Washington D.C. Travel Forum

Can someone shows me how to get to the Old Town Alexandria from Westin 1400 M Washington DC ?

Will a half day tour good enough? Anything particularly interesting ?

You can take the metro (yellow line) to King Street. This is Old Town Alexandria. Its a bit of a walk down to the river, but not too bad, especially if the weather is nice. The Torpedo Factory has some lovely art galleries and there are some nice shops as well along the way.

On the weekends there is a free shuttle bus that goes back and forth from the Metro Station down to the Potomac River (www.dashbus.com). Besides what the previous poster mentioned the Carlyle House is very interesting to tour. Also on the opposite (West)side of the Metro station from the Old City is the George Washington Memorial (up on the hill) which has quite a few artifacts and provides a good view of the whole area. Depending on how long you dawdle 1/2 to a full day could be spent in the area.

I'd agree with the second poster-- your best bet is to take the Yellow line to King St and take one of the free shuttles to Old Town. It's a pretty long walk before you hit the heart of Old Town, otherwise.

If you do take the metro to King St, you can first stop at the George Washington Masonic Temple (also mentioned by the 2nd poster), which is right next to the metro-- just look for the tall towering structure, it's hard to miss. You can take an elevator to the top to get good views of Old Town and take a tour of the 7 floors. After that, you can hop on the shuttle to Old Town. There are lots of shops and restaurants, and it's nice to just walk along the water (there are often performers on the docks providing free entertainment, an added bonus).

Enjoy your visit!
Diana