourist just one don't drive or try to take the metro or anything during the peak rush hour times because it is insanely packed okay so in the morning before like 9:00 9:30 don't bother driving don't bother taking the metro the smithsonian's don't open till 10:00 anyway let everybody else get to work and then take things because then it's actually kind of calm okay but aside from that like during the rush hour times it's like hell on wheels here okay another thing when you are driving don't you'll notice with the traffic sometimes it stops so it gets stuck in the crossways of the streets don't block the box from your there okay you don't want to do that because that can cause some problems and when you walk it around one of the things you need to realize is it's not just tourists that are here I mean there's tons of tourists yes but the locals are going to work there doing things and well his tourists will stop in the middle of the sidewalk to take a picture because there's tons of money oh it's just tons of museums tons of cool stuff to take a picture of here in DC but don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk step to the side and then take your picture because otherwise you're gonna stop in front of a local ID that kind of upsets them so just has a heads up for that one another don't for while you're in the district is don't just stare at your phone I think I've walked into like 15 people in the last like hundred yards because I don't know maybe there's a Pokemon catching thing going on but whatever it is people are walking into each other like mad so look up from your phone don't just stare at a screen another safety thing is if you're driving here and you have your own car or a rental don't leave anything in your car I mean that's kind of just common sense right but just wanted to remind you of it okay those are just two that I wanted to mention we'll go back to mark now no another do I have few has to do with the hotels when you do come here don't necessarily trust all the propaganda that tourist hotels give you because one thing you'll see is some will say oh we're a 10-minute walk from the mall or we're we're only 15 minutes from the White House uh-huh and that's like somehow like in the movies where people can go from one side of the city to the other between a commercial break look don't count on that look on the mats because you are going to be doing a lot of walk when you are here they're just a lot of walking a lot of stuff to do so don't necessarily trust that that the hotel's distance kind of thing also don't forget to bring really good walking shoes when you were here because you're gonna be walking up and down the mall seeing all these things walk you through all these Smithsonian museums and stuff like that your feet are gonna start to hurt so make sure you don't forget some good walking shoes and when you're walking around don't mess with the heat and humidity I mean DC gets very hot and very humid in this summer I mean June July August man it is not an enjoyable time to be here outside that it's great but if you're gonna be coming in the peak times when people have vacation times make sure you're filling up on water and yes there are water fountains around the National Mall you know but you can get bottled water I fill up a water bottle before you go out stay hydrated because it can be dangerous and with that make sure you have your Sun but you know don't forget the sunblock and some bug spray because the bugs are out here and they will bite you poor Johnson's getting bitten up while she's filming this video for me so do be careful with that so in do with the metro don't call it the subway call it the metro but when you have your ticket your little card don't throw that away and don't put it away where it's tough to find because you need that just to tick it in you're gonna pass in but also to get out of the metro so have a heads up for that one another thing I'd say is we're here in the National Mall and the thing is you have where people say it's the Smithsonian look don't say don't say you're going to the Smithsonian the thing is the Smithsonian is a collection of museums and the National Zoo there's like 21 places you can go so you say you're going to Smithsonian it's like going to like a city ok so say ah we're going to air in space or going to American history or we're going to Natural History say that and then people know where you're gonna go because there's more than just one Smithsonian Museum when you're here another thing I'm gonna say about the mall is don't forget to come back at night ok when it's evening time and the sun's gone down when they light up the monuments all event it is just gorgeous to walk around and take it in the Korean Memorial Lincoln Memorial watch Memorial when it's just really the Washington Monument I should say it's really kind of cool to take in so don't be like oh I don't wanna go out at night no you can come down here and see these things in the evening and the in the in dusk and dark when it's lit up and it is really beautiful now the thing is is these Smithsonian museums there's a cool don't with them is don't worry about pain the Smithsonian museums are free which is really cool so definitely take advantage of that but also if you want to go to one of the more popular ones you know you might can go online and sign up to get actually a convenience ticket you pay like a small convenience fee like a buck or two to actually get a ticket to get in some of the more popular museums okay so that could really be kind of a good thing as well and really some of the other don'ts if you're gonna be coming here they have what's called eighth grade bus tour season okay that's when the 8th grade classes from around the u.s. come for their history vacation their history tour with their classes here in DC and that's usually from mid-march through the beginning of June so just now you could get stuck behind a bunch of 8th graders going to every single museum and trying to go to a restaurant stuff like that and it can be a bit frustrating so it didn't come outside of the eighth grade season do if not well don't be surprised we've got a few lines so you don't have to trust me on some of these I've actually brought in at local rob from trip hacks DC probably the best channel for any anybody coming to DC check him out he's had great videos from everything from using the metro the museums all kinds of great stuff and he has some don'ts as well so you know the trust me you can trust a local okay so Rob what are some of your like we're like your three or four don'ts you want to tell people before they come here so the first one is don't stand on the left side of a metro escalator I don't know if mark already told you about that one but just don't do it if you're gonna ride Metro the rule is that when you're riding on an escalator you walk on the left and you stand on the right there is pretty much nothing that infuriates locals more than tourists who come to town and they haven't done their homework and they stand on the left side of an escalator see now because you're watching Walters world and maybe a watch trip xdc you won't have any trouble with this one yeah so what's another one another one is don't forget that there are museums that are not located on the National Mall a few of my favorites are the National Postal Museum which is actually located near the Capitol and Union Station and that's a museum that goes through the history of the US Postal Service which I know can sound a little dull but I think it's actually really interesting and if you're a stamp collector they have one of the largest stamp collections so it's really really cool another one is the Portrait Gallery which is located near the Capitol One Arena where there's basketball and hockey and concerts and that is a museum of portraits so if you're an art lover then that is a really cool place to go if you're interested in history through the lens of portraits and that's a really cool place that you can go and check out so there's one don't I really wanted to talk about that I thought was the best one that really helped us with our visit here so when you do come to the National Mall and you go to the museum's here like the Natural History Museum or air in space there's actually a second set of doors that a lot of people don't know about so on the National Mall side which are the doors that face the grassy area that we call the National Mall or is of course the set of doors you can go in but on the other side either Independence Avenue or Constitution Avenue depending on which museum you're going to is another set of doors and those often have shorter lines because honestly people just don't know that they're there and that's when we actually did that was awesome we cut out so much time because when we came out we saw the line on the other side and we're like thank you rob you're the man and was really cool and when you do come you're gonna have to go through a metal detector have them search through your bag so it actually does take quite a while to get into some of these museums so having a shorter line can make a big different school well thanks Rob thank you we want to check about trip hacks DC comm he's also on YouTube Twitter Instagram all over the place do check them out here she does tours really cool - it's like tribute tours and monument tours all kinds of cool stuff but we'll get back to our domes but I'll say thanks Rob because awesome dude thanks America no problem so some other tips when you're here on the National Law one thing is is realized that these museums they're all free like you said the thing is don't try to do all the Smithsonian museums because museum burnout is a really big thing when you do come here because you think oh it's all free I have to see everything look if you're doing more than two Smithsonian's a day you're probably gonna get a bit burned out so just have a heads up for that one another thing if you're going to the monuments ok the Vietnam Veterans Memorial the Korean War Memorial the World War Two memorial they get more these kind of things don't be disrespectful when you are there show respect for those soldiers that have fallen and the people that came back and honor them and the thing is we've seen a lot of the tour groups going through that have been a bit you know the the I got a grand this kind of thing in an inappropriate way we have an honor flight when we're at the Korean War Memorial yesterday it was a very moving thing and people are trying to get their selfies you know stuff like this I'm like the dew was in the war you're doing a selfie thing with them so just try to have some respect when you are there and though I don't want you to get the museum burn out I am gonna say this don't sleep in when you're here if you want to beat the crowds get there early in the morning to be some of the first people in so you can beat the longer lines or look and see when they have the extended hours like till 7:30 or midnight or late at night kind of stuff that some of the museums in the summer and you can use that because the thing is a lot of tourists don't realize they have the late hours and you can use that to your advantage a couple more don'ts I have for you one don't think this is gonna be a cheap visit okay I know that the museums and the Smithsonian's are free but when you're going to be staying here eating out man that is not cheap to eat out here the hotel is they're not cheap here because a lot of people come in here they're on vacation so they're willing to spend more or they're here for work so work is comping these kind of things so you do have that so don't expect it to be a cheap visit also if you're going to be coming here and you want to eat out at night and there's lots and lots of great restaurants that are here and you can eat really really well here don't forget to make reservations for the restaurants you may think the reservations aren't needed oh that's a big restaurant will be no problem believe me with all the tourists that come here in the evening time you do need to make reservations okay so don't forget to do that otherwise don't expect eat into the fancy restaurants you might be hitting Five Guys which isn't too bad or Jimmy John's or subway or something like that so don't forget those reservations and my last don't from here on the mall we have a few more to give you though my last over here in the mall is don't be afraid they take a bus tour around the city because DC is huge and to see all this stuff you want to go to the Jefferson Memorial and you want to see the national monuments of the other stuff and get out of Alexandria you're probably gonna need to do a bus tour when you are here because I don't recommend driving around just take the metro or just take a bus tour because they make it easy to get some good history stuff and get the free transport around town so we'll finish this off outside of the beautiful DC area into Mount Vernon and lastly don't just stay in the district there's so much to see outside of just DC we're here at George Washington's Mount Vernon there's Monticello Jefferson's home that's maybe an hour and a half two hours away from the city there's so much more to see there's Colonial Williamsburg that's just a few hours there's Busch Gardens I mean make this a really well-rounded trip don't just stay in the district get out there and see as much as you can so bye thanks for watching we hope that you enjoy your visit to the DC area it is fantastic you want to learn more we've got the don'ts of its in the u.s. things that shocked people visiting us different food thinks about the here in the US but also where else Europe South America in pieces of Asia we've got a lot of stuff out there so check us out on all our social media channels around Instagram YouTube Facebook Twitter all those things and we're really tomorrow in Walters world calm and we really appreciate your likes subscriptions if you do click that subscribe button you get a new video at least every Wednesday and Saturday so to say no but thanks this has been a really great trip and I hope you enjoy it too yep bye from DC hi

Channel: Wolters World

Views: 479,201

Keywords: travel, mark wolters, wolters world, travel advice, tourist attractions, travel vlogger, honest travel, fat travel guy, DC, Washington DC, what to see in the nation's capital, USA

Id: WZ76qbjAAB8

Length: 12min 53sec (773 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 04 2018